In considering workforce sustainability the themes of attraction, engagement and retention—should organisations provide different practices and policies in order to attract and retain the different generational groups? Much discussion and analysis has recently focussed on generational differences in the workplace.
Ringer and Garma (2007, p. 1067) assert that age, life experience and commitment may affect different generations’ predispositions and that there is no general consensus within the academic and popular literature regarding the age span of the different generations. DCAC (2007) stated that a generation is broadly defined within a 15 to 20 year range and because of the different economic and social environment; they share broad characteristics that are attributed to each generation. This has led to using generational labels, which group like attributes to different age groups (DCAC, 2007, p. 5).
A generational cohort has been defined as ‘the aggregation of individuals who experience the same event within the same time interval’, and is the notion of a group of people bound together by sharing the experience of events common to them because of their dates of birth (Duxbury & Higgins, 2008, p. 34). This infers that people
of the same generation will have experiences similar to each other because of a number of technological, societal and cultural factors. These experiences shape their expectations regarding their work, personal and social spheres, and Arsenault (2004, p. 132) found that each generation has created its own culture, traditions, and mentors through its attitudes, preferences and dispositions.
There appears to be different age groupings for the labels given to the different generations by researchers, in media articles and practitioner journal articles. Henry (2004) provided the following generational cohorts birth date ranges: Veterans 1929- 1949; Baby Boomers 1950-1964; Generation X 1965-1979 and Generation Y 1980- current. Other writers, including Leibold and Voelpel (2006), use different age groupings: Baby Boomers 1941-1961; Generation X 1962-1980; Generation Y 1981- 2001; and Millennials 2001-2021.
Kramar (2004) researched contemporary retention strategies, finding that measures to retain talent have focused on younger employees (Generations X and Y), who seek employment that provides or addresses the need for: work to be meaningful and challenging; the ability to express their individuality in their work and make a difference; opportunities to learn, whether through mentoring, job rotation or interesting workplace assignments; an egalitarian workplace and a relaxed working environment; taking responsibility for their own careers; flexible working arrangements available to accommodate the other demands of their lives; and feedback, preferably informal and supportive, about how they are performing to allow them to keep growing.
Packer (2008) reported on a survey that indicated that almost half of HR practitioners believe that in their workplaces there is intergenerational conflict that impacts on performance. Further, about half the respondents (from all generational groups) were reluctant to express preferences based on age for who they like to work with, manage or have manage them (Packer, 2008). However, Packer (2008) did not elaborate on the reasons for the reluctance to indicate a preference; therefore it could be viewed that the reluctance to comment may be based on a perception of bias or that age wasn’t a factor important to their working preferences.
Many HR managers believed that: conflicts between the generations affect workplace performance; that organisations should have strategies in place to manage generational differences; and that the affixing of labels to different age groups with common expectations has gained acceptance (AHRI, 2008). Yet Kramar (2006, p. 13) noted that a framework for understanding the attitudes and motivations of different generations is the ‘generational model’, which has been developed on the assumption
that the environment shapes generational identity and defines different life stages. For Kramar (2006), organisations should gain an understanding of the differences and tailor their workforce management to meet their preferences and expectations of employees, but not in a limited one-size-fits-all manner.
Research about generational differences has resulted in mixed findings. Donaldson (2007) wrote that the current questions being raised about generational differences are not new. According to Hayes (2008, pp. 202-205), reviewing Deal’s book about addressing generational gaps, Deal (2007) found that one of the major points of her research were that people want the same things, no matter what generation they are from, that an individual can effectively work with (or manage) people from all generations and that ‘all generations have similar values: they just express them ‘differently’’. This aligns with Kramar’s (2006) view that understanding differences between employees is important and a broad-brush approach will not be sufficient, given individuals’ different preferences and expectations.
Jurkiewicz (1997) identified that regardless of generational affiliation, employees tend to share the same concerns and needs as they progress from graduation to family, from growing family to empty nesters and from empty nesters to retirement. Jurkiewicz’s (1997) point is that people progress through different life stages and will therefore share similar concerns, though they experience them at different times. However, as noted by Deal (2007), the difference is that employees and managers express their views and expectations differently. Kirkpatrick, Martin and Warneke (2008, p. 1) support this and noted that as there are now four generations (in the workplace), each generation brings different influences and expectations to work, and understanding the areas of common ground will allow employers to develop high-performance workplace strategies. According to Kirkpatrick, Martin and Warneke (2008, p. 8):
Meaningful work is important to all generations, and they value the opportunity to contribute to their organisations when something of value is happening.
Contrary to the literature and stereotypes about generational differences, Jurkiewicz (2000) found a homogenous pattern of what employees want across all age cohorts in the public sector. Further, the desire to work hard and do a good job is a value that employees bring to the job, not something created on the job, though organisational circumstances can enhance or repress the expression of employees’ desire to work: the work ethic is resultant from our cultural heritage, upbringing and value systems. Therefore, there is a need to investigate whether the expectations of employees vary because of age, and additional research is warranted to identify whether there are
differences and similarities between the different age groups and between employees and managers. This is necessary in order to assess organisational policies and practices and whether there is an alignment between employees’ and managers, and how organisational policies meet their expectations.
3.5 Conclusion
This chapter has reviewed evidence regarding population ageing, changing patterns of youth employment and declining reproductive rates, along with retirement trends that will impact on future workforce participation. Employment status, workforce composition and participation levels all contribute to the rise in concern about maintaining Australia’s and Tasmania’s ability to ensure a capable and productive workforce for the future. As well, the chapter highlighted the need for HR policies and practices to consider and address the age factors in order to achieve a productive and engaged workforce.
For individuals, retirement has changed and may involve a different pattern in which working involves flexibility to meet individual needs and where organisations can adapt to providing different working arrangements. This chapter examined the different decisions made by people approaching retirement and how the meaning of retirement has changed. The chapter also considered the topic of generational differences in the workplace and whether there was consensus that changes to workforce conditions and working patterns appear to be necessary to meet each generation’s needs and requirements.
The demographic change to the Australian population and workforce composition noted above requires organisations to consider how to remain competitive in the labour market and how to engage and retain motivated employees. The significant impact of having a substantial number of older employees leaving the workforce will impact on an organisation being able to retain this group by providing difference employment arrangements.
As noted in this chapter, traditional retirement patterns appear to be changing for a number of reasons. Organisations need to better understand what factors may influence employees’ decisions about remaining in the workforce or when and under what arrangements they will retire. In order for organisations to have effective HR policies and practices that address this and provide for post-retirement work arrangements further research is warranted to ascertain what employees’ perceive as being important in remaining at work.
The next chapter will explore the concept of workplace flexibility and how flexible work can address the needs and requirements of individuals and organisations.