Generations in the Workplace: Insights from Adolescent Health

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Generations in the Workplace Insights from
Adolescent Health

• Christine M. Gilroy, MD, MSPH
• Associate Professor
• Div. General Internal Medicine

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Disclaimers

• I dont do OD work, but because my husband
  does..
• Thanks to Jennifer ODonnell, PhD, and Mountain
  States Employers Council for sharing resources
• This is usually an 8 hour seminar

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Warning

• When this information is used to pigeonhole
  people, it becomes a dangerous weapon.

When we use it to ask ourselves How can I be
more effective? it becomes a valuable tool.
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Physicians as Managers

• As physicians we manage
• Patients
• Ancillary staff
• Residents/Interns/Medical Students
• Data and Strategies from Best Management
  Practices can inform and ease our practice as
  physicians, teachers, and managers

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Objectives

• What is a generation?
• What shapes each generation?
• How does each generation show up?
• How can we relate to each generation more
  effectively?

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Guess When

• Pupils entering school cannot write well. Their
  thoughts are immature, they are miserably
  expressed, and they do not know how to spell.

1694, Harvard University
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Guess When

• Our earth is degenerated in those latter days
  there are signs that the world is speedily coming
  to an end bribery and corruption are common, and
  children do not obey their parents.

around 2800 BC, hieroglyphic inscription on an
Assyrian tablet
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Generational Peer Groups

• Peer group a group whose members share a common
  historical location and have similar experiences

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Generational Markers

• Adversity/the economy
• Social events
• Politics
• Education
• Organizational structure/practice
• Technology media

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Adversity/The Economy
Depression WW2 Nuclear proliferation Pensions
Cash or lay-away 14 ? mortgage A penny saved
More security US as dominant world
power Explosion of products Consumption Credit
More mobility Children in the
spotlight Suburbia
Return to adversity Stock-market crash Gas
lines Recession (avg of 10 wks/year) Layoffs Downs
izing No more pensions 40 ? mortgage
Dow Jones records Affluence Globalization You
deserve this Parents both work Very positive
outlook
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Social Events
Womens rights Segregation Unions Low
mobility Strong community Strong family
structure
Times 1967 Man of the Year Civil rights Malcolm
X Dr. King Sit-ins and protests The pill Rock
roll Drugs Communes Woodstock Space exploration
AIDS Challenger explosion Both parents
work Divorce soars Latch-key TV
violence Diversity Dot-com boom PC movement
9/11 Columbine Children-focused Overplanning Helic
opter parents WIKI
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Politics
FDR 12 years The New Deal WW2 ERA
(1923) Prohibition McCarthyism The Bomb Cold
War Patriotism Social Security
Vietnam Watergate Civil rights Assassinations Roe
v Wade Brown v Board of Education
Watergate Nixon resigns Gulf War on TV Berlin
Wall fell Cold War Perestroika
9/11 Terrorism/fear Desert Storm Clinton
scandals Globalism Immigration Women in
leadership roles
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Education
8th grade education Limited access Segregated
schools Learning through experience
Sputnik (1957) Brown v Board of Education More
women in college Graded on more than academics
Graduate degrees Creative education Independence I
nclusion
School safety Advanced degrees Home-schooling Stud
ent-led curricula Mobile education Helicopter
parents
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Organizational Structure/Practice
The Industrial Age Hierarchy Clear
authority Unions Promotion based on tenure Manual
labor Loyalty to US companies
Hierarchy Team-oriented More women Low
diversity Reward for how much they work
The Technology Age Free agency Contract
work Flatter organizations Entrepreneurial No
more pensions Reward for quality of work
The Knowledge Age Flatter organizations Multi-cult
ural, global businesses Mobile offices Worthy
causes
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Work Ethic
Dedicated Dutiful Willing to pay dues Climb
ladder with longevity Loyal to the
company Task-focused
Driven Climb ladder by working harder Personal
identity tied to work Team-oriented Process-focuse
d Live to work
Balance Fun Quality of life Climb ladder by
working smarter Work is place to grow, not
age Work to live
Determined Tenacious Achievement-focused Climb
ladder with good ideas, potential Do exactly
whats asked
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Work Culture Relationships
Fair consistent management Methodical approach
Respect chain of command Directive Clearly-define
d roles Clear expectations
Humane work Democratic Cordial,
non-confrontational Real work teams Treated as
whole beings Treated as friendly equals Strong
relationships
Balanced Training valued Respectful of
autonomy Independent Casual Reluctant to
commit Fast-paced Creative Flexible Efficient Earn
ed titles Hands-off manager
Egalitarian, inclusive culture Fun Organization
is making a difference Positive, optimistic
Multiple roles encouraged Diversity
embraced Coaching, support Collaborative
Achievement-oriented
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Leadership Style
Autocratic Authoritarian Hierarchical Inaccessible
Football team
Participative By consensus Accessible Soccer
team
Self-directed Hands-off Collaborative Swim
team
Cooperative Collaborative Inclusive Open
Anyone can join our team
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View of Authority
Respectful Follow the rules By-the-book The final
word
Love-hate Anti-bureaucracy Relationships come
first Need to know why
Unimpressed Skeptical Not fond of rules
Polite Relaxed Respectful Help create the rules
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Communication Preferences
One-way Top-down Limited Reluctant to
disagree Respectful of power structures
Two-way Lateral Open Unafraid to challenge, ask
why? Expressive Egalitarian
Direct Unafraid to challenge PC Brief Informal Fac
ts, details Cell, email, text message
Inclusive Respectful All-way Open
Networking Lots of information
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Communication Dos
Written, typed On letterhead Signatures in
ink Face-to-face Direct Respectful,
tactful Correct grammar Formal, polite
Face-to-face In groups, meetings Attention to
detail Honest, open Provide the context Confirm
to close the loop
PC Brief Informal Facts, details Cell, email,
text message
Very informal Immediate, FAST Cell, email, text
message, IM, blogs Expressive
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Communication Donts
Profanity Slang Emotional language Disorganization
Poor grammar Disrespect for their
experience Assuming can address them by first
names
Brusqueness Unfriendliness Not showing interest
in them Shows of power War metaphors
Schmoozing Inefficient use of time Flashiness Exa
ggeration Corporatespeak Acronyms Complex
policies Meetings
Cynicism Sarcasm Unfairness Condescension Divisive
ness
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Misperceptions of Millennials?

