Let’s continue our exploration of understanding the demographics of each unique generation currently working today, shall we? As we march down the population studies by age and aspects, next up: Baby Boomers.
According to our friend Lindsey Pollak in The Remix,
“Boomers [are represented] by 76 U.S. million births with commonly cited characteristics [as] self-focused, competitive, optimistic [with] a ‘forever young’ mentality [the ‘Baby’ in Baby Boomer]. Children of older Traditionalists were born in the post-World War II baby boom years of 1946 to 1964 and thus became the largest generation in American history. Compared to Traditionalists, Boomers generally grew up with more siblings in their families, more children in their neighborhoods and more students in their classrooms. This bred a strong sense of camaraderie but also of competition.
Boomers are strongly associated with the dramatic social changes in the 60’s [think: civil rights, gay rights, and women’s rights]. [They] came of age in an optimistic, powerful era of prosperity and global dominance. Technologically, they were the first television generation and thus, the first mass advertising which led to more focus on mass culture, marketing, and conspicuous consumption. Recall the 1980’s-era saying “He who dies with the most toys wins.” This, of course does not apply to every Boomer, but the rise of consumer debt in their era was unprecedented.
Boomers have enjoyed a lengthy period of generational dominance based on their overall numbers….[and] are also the beneficiaries of the social programs begun by their Traditionalist parents’ generation such as Social Security and Medicare. They [are also] staying in the workforce longer, not just because they have to (especially after the Great Recession), but also because many want to.”
SO……..why is understanding Boomers so important in the workforce?
This generation generally represents most of senior leadership professionally today. Having an awareness of the experiences and culture of this demographic creates empathy and understanding which are cornerstones in working intergenerationally.
A couple of years ago, I was invited to speak at a 2 day seminar in Iowa on the multigenerational workforce. After each session, we broke out into focus groups of 7, in which Traditionalists, Boomers and Millennials shared their experiences at work. My most interesting exchange happened when a Boomer asked her younger counterparts: “I have no idea why, when I’m in my office and the door is open, you (the Millennial) choose to send me an email asking a short answer question instead of picking up the phone or stopping by?” To which the Millennials replied: “We would never presume to interrupt you by inserting ourselves into your day and interrupting you.”
Interesting, right? In this brief conversation, it became clear that each generation had imposed their own perception of professional courtesy, communication preferences, and expectations onto the other, and assumed it was known and understood. This miscommunication might have been avoided had the Boomer told this young professional: “When my door is open, feel free to drop in or call with any questions…” Or, had the Millennials asked: “What is your preferred communication style if I need to ask you a question or need help?”
When Boomers were young professionals, email didn’t exist, voicemail was scarce and they had to go and speak with their superiors if they needed a question answered or were stuck on something - even if their bosses were scary or unapproachable. Oftentimes, they found themselves a mentor, with whom they communicated verbally and conversationally, often many times a day. They watched and learned from how their mentors handled tricky situations or interactions with others. If they screwed up, they were told to ‘fix it’ oftentimes without direction as to how. They had to figure it out for themselves, scared of the consequences if they didn’t. This is ‘just how it was’, there were not a lot of options. They didn’t have to ask the question of methods of communication because there really were only two: talking to someone in person or calling which, incidentally, was expensive, especially ‘long distance’. Telephone service was a regulated monopoly in the US until '93, so rates were negotiated with AT&T by local state regulatory commissions, and varied from state to state. Those bills usually had a “local service" monthly connection fee of $6–$14 for the first phone with perhaps 25–50 local calls (with a $0-$3* monthly primary phone rental fee, plus any long-distance charges for down-state and out-of-state or foreign calls.
Understanding the gap between our senior leadership's societal, professional exposures and norms of their day, as a practice, lends itself to asking pertinent questions to reach a more collaborative workplace. No generation knows what they don’t know - and the only way to find out is by asking questions. Genuine curiosity and understanding are key to forming those questions to lay a solid foundation for a workspace with positive, progressive intergenerational relationships. Not only will this help the current generations in the workforce work together, but it will also equip the younger generations with the tools to pass on the tradition once generations younger and different from their own join the professional world. It does take energy and commitment to dedicate yourself to understanding the thoughts and actions of other generations, but the effort will pay off immeasurably.