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In a recent survey conducted by the
Society for Human Resource Management, 40% of human resource professionals
have observed conflict among employees as a result of generational
differences! In organizations with 500 or more employees, 58% of HR
professionals reported conflict between younger and older workers, largely
due to differing perspectives on work ethic and work-life balance.
This data tells me that there’s a huge potential for miscommunication, low
morale and poor productivity unless the generations learn to handle
conflict successfully.
I hear the debate about work ethic in the workplace almost every day.
The Radio Baby generation worked hard out of necessity because of The
Great Depression and men being away fighting WWII, leaving women to fill
demanding factory positions. This generation taught its children,
the Baby Boomers, the meaning of sacrifice and “climbing the ladder” to
success by paying your dues. Small wonder, then, that members of
these two generations aren’t totally receptive to the suggestion by
younger employees that work hours, work rules, and work methods should be
open to discussion. In the minds of many older employees, there IS
no discussion.
The recommendation I constantly make to the over 40 managers I consult
with is to consider the results or objectives rather than the process of
reaching those results. If a job lends itself to telecommuting, why
not expand the pool of employees who may be interested in that job by
providing that option? Technology allows Internet and phone
communication between customers and employees to appear seamless, and the
customers want answers and assistance, not the knowledge that the person
helping them is sitting behind a desk in a downtown office.
I’m not suggesting, however, that work quality be compromised in any way.
If most customers of an organization have made it clear that they want to
have “live” access to staff - in person - as early as 8:00 a.m., then
employees need to be accessible at 8:00 a.m. and provide a quality
service. The Gen Y’ers, however, will want to know why this is
necessary instead of an abrupt, “this is the way it is.” I think
that’s fair.
If an organization has options and benefits available to all employees
that help make their balance between work and family life amenable, I
think we’ll see less conflict over this issue. If work – family
balance options only provide balance for young parents between 25-30,
certainly other segments of the workforce will be frustrated and conflict
will be a result.
Responses to Conflict
My mother worked as a nurse for the local hospital in my home town for
almost 30 years. There were many times when she, or her peers,
disagreed with nurse supervisors or hospital administrators. She
would express her frustration to me, and in turn I’d always suggest that
she respectfully bring these concerns to the attention of those in
leadership positions. Her reply? “Oh no . . . they’re the bosses. I
couldn’t do that!” I’ve heard similar stories from other members of
the Radio Baby generation. They tend to respect authority (even if
they don’t necessarily agree with or respect the individual in the
position). Confronting a person in a supervisory position is not the
method of choice among Radio Babies for dealing with conflict.
Baby Boomers are more likely to respond to potential conflict by saying,
“Let’s bring the team together and we’ll resolve this.” Perhaps the
person in the top leadership role will make a decision on the final
disposition of an issue, but there’s probably going to be some input from
everyone involved.
So, along come the Gen X’ers: independent, individualistic, clear on what
they want to achieve in the workplace. They will largely ignore
older coworkers’ efforts to “tell them what to do” or parent them.
They will tell their coworkers in a straightforward way if there’s
something they disagree with or don’t like. And according to the Gen
Y’ers in the workplace, there’s a lot the X’ers don’t like!
Generation Y likes to take a more casual, relaxed approach to the
workplace. They enjoy a friendly atmosphere and calling coworkers,
and customers for that matter, by their first names. This is a
generation that doesn’t cope well with “in your face” conflict, such as
unhappy customers complaining curtly about service. Coaching on
confronting issues, and people, in a positive and assertive way is
definitely needed for many in this generation.
Providing Constructive Feedback
There are certainly some generally accepted, effective ways for giving
constructive criticism and feedback that will minimize conflict.
I’ll mention a few. Additionally, some approaches work best for
older employees and some for younger generations. This is another
one of those cases where “one size does not fit all.”
In all cases, I recommend that you remember these key points for offering
constructive criticism:
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Acknowledge the others’ point of view
Whether or not you agree with another’s point of view, they have a
right to say why they believe or act as they do. You’re more likely
to change their mind, or their behaviors, if you understand what compels
that behavior.
Based on my interviews with members of
each generation, as well as life experiences, I have some suggestions for
providing constructive feedback across generations.
Radio Babies. Express appreciation for their efforts.
Acknowledge that they have the interests of their department/organization
at heart. Let them know how changes in their behavior will increase their
value to the organization.
Baby Boomers. Emphasize the need for their input into team
success. Discuss an action plan together for improving their skills or
changing behaviors.
Gen X’ers. Be straightforward. Be honest. Focus on
results expected and offer tools and techniques to help them acquire
knowledge or skills. Don’t start any conversation with, “Back in my day .
. .”
Gen Y’ers. Emphasize business reasons for changes you ask
them to make. Explain how what they do, or don’t do, affects the company’s
viability. Let them know you’re there to help and will touch base
with them on how they’re doing . . . soon.
Turning Conflict Into Collaboration – Tactics that Provide Positive
Results
The most successful tactic I’ve ever used or observed for getting positive
results from initial conflict is to help identify what the business
problem is and call on people involved to attack the problem, not each
other. I’ll share an example that I think illustrates this point.
A male, 40-year-old department head in an organization I’ve consulted with
was frustrated because one of his direct reports, a 25-year-old woman,
seemed to ignore his orders and “do things her own way.” The
department head didn’t like having his authority undermined because he’d
worked for 15 years to get to his position. The woman who was his
direct report joined the company within the previous year and had
experience with other work methods that she felt provided results that
were just as effective. If she disagreed with her boss (or anyone
else), she’d say so. They were at an impasse and the young woman was
ready to quit when they called me in.
Instead of starting off by asking them, “what’s your problem?” I
asked them about the mission of the company and the objectives of their
department. Interestingly, this conversation surfaced one important fact.
They both agreed on the mission and vision of the organization, as well as
the primary objectives of the department! And, they were clearly
surprised that they were in agreement. Then I asked them both what
their customers wanted and how they knew if customer needs were met.
Again, they both had the same thoughts about what their customers wanted,
and the level of quality necessary to satisfy customer demands.
Again, they were both surprised. By this time, they were loosening
up about the process for getting results. The department head could
see that his employee had the interests of the company and their customers
in mind when doing her work. The direct report could see the same with her
boss. I left them both shortly afterwards, after I asked them to
discuss suggestions they EACH had to enhance the product and services they
provided. They were deeply involved in a constructive conversation
when I left.
For comments or questions about this article, e-mail Dr. Linda Gravett at
Linda@gravett.com.
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