• Millennials are a polarizing generation.
• Millennials are far too demanding when it comes
  to needing guidance, frequent performance
  appraisals, rapid career advancement, work life
  balancethey are well educatedbut suffering from
  a deficit of common sense.
• Ron Alsop, The Trophy Kids Grow Up

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• Millenials, You Raised Them, Now Manage Them
• Nadira Hira, Fortune 5/28/07

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Adolescence

• The psychosocial development of a child into an
  adult
• A cultural construct
• Age span has changed significantly since Piaget
  first described in 1948
• Starts with puberty, and changes in information
  and emotional processing associated with sexual
  development
• Ends with physical and financial independence,
  formation of mature relationships, assumption of
  a profession or vocation, the capacity for formal
  inductive reasoning, and socially responsible
  participation in society

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Ages of Adolescence
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Tasks of Psychosocial Development
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Independence

• Overprogramming
• Privacy, Day-dreaming, Fantasy, Play necessary
  for internal development, particularly in early
  adolescence
• The Trophy Kid
• Preparing for college since nursery school
• credentials-driven
• The Helicopter Parent
• Fear of Independence
• Growing old
• Reflected glow
• Repair relationship with parent by not causing
  kid to rebel

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Peer and Social Relationships

• Web 2.0
• Wide networks of shallow relationships
• Display very personal information very widely
• Social currency through number of contacts
  instead of personal relationships
• Delayed Intimacy
• Average age of sexual debut, marriage increasing
• Friends with benefits

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Risk-Taking

• CDCs Youth Risk Behavior Survey 07
• Increased age of sexual debut
• Decreased teen pregnancy
• Fewer teen sex partners
• Decreased episodes of binge drinking
• Fewer teens using substances

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Risk-Taking

• Pew Research Center Survey of 18-25 yo
• 75 believe casual sex more prevalent
• 70 believe more violence in relationships
• 70 believe there is an increase in binge
  drinking
• 63 believe there is increased illegal drug use
• 20 have abused prescription and OTC drugs

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Perceived vs. Actual Sexual Risk
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Cognition

• Brain Maturation
• Medial Prefrontal Cortex, Parietal Cortex, and
  Superior Temporal Cortex not fully myelinated
  until mid-20s
• Amygdala is more active in teens and early adults
• Nucleus Accumbens responds minimally to small
  rewards, exaggeratedly to medium and large
  rewards
• Giedd, J, JAH April 2008

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Cognition

• mPFC, Amygdala, and STS are involved in
• Executive Function
• Risk Assessment
• Decision Making
• Impulse inhibition
• Social Cognitive Ability
• Facial emotion recognition
• Perspective taking
• Parietal Cortex involved in abstract reasoning
• Blakemore, S, QJ Exp Psych Mar 2007

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Cognition

• Reward Center on overdrive
• Immature impulse control
• Immature task focus
• Brains work much harder to filter competing
  tasks/choices
• Misinterpret emotional faces
• Cant consistently project outcomes of an action
• Jordan, K, Nature April 2002

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Generational Parenting Styles

• The Silent Generation
• Youth should be guided, molded.
• Too much affection or praise would make a youth
  weak, dependant, conceited.
• Values Society gt Family gt Self

• Baby Boomers
• Permissive Parenting
• Held the psychoanalytic view that full
  gratification of infantile sucking, excretory and
  genital needs is essential for secure and
  healthful adult personalities.
• In 1946, Dr. Spocks edition of Baby and Child
  Care recommended that children be granted maximum
  freedom of expression.

