From Ozzie and Harriet to the Simpsons: generations in the workplace.

Editor's note:

When it comes to what our members want most from NEHA, at the very top of the list is career assistance, particularly in the area of finding new jobs. While we are limited in the number of "Classifieds" we can run in your monthly Journal (due to the relatively long lag time between issues), we can, however, provide other means of assistance that aren't so time-sensitive. That is what we intend to do with this new career column titled, "Career Consultant," written by Sandra Hagevik, Ph.D.

Dr. Hagevik currently serves as a career consultant for EnviroTemps, Inc., a national woman-owned project staffing firm specializing in the environmental careers field. Throughout the course of her professional life, she has written many resumes, both for herself and for other professionals. She began her career as a science and health teacher, and later moved into the fields of career counseling, university administration, and outplacement consulting. Dr. Hagevik has been a nationally, certified career counselor since 1985, and has assisted hundreds of individuals from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors find satisfying careers.

We hope you enjoy this column even if you currently have no need to seek new employment opportunities!

Do you even know who Ozzie and Harriet were? Or do the Simpsons speak today's truths? Whether you're a new hire or a seasoned professional, staff or management, GS-7 or GS-13, you're a member of a "generation cohort" with memories that influence your work life enormously. In this article, "cohort" refers to members of a generation who are linked through shared life experiences in their formative years - usually the first 10 years of life. The beliefs you accumulated as a kid affect how you now view risk and challenge, authority, technology, relationships, and economics, as well as whom you hire, fire, or promote. Your "cohort beliefs" continue to make a difference, although it should be noted here that the cohorts are not absolute categories but descriptive devices. Read on to learn how differently the "matures," "baby boomers," "generation Xs," and "millennials" typically approach their work lives.

Matures

Members of this cohort, born before 1946, either lived through the Great Depression and the subsequent New Deal or they have memories of those events transmitted from their parents. They internalized the values of hard work, thriftiness, and an emphasis on traditional mores. Their world view was shaped by events such as World War II and the Korean Conflict, which many of them heard about over the radio. Major role models from this era might include FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Jackie Robinson. Penicillin and the Salk vaccine wiped out many infectious diseases, including polio.

Challenges for Matures in the Workplace

Observe and read beyond your cohort and what makes you comfortable. Question your beliefs about your willingness to change and the attitudes of younger workers and their capabilities.

Baby Boomers

Comprising 81 million births between approximately 1946 and 1960, baby boomers form a cohort more than twice as large as that of their parents. As children, baby boomers experienced unprecedented economic prosperity, parents with secure jobs, and optimism about the future - which led to a buy-now-pay-later philosophy By the time they could understand cultural changes, baby boomers had experienced the Vietnam War either through television or, more personally, through loved ones who served in Vietnam.

Meanwhile on TV, Ozzie and Harriet or Ricky and Lucy provided insight into nuclear families that were now somewhat separated from their extended families by location and occupation. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll became cultural beacons on TV while JFK and Jackie Kennedy presided over a USA-style Camelot. The primacy of baseball gave way to football heroes such as Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. Birth control changed the way adults made reproductive decisions.

Challenges for Boomers in the Workplace

Recognize that your effectiveness as maturing managers will depend on your ability to adjust to an emerging labor pool whose members don't identify with their jobs as you do - or with their life careers as your parents do. The advice to many "boomer" employers with respect to younger employees is "be more flexible with your employees, or you'll lose them." Because boomers are such a large cohort in some organizations, they must also contend with superiors who are locked into their positions by rank; authority, or tenure. In other workplaces, layoffs of those over 40 are being credited with "increasing productivity."

Generation X

Born between approximately 1960 and 1980, this cohort is only half the size of their parents' generation. By some accounts the smartest, most technically literate, and most highly educated cohort in history, Generation Xs question many of the assumptions and beliefs of their elders. As children, they experienced their dual-career parents' focus on work while they attended daycare or became latchkey individualists. Divorce ended nearly 40 percent of all marriages, and the family structure began reorganizing into smaller units such as those led by single parents. Successive layoffs of the parents from industry giants like GM and IBM added to an emerging insecurity about maintaining a lifelong job. Computers, once the purview of secretaries, became ubiquitous playthings and, later, tools in every occupation. The public became skeptical of elected leaders and cultural figures. AIDS became the most important emerging health concern.

Challenges for Generation Xs in the Workplace

Strive to understand the contradictions between loyalty and responsibility to your company your profession, and older employees. Use your enthusiasm for change and streamlining to your advantage.

Millennials

Born between 1981 and 2000, millennials are just entering the work force. They have as corporate models Microsoft and many smaller emerging companies and technologies. Millennials are likely to be the products of single parents or blended families who grew up with the TV Simpsons, Seinfeld, or ER characters. Desert Storm and Oklahoma City arrived in their living rooms along with MTV and expanding presentations of sex and violence. Their thinking is influenced less by linear models than menu-driven ones, although their communication is instant and omnipresent via cell phone and e-mail. So far, President Clinton, Monica Lewinski, Kenneth Starr, Michael Jordan, and Oprah have commanded hours of fame and shame. The health concerns of aging boomer parents have surrounded the millennials with issues of youth and mortality Their lives are a work in progress, sure to survive Y2K.

Challenges for Millennials in the Workplace

One of your greatest challenges may be just showing up in workplaces that don't reflect your values or expectations. Learn how to ask what's right in ambiguous environments. Most likely, you will be expected to maintain the pace of change - or perhaps to speed it up.

Dr. Sandra Hagevik has agreed to provide NEHA members with a free resume review. If you desire assistance in creating or making revisions to your resume, a reasonable price for this service wall be determined based on the extent of work requested. To request a free resume review and/or additional resume services, contact a NEHA Service Specialist at [phone] ext. 0.