By Karen Gentry | MiBiz
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WEST MICHIGAN — When traveling on an airplane, a 20-something watches a movie, peruses Facebook and plays a computer game at the same time.

A worker over 60 is willing to do the same repetitive job for decades for the same company.

A competitive Baby Boomer willingly works 70 hours per week while a 30-something seeks more of a work/life balance.

Younger workers may not be as comfortable with face-to-face interactions preferring text messaging.

These are examples of some of the differences of the four generations in the workforce today. Managing the four distinct generations in the workforce has become a hot topic, according to Cindy Daniel, corporate trainer for Not So Basic Training in Muskegon. She spoke on the topic on Sept. 13 to a group of lakeshore businesses at the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce offices. Daniel’s one- to two-hour sessions on the topic review generational differences and help participants develop an appreciation of how valuable such differences can be.

Daniels said the four generations include the 60-plus or matures/traditionalists; Baby Boomers in their 40s and 50s, Generation X in their 30s and early 40s and Generation Y in their 20s and early 30s.

“Things that motivate the generations are so different,” said Daniel, noting generations have misconceptions about one another. A traditionalist may have worked for a company for decades, having grown up in the wake of the Great Depression and World War II. Baby Boomers were shaped by the tumultuous 1960s. Generation X may have grown up with both parents working and experienced a lot more divorce. But Daniel describes Generation Y as the most different — a child-focused generation that has grown up with fast-changing technology.

Employers can ignore the differences at their own peril as generational differences can result in increased and expensive employee turnover, frustration and conflicts.

“It definitely affects employee turnover and retention of employees because if you can’t provide a work environment where people want to work, they’re not going to stay,” Daniel told MiBiz.

Daniel said her classes are a fun way to help business leaders understand why their employees act the way they do and are the way they are.

Dave Smith, president and CEO of The Employers Association, has been speaking on generational differences for seven years, a topic that has been requested by employers. He encourages participants of each session to consider what motivates each generation, whether it is loyalty to the organization or loyalty to themselves. He does organizational analyses to explore communications deficiencies.

“If you have a more mature workforce, they’re very, very loyal to the job and will probably do exactly what they’re told,” Smith said. “The younger workforce may want to talk and gain support from peers. The direction with older workforces is different than the younger. The way you manage them is different.”

Smith said you may send written communications home with more mature workers, while the younger workers prefer electronic messages. Baby Boomers thrive in a competitive environment and like to challenge authority.

All generations have a value and can make a contribution. The key for employers is to maximize the contributions rather than just identify the differences in generation, according to Smith. He said ignoring the differences can lead to mixed messages and crossed signals affecting productivity. Some workers may sit around and wait for direction while other may go out and do it on their own and may do it wrong.

“Look at each group of employees and why they are the way they are. Appeal to those values, but don’t compromise your standards,” Smith said.

He said a diverse workforce can be very effective but managers need supervisory communications training to “maximize the success of the generations of that mix that you have.”

“A very experienced management group is going to have a hard time communicating with an entering workforce who has very little of the same values,” said Smith.

He noted startups and technology companies are examples of organization that are doing it right because of new hiring compared to established organizations that tend to work with employees they already hired.

Smith said a couple of years ago, a company with a younger workforce in a service industry required workers take a standardized, pencil and paper test with the first nine months of employment. Despite a 20-percent pay increase upon completion of the test, employees were not taking the test. The company decided to scan the test and put it online so workers could read it at home and take the test on their own time.

“Suddenly about 90 percent were taking the test,” said Smith, noting sometimes minor adjustments yield big results.

Daniel said there are non-monetary ways to motivate employees including employee of the month awards, doughnuts, gift cards or allowing employees to leave work if they get their work done.