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Authoritative Parenting
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Aspects of Parenting Styles

• Demandingness or Control
• Active monitoring, setting and enforcing clear
  standards of behavior, demanding, limit/standard
  setting, discipline, maintaining structure and
  regimen in childs daily life. NOT physical
  punishment, love withdrawal, shaming, or
  infliction of guilt.
• Responsiveness or Warmth
• Affectionate, accepting, comforting, reliability,
  supportiveness, recognition for achievement,
  love, nurture, caring.

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Millennial Parenting Experience

• High Warmth
• Control expressed mostly through expectations,
  few boundaries
• 2006 study of 32 graduate schools
• 56 of business students had cheated
• 47 of non-business students had cheated
• Few Choices with Consequences
• High Involvement, Low Autonomy

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The New Golden Rule

• Do unto others as
• they would want you to do unto them

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Boomers and Xers

• overly ambitious
• aim to please
• rigid
• too corporate
• judgmental
• workaholic

• not serious
• overly challenging
• abrupt, aloof
• too independent
• not a team player
• neglects rships

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Boomers and Millennials
too serious too into their jobs lecture too
much overly reminiscent aim to please
overconfident inexperienced overly competitive
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Gen Xers and Millennials
cynical patronizing not inclusive standards are
unrealistic
too naïve overly optimistic unfocused
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4 Main Areas of Intergenerational Work Conflict

• Choosing where/when to work
• Communicating among team members
• Getting together
• Finding Information/Learning environment
• Tammy Erickson, Harvard Business Journal 2/16/09

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Choosing Where/When to Work

• Going to worksynchronous workplace
• Younger workers view work as something you
  doanytime anyplace
• Is someone who arrives at 930 working less hard
  than someone who arrives at 830?
• Is it ok for some members to work from alternate
  locations?
• Is adherence to time/place norms important to
  accomplish a task?
• Do some view this as an important sign of team
  commitment?

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Communicating Among Team Members

• X and Y more comfortable with e-communication
• Tech-based team misunderstandings based on
  interpretation of others intentions
• Younger members accustomed to rapid responses
• May feel frustrated or rejected if dont hear
  from older colleagues in timely manner
• Older members may be uncomfortable with digital
  communication
• May feel offended by lack of face-to-face
  communication of left out of loop

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Getting Together

• Boomers and Xers are planners and schedulers,
  Gen Y are coordinators
• Gen Y will ascertain need to meet, use e-comm to
  obtain immediate coordinates, and home in.
• Older colleagues prefer pre-planned
  schedulesdont like seat of the pants approach
• Gen Y see planned schedules as stultifying and
  inefficient

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Finding Information or Learning New Things

• Boomers and Silents are linear learnersattend
  classes, read, then do.
• Gen Y are on-demand learners
• Particularly reach out to personal contacts with
  relevant expertise for information as needed
• Gen Y are likely to be turned off by lengthy
  training phase
• Xer and Boomers may be annoyed by Ys frequent
  questions and requests for input

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Tips for Managing Millennials

• Like team-oriented work and learning
• Checklist kids
• Low threshhold for boredom, SCUT
• May need special coaching around Personal Health
  Information
• Accustomed to flat management
• Accustomed to frequent feedback

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Tips for Managing Millennials

• Ask them to write down learning objectives
• Explain how their work makes a difference
• Particularly with the mundane, explain why its
  meaningful and critical to long-term success
• Emphasize responsibilities
• Add responsibilities quickly
• May need particular help with task anticipation
  and time management

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What Would You Do?

• You are a new manager. One 60-something team
  member has 20 years more experience than you do.
  What type of leadership is she likely to respond
  best to?

• Friendly, fun, flexible, casual
• Collaborative, visible, personal
• Fair, stable, consistent, decisive

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What Would You Do?

• You are a new manager. One 60-something team
  member has 20 years more experience than you do.
  What type of leadership is she likely to respond
  best to?

• Friendly, fun, flexible, casual
• Collaborative, visible, personal
• Fair, stable, consistent, decisive

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What Would You Do?

• One of your employees, a Millennial, is late for
  work more often than not. She depends on her
  friends for rides. How might you begin to tackle
  this issue?

• Call her parents and ask them to either bring her
  to work or make sure she arrives on time.
• With her, brainstorm reliable transportation
  options.
• Offer to pick her up on your way in.

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What Would You Do?

• One of your employees, a Millennial, is late for
  work more often than not. She depends on her
  friends for rides. How might you begin to tackle
  this issue?

• Call her parents and ask them to either bring her
  to work or make sure she arrives on time.
• With her, brainstorm reliable transportation
  options.
• Offer to pick her up on your way in.