Technology is unequivocally affecting the social aspect of work. At the same time, generational differences, in part affected by technology diffusion, are also having an effect on how work is perceived and accomplished. In 2009, at an industry conference, Dr. Marlene Law Graham, a senior manager at The Boeing Company in Long Beach, California, gave a presentation entitled “Leveraging the Power of Cross-Generational Teams.”
In her presentation, Dr. Graham described how Traditionalists and Baby Boomers (born roughly between 1925 and 1960) tend to view work as an end unto itself. They equate productivity with attendance and long hours and believe in “paying your dues”. She contrasted that characterization with Generation X and the Millennial Generation (roughly born between 1961 and 2000) who tend to equate productivity with results. They view work as merely a means to an end and are interested in getting the job done so they can move on with the rest of life.
As the workforce in companies like Boeing transitions across these generational divides, corporate culture is failing to keep the pace. Nowhere is this more apparent than how a company handles its IT policies. Workers today are responding to a changing economy. Information is the new commodity and technology is enabling information exchange in ways never thought possible. But many companies are reluctant to adopt these new exchanges either because they don’t understand them or because they fear them—or both.
That fear is not entirely unfounded. A 2002 KPMG telephone survey revealed that 61% of organizations suffered average losses of $162,000 due to viruses. 29% of companies surveyed reported email intrusion events.[i] Collaboration drives innovation and requires freedom to exchange information. Pardoxically, in this information age, fear of sharing that information with the wrong party—regardless of the intent—is driving IT policies that stifle creativity and ignore emerging differences in how work gets done.
Generational differences are also creating human resource challenges. A recent case at one company was presented to employees in the form of a training video. The case involved a clash between a new employee—a member of the Millennial generation—and a more mature, seasoned employee—a staunch Traditionalist. The video showed the Millennial sitting in a common area working on his laptop, listening to music on his headphones as the Traditionalist glared disapprovingly and complained to a coworker. The breakdown went as follows:
The Millennial violated company policy by downloading unapproved software (a music player) onto his company-owned laptop. He was verbally reprimanded.
The Millennial should not have been working from an alternate location without management approval. He was coached to be more considerate of how others perceived his way of working.
The overall tone was that, because this young new employee was not sitting in a cubicle for eight hours, he was not working. Generational differences mean different perspectives on values and, by extension, work. Unfortunately many managers choose to motivate only through their own value system, not the value system of their employees[ii]. They ignore what science tells us about motivation and simply do what’s always been done.
[i] Coles, R., & Hodgkinson, G. (2008). A Psychometric Study of Information Technology Risks in the Workplace. Risk Analysis , 81-93.
[ii] Graham, M. L. (2009, April). Leveraging the Power of Cross-Generational Teams. Anaheim, CA, United States of America.