Contemporary approach to the generations transition and cooperation at modern working place

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Contemporary approach to the generations transition and cooperation at modern working place

Сучасним підхід до зміни поколінь та співпраці на робочому місці

Лепейко Тетяна Іванівна,

доктор економічних наук, професор Університету Миколая Коперника Цихетнер Даніела, аспірант Харківськии національнии економічнии університет імені Семена Кузнеця

Lepeyko Tetiana,

Dr. of Sciences in Economics, professor University of Nikolaus Kopernikus

Daniela Zehetner, Phd student, Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics

Оскільки нове покоління працівників увійшло в робоче середовище, питання продуктивної співпраці різних поколінь стає все більш і більш важливим. Метою даної роботи є дослідження взаємодії між представниками різних поколінь, що дає змогу розробити рекомендації щодо налагодження взаємодії між роботодавцями та працівниками. У дослідженні визначено, що однією з ключових проблем сучасних компаній є зміна поколінь у робочих колективах, яка в багатьох випадках призводить до зниження ефективності діяльності компаній. Таким чином, для кращого розуміння особливостей кожного з них наведено основні характеристики чотирьох поколінь. Окреслено суспільно-політичні події, що впливають на різні покоління, які сформували риси характеру цілих поколінь, зокрема, їх ставлення до праці. Встановлено, що для побудови ефективних відносин із персоналом, який належить до чотирьох різних поколінь, роботодавцям необхідно визначити базові потреби працівників, їх цінності, враховуючи, що роботодавці, як правило, належать до старших поколінь, ніж їхні працівники. Щоб уникнути непорозумінь, керівники повинні знати потреби та бажання своїх підлеглих, які належать до молодого покоління, щоб ефективно організувати робочий процес. У статті розглянуто та висвітлено сильні та слабкі сторони поколінь BB, X, Y та Z, сформульовано основні очікування та надано рекомендації щодо того, як керівникам компанії краще налагодити комунікацію та ефективну співпрацю з трудовими колективами, що складаються з представників різних поколінь. Увага приділяється поколінню Z, яке нещодавно вийшло на ринок праці, тому що менеджери повинні бути готові до специфічних вимог цього покоління в робочому середовищі та повинні усвідомлювати особливості цього покоління, свою мотивацію зробити діяльність компанії більш продуктивною. всі можливі рівні.

Ключові слова: теорія поколінь, різноманіття поколінь на робочому місці, взаємодія поколінь, ринок праці.

As the new generation of workers has entered the working environment so far, the issue of productive collaboration of different generations rises up becoming more and more crucial. The purpose of this paper is to study the interaction between representatives of different generations, which makes it possible to develop recommendations for establishing interaction between employers and employees. The study defines that one of the key problems of modern companies is the change of generations in the work teams, which in many cases leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the companies' activities. Thus, main characteristics of four generations were given for better understanding the peculiarities of each one. Social and political events that influences different generations were outlined, which formed the traits of whole generations, in particular, their attitude to work. It was established that in order to build effective relations with personnel belonging to four different generations, employers need to determine the basic needs of employees, their values, taking into account that the employers as a rule belong to elder generations than their employees. To omit misunderstanding, managers should know the needs and wants of their subordinates belonging to younger generation to organize the working process effectively. In the article the strengths and weaknesses of the BB, X, Y and Z generations were considered and highlighted, the main expectations were formulated and recommendations were made on how company managers can better establish communication and effective cooperation with labor teams consisting of representatives of different generations. The attention is paid to Generation Z that has entered the labor market recently because managers should be ready for specific demands of this generation in the working environment and they must realize the specific features of this generation, their motivation to make the company activities more productive at all possible levels.

Keywords: theory of generations, diversity of generations in the workplace, interaction of generations, labor market.

Introduction

generation interaction employer employee

According to the latest report, the key global demographic trends today are the increase of lifetime, as well as the retirement age and percentage of aging population. Considering UN data, expected lifetime for the world population as a whole was 45.7 years in 1950, 64.2 years in 1990, and 72.6 years in 2019; the retirement age in almost all developed countries reaches 65-67 years now [1]. These circumstances lead to a longer active economic life of a person than before, people work longer, and several generations interact at the working place at the same time.

The most important one is the fact that young people do not exert such pressure on labor markets as before. First of all, due to the fact that it is not enough and, besides, it is partially oriented to foreign markets. Moreover, young people are more reserved than other generations when it comes to such motives as career, earnings, and responsibility. Instead, young people focus on such values as interesting work, free time, and a flexible schedule. The paradigm of sharing, not ownership, is also quite common among young people. In general, unprecedented age diversity will mean that age will either lose its decisive importance in the labor market, or will be present in the market in the form of expanded requests such as "energetic young person", "experienced specialist", "expert in the prime of life", etc.

