Strategies for managing workforce generations that work

Abstract

This paper analyses and summarises numerous publications about managing professional employees from different generations. Much has been written about the difficulties of having members of three distinct generational cohorts, namely the Baby Boomers, the Generation Xers and the Millennials working together. How do organisations manage these groups? Do they deploy different Human Resource management strategies for different cohorts? Are the workplace needs of each generation significantly different enough that new policies or procedures should be adopted by employers? Or, on the other hand, have these differences between generational cohorts been exaggerated by the media and popular culture? Are generational stereotypes unfairly segmenting individuals into groups based solely on one specific characteristic, namely the year in which they were born? This paper evaluates numerous publications to determine whether generational differences are fact or fiction. On the basis of a review of the literature, the authors make a recommendation on whether to leverage the generational differences and manage groups by the attributes associated with their cohort or utilise an approach that focuses on individual employees. Readers are likely to take away a philosophy for leading and managing professional staff regardless of their generation.