ACTIVITY

Your team and you will build a structure. You will compete against the opposing team to build the highest structure. Highest structure after 10 minutes win. (It must stand up itself without assistance to win)

USING ONLY

One Catch… NO ONE ON YOUR TEAM CAN TALK

MULTIGENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES OVERVIEW

Generations in the Workforce

The 4 Generations Matures/Traditionalists Baby Boomers Generation X Millennials

Matures/Traditionalists Born prior to 1946 survived World War II, the Korean Conflict, and The Depression familiar with hardship, value consistency, and are disciplined and respectful of the law “hard work is the key to success,” “the common good above all,” “be thrifty and save your money for a rainy day there are hard times ahead,” “authority deserves respect,”

CORE VALUES OF TRADITIONALIST Dedication/Sacrifice Hard work Conformity Law and order Respect for authority Patience Honor

CORE VALUES OF TRADITIONALISTS (continued) Delayed reward Duty before pleasure Adherence to rules

Baby Boomers Born between the years phenomenal impact on the country through politics, economics, socially, and culturally through their extensive numbers Divorce, consumer debt, the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Vietnam optimistic, remained willing to go into debt, remain process- oriented, and strive for convenience

CORE VALUES OF BABY BOOMERS Optimism Team orientation Personal gratification Health and wellness Personal growth Youth Work Involvement

Generation X Born between the years most profound impact of technological developments Watergate, anti-war protests, excessive inflation, massive layoffs, the Challenger tragedy, the energy crisis, Three Mile Island, AIDS, and the EXXON Valdez skeptical and mistrustful of established organizations, institutions, and traditions. The concept of job security is a myth to this generation and as a consequence, they work to live, putting very little stock in future stability.

CORE VALUES OF GENERATION XERS Diversity Thinking globally Balance Technoliteracy Fun Informality Self-Reliance Pragmatism

Millennials Born between the years 1981 and 1994 The Net Generation, Generation Y, Generation Why?, Nexters, the Nintendo Generation, and Internet Generation Scored 15 points higher (raw intelligence) than children 50 years ago Have an ability to multi-task which can be exemplified by their ability to listen to music, instant message friends, while completing their work Extensive media exposure available to them has educated them to challenge any tradition, institution, value, and person

CORE VALUES OF GENERATION MILLENNIALS Optimism Civic duty Confidence Achievement Sociability Morality Street Smarts Diversity

ON-THE-JOB CHARACTERISTICS OF MILLENNIALS ASSETSLIABILITIES -Collective action-Need for super- -Optimism vision & structure -Tenacity-Inexperience, -Heroic spirit particularly with -Multitasking capabilities handling difficult -Technological savvy people issues

What Shaped the Millennials They are impatient but smart. They expect results immediately. Instant rewards associated with utilizing technology as the World Wide Web Prefer technology that is portable Unpredicted accessibility to events that occur worldwide Grown up in a world where cell phones, pagers, the Internet, and the Web have always existed and are common place

Common Messages Provided To Millennials Be smart. Leave no one behind Connect 24/7 Achieve now Serve your community

Some Facts 97% own a computer 76% use instant messaging 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week 34% use Web sites as their primary source for news 28% own a blog and 44% read blogs 49% download music using peer-to-peer file sharing 75% have a Facebook account

What Do They Look For? Need for Ongoing Learning High Expectations of Employers Goals, Goals, Goals Desire for Immediate Responsibility Balance and Flexibility

What Supervisors Need To Know Provide structure Provide leadership and guidance Encourage the Millennial’s self- assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive personal self-image Take advantage of the Millennial’s comfort level with teams. Encourage them to join.

What Supervisors Need To Know Listen to the Millennial employee Millennial employees are up for a challenge and change Millennial employees are multi-taskers on a scale you’ve never seen before Take advantage of your Millennial employee’s computer, cell phone, and electronic literacy.

What Supervisors Need To Know Capitalize on the Millennial’s affinity for networking Provide a life-work balanced workplace Provide a fun, employee-centered workplace.

6 Principles of Millennial Management You be the leader Challenge them Let them work with friends Have fun Respect me Be flexible

Mentorship Set up a reverse Mentor Program – Procter and Gamble Siemens: tutoring middle- aged executives – Jack Welch: GE: Knowledge that younger employees bring to the table assist in reverse mentoring their employers as well

Get Ready for the Millennials Be Prepared For: – High expectations – Possible involvement of parents Don’t… – Expect them to pay their dues – Throw a wet blanket on their enthusiasm Do… – Encourage them – Mentor them – Learn from them

Where Employers Go Wrong… Not meeting their high expectations Discounting their ideas for lack of experience Allowing negativity Feeling threatened by their technical know how

When The Door Opens… 75 million Millennials are preparing to join or are have joined the workforce. The average Baby Boomer is in their late forties/fifties. They will be moving on/retiring sooner rather than later. Half the school teachers plan to retire within five years 60% of all Federal workers who are Baby Boomers state they are on the verge of retirement The need to fill the void left by the extreme number of Baby Boomers leaving the workforce.

Overview of Millennial Characteristics Confident Hopeful Goal- and achievement-oriented Civic Minded Inclusive Tech savvy Multi-tasking Staying connected