Formulation of the goals of the article

The goals of the article are to propose the contemporary approach to the generations transition and cooperation at modern working place.

Presenting main material

Nowadays actual tendency is the transition from Baby Boomer (BB) generation to generation X because the Baby Boomer generation will retire in the nearest future, leaving the subsequent generation X to take over, continue and possibly change the jobs and positions through their own values and attitudes.

A number of scientists investigate characteristics and features of different generations such as Absolventa, Berkup, Einramhof-Florian, Holste, Mangelsdorf, Y. Scholz, Schnetzer Simon and others [1-15]. Comparative analysis of the four generation's working at the modern labour market characteristics is presented in Table 1.

Some differences and similarities between the four generations in the labour market currently are important for cooperation. In order to determine what demands are on the working environment and what attitudes towards the employer are present, the following features are considered: attitude towards work, organisational structure, motivational factors, technology, cooperation, communication and technology.

According to the Edge study [4], generation BB is significantly more likely than generation X to have the freedom to conform at work while generation X has a higher need for authenticity and balance. It was also found that the three generations BB, X and Y put less emphasis on intrinsic motivatio n at work than previously thought. It was a widespread assumption that generation X is inquisitive and has great value on being able to learn at work. Generation X's attitude to work is inspired by social change in the company if it matches their personal passion and commitment, whereas generation BB is more likely to be influenced by major social or political changes. Generation BB people are seen as committed, MAs who enjoy working [2], who are willing to work hard and do overtime. This was confirmed by a study [5].

If we compare the generations on the operational readiness now, we can see that this has changed significantly over the generations. Since the BBs were brought up in a time of discipline and obedience, they are ready to show full commitment in the field of work, because they are fixed to their professional success and the achievement of their personal goals. For payment they are also prepared to work overtime. The attitude of generation X, on the other hand, is somewhat different. Generation X, who are also characterised by a high level of commitment, but for whom time with family and friends is also important. Since they spent little time with their parents in their own childhood, as they spent a lot of time working, it is important to them not to repeat these mistakes. For these MAs, the flexible organisation of working hours is important in order to be able to organise their private life freely. For generation Y, the motivation to work is characterised by opportunities for personal development. Young people are interested in finding personal fulfilment in their professional life and to have professional success. However, unlike the Baby Boomers, they have little interest in fully committing themselves to professional life. They are eager to complete the tasks assigned to them, but they want to determine the implementation and time allocation themselves. Compared to previous generations, generation Z is anxious to complete their tasks in a fixed working time, not to work overtime, and to have a clear separation between work and private life. In exceptional cases, they are also willing to work overtime, but they demand a free working day for that [8].

Table 1. Comparative analysis of main characteristics of the current generation occupying working places

In terms of loyalty to the employer, generation X is inclined to keep the job because of the positive relationship with colleagues. For them, unlike generation BB, it is not the opportunity for development that is in the foreground, but the atmosphere in the team. Generation Y is comfortable with the idea of having several employers in their professional life. Due to the economic volatility, the loyalty towards the employer has decreased [5]. Generation BB MAs are described as loyal, committed and competitive workaholics [9]. Due to their good education, generation Z is not dependent on a specific employer and thus also has the freedom to change jobs if the working conditions or well-being suit them no longer. This flexibility is an advantage for young adults, but a great challenge for companies and managers.

Parry and Urwin mentioned that generation BB is part of the understanding of their work ethic when taking on responsibility and because of their good leadership skills, they currently make up the majority of managers [9, pp. 79-80]. Generation X does have career success as a goal; however, due to their openness to a quick change of job, this is often not only possible with their current employer. Compared to their predecessors, generation Y and generation Z have no ambition to take on major responsibilities. In particular, generation Z shows clearly an increase in rejection of taking on responsibility, because fewer and fewer young people want to take on leadership positions even though they have a better level of education. Generation BB hardly has a clear idea of what the younger generations are, how work is to be done and how assigned tasks must be completed. The understanding of other attitudes is often not present due to the lack of knowledge about the younger generation. The younger ones want to organise and organise the completion of the tasks assigned to them themselves [8, p. 126]. Transparency, autonomy and flexibility are particularly important to generation Z in their professional environment and are considered non-negotiable. Without consideration of these factors, morale and commitment will be significantly reduced.

The personal motivation of the generations is shaped differently. Whereas the Baby Boomers tend to act out of personal interest, generation X cares about the impression they make on their environment. Generation Y, like generation BB, has personal motivating factors such as luxurious status symbols and clothing. Generation Z, on the other hand, is anxious to satisfy the wishes and ideas of their parents and to make them be proud [8, pp. 14-23]. Thus, Einramhof-Florian identified seven factors that contribute significantly to the work motivation of generation [5, pp. 61-65]: challenge in the workplace, remuneration for work performance, collegial working environment, company location, career opportunity, work-life balance, further training opportunities.

