Monday, December 21, 2009

Is your employer clueless about your needs?


As you can see from the previous post on Generation Y, anything to do with stereotypes in the workplace generates a lot of discussion. I decided to explore the issue further, really looking at what impacts us on the job -- is it our age? Our "generation"? Or is it something more than that? Here's a column I did for Gannett -- it certainly got me thinking more about this issue.


How old are you?

To what generation do you belong?

Based on the answers you give to those two questions, you probably are being treated a certain way in the workplace. Because of when you were born, your manager or co-workers may talk to you differently, react to you in specific ways or have preconceived notions about what you like and dislike.

For some, that may be OK. But for the majority? Kathy Lynch says they “hate it.”

Lynch, director of employer engagement at the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College, says that employers must understand that they have to look beyond an employee’s chronological age and the generational stereotypes that go with it or they can’t begin to really engage employees. If they can’t engage employees, productivity and innovation will suffer – and top talent will go elsewhere.

At the same time, Lynch says individuals also must understand that their age and generation may not truly define who they are, and they can become more “empowered” if they look at their lives in a different way.

For example, while baby boomers may be thought of as nearing retirement, the truth is that many in their 50s these days have begun new careers in new industries and may be more than 20 or more years from retiring – if they retire at all, Lynch says.

Lynch says that’s why her organization believes it makes more sense for individuals and companies to look at age and generations in the workplace in terms of:

1. Life stages. “This is where you are in life, such as being married or single, or having children,” she says.

2. Career status. “Are you defined by your relationship with your employer? Do you have a job or do you have your own identity?” she asks.


“We’ve found through our studies and workshops that depending on how people identified their stages, their experience in the workplace is different and what they’re looking for is different,” she says.


For example, Lynch says people who defined themselves as “early career” ranged in age from their late teens to mid-60s. But no matter the age, those in this career stage tended to say they were “less satisfied” with the meaning of their work. On the other hand, those who said they were “late career” ranged in age from their early 20s to their 80s and found “more meaning” in their work when at this stage, she says.


What employers can learn from these answers is that an employee deciding to leave a company may not have anything to do with his age or satisfaction with his work, but rather on where he identifies himself in his career. Lynch explains that a worker in his late 20s saying he is “late career” may be saying that he is ready to move on because he believes the employer has nothing left to offer.


While many experts caution that employers need to be projecting the retirement rates of older workers so that they can plan for future staffing needs, Lynch says it may make more sense to forget about specific ages and generations of workers, and instead focus on the “career plans” of workers. It doesn’t mean that age and generation should be completely dismissed because those things do impact people, Lynch says, but stereotypes can hamper getting the best from employees.


“Just because they’re 60 doesn’t mean they’re thinking about retirement,” she says. “They might be, but they might be thinking of a different job or a flexible work arrangement or staying and doing the exact same thing they are now. There are 50-year-olds looking for growth in their careers, and their employers need to be offering them training and opportunities.”


At the same time, Lynch says it’s not just employers that need to look at these age and engagement issues “through a different lens.”


“Many people in our workshops have these ‘ah hah!’ moments when we help them look at where they are in their career, no matter what their age,” she says. “We ask them to define their age in a more holistic way. It gives them a real sense of empowerment because they learn to ask themselves what’s most important to them right now, at this stage of their lives and career.”


Have you gone through different stages in your work life and what's important to you?


share


8 comments:

Jonathan said...

What is important to me at this stage in life is to know my strengths and weaknesses; to know what I have to give and how best to give it. My employer understands I am in a "training" or "foundation" stage of my career/life. He encourages me and it makes me a happier and more productive worker.

Anita said...

Jonathan,
Nice to see that your employer "gets" it! You've obviously done a good job in communicating with your manager and in getting feedback. Great!

Rick Saia, CPRW said...

Alluding to Jonathan's comment, you need to know your strengths and weaknesses at every stage in life. Of course, that can change with time; how we look at things in our 50s is very different from how we see them when we're in our 20s.

Then, of course, your life situation can have a strong bearing on what you want to do and how you want to go about doing it. For instance, having a family changes your outlook in several different ways, so someone in his or her 20s today will likely make different decisions - or at least ask different question that lead to those decisions - in 25 or 30 years.

Nice post!

Anita said...

Rick,
Thanks for adding your thoughts. Happy holidays!

Kareem said...

This is a great question and you have some great points of interest. Basically, a good employer will seek you out and find out what your needs are. A bad employer is just the opposite.

Anita said...

Kareem,
I think you're right about good employers, but I think you also have to do some soul searching about where you are in your life and what's important to you...I think that's key in figuring out what job, company and career is the best fit for you. Thanks for stopping by and sharing a comment!

Anthony said...

Perhaps it's also important to realise not only what stage you're at, but at what stage your employer thinks you're at.

Anita said...

Anthony,
Well said! That's why it's important to have good communications with your employer, so you're both on the same page regarding your career and your future.