According to Edge study, generation X is less patient than their predecessors, generation BB, as they are not willing to wait long for promotions, and they are clearly more dissatisfied with their careers progression. They usually demand immediate recognition for their work efforts through praise, promotion or more salary. Generation Y feels neglected in the recognition of their performance and feels that the respect they receive is too little [4, pp. 144-145]. Job stability, interesting tasks and the possibility of a fast career move are strong motivating factors for generation Y, as they are willing to make a commitment to their professional success. For them, success, career and money are the most important things to get ahead in the consumer society. For generation Z, on the other hand, career is not at the forefront of their motivation. They want to change the world and value job stability more. However, it is also important for them to develop their own talents, to receive recognition or even a promotion. For generation BB and generation X, a high salary, as well as stability and security in the workplace are the most important motivating factors as the main motivators for generation Z are fun, passion and also money.

Generation X wants to be independent and self-reliant and sees hierarchical levels mainly as a career goal. To achieve these goals, they prefer to work for themselves and require very little management control. However, they expect to be told exactly what is expected o f them so that they can work efficiently on the realisation of the goals. Due to the lack of role models, due to their resignation because of the economic crisis, they are distrustful of the leaders and often ask the existing authorities [8, pp. 14-23, 142-143]. Generation Z, on the other hand, needs mentors as leaders in order to be able to share their ideas openly and to satisfy their desire for recognition. Whereas generation Y would rather be independent and prefer freedom of development [10, pp. 480]. Generation BB has grown up under clear hierarchies, subordinates itself to the existing structures and can work well with them. They want to adhere to the structures so that they can move up the career ladder [8, pp. 14-23, 142-143]. In comparison to other generations they perceive flat hierarchies as very important [13, p. 7]. The following generations are more sceptical about strict hierarchies. The younger generations were found to reject being subordinated by hierarchical structures. They prefer subordination on the basis of performance or expertise, which reduces acceptance of the seniority principle [13, p. 11]. Generation Y wants performance to mean more than age and work experience and therefore disagrees with the seniority principle practised in many companies for the most part. As the following figure below, generation Y is primarily against preferential treatment according to the seniority principle [13, p. 11]. The younger generations have no understanding for hierarchies, based on seniority and not on experience and knowledge.

The following is a summary of the generational characteristics and factors related to the work environment presented in Table 2.

Table 2. The summary of the generational characteristics and factors related to the cooperation

Today, employers and managers have to show flexibility, which requires large-scale systemic changes: cultural and operational, together with adoption of a new way of thinking, openness in demonstrating socially responsible behavior, creating a new corporate culture that would support cultural diversity, recognition, development and opportunities for alternative employment.

With generation Z, a completely new type of employee enters the labor market. Unlike previous generations who worked hard and made a commitment to their company, Generation Z does not want to give too much of themselves to the company. It tries to separate private life and work, to which it does not want to devote too much time. To organize the best interaction of different generations in the workplace, it is necessary to understand what employee behavior the company needs to achieve its goals, identify the "pain points" of employees that prevent them from being effective, and work with the problems of each generation, taking into account their needs, which, having one and the same source of the problem can be completely different.

The direction of further research in this field is to identify the peculiarities of the interaction of generations in the conditions of online work.

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4. Einramhof-Florian, H. (2017). Empirischer Teil. In: Die Arbeitszufriedenheit der Generation Y. Springer, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-15158-4_3.

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6. Holste, J. H. (2012). Arbeitgeberattraktivitat im demographischen Wandel: Eine multidimensionale Betrachtung. Vol. 1: Springer-Verlag.

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8. Mangelsdorf, M. (2015). Von Babyboomer bis Generation Z: Der richtige Umgang mit unterschiedlichen Generationen im Unternehmen: GABAL Verlag GmbH.

9. Ng, E.S., Parry, E. (2016). «Multigenerational research in human resource management». In Research in personnel and human resources management (pp. 1-41). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

10. Цz^elik, G. (2015). «Engagement and retention of the millennial generation in the workplace through internal branding». International Journal of Business and Management. vol. 10(3), pp. 99.

11. Scholz, C., Grotefend, L.-D. (2019). «Generation Z in Germany: The (Un)Typical German?» In C. Scholz & A. Rennig (Eds.), The changing context of managing people. Generations Z in Europe: Inputs, insights and implications/ edited by Christian Scholz, Anne Rennig (pp. 169-197). United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing.

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14. Timmermann, S. (2007). «What a difference a generation makes: How our life experiences shape our viewpoints and behaviors». Journal of Financial Service Professionals. vol. 61(3), pp. 25.

15. Zemke, R., Raines, C., Filipczak, B. (2013). Generations at work: Managing the clash of Boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Yers in the workplace: Amacom.

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