Youngergenerationitus

By Alistair Lamont, International Practice Director, the alphaeight institute: www.alphaeight.com

A conversation I seem to be repeatedly having at the moment with middle managers across Asia concerns a disease they all seem to be coming down with, namely youngergenerationitus. The conversation usually starts with the manager saying they have this invasion of younger people into their team and it’s causing them all kinds of problems.

Symptoms

When I ask them to describe the symptoms, they say it mainly manifests itself as huge bouts of frustration whenever they try to manage, communicate or motivate them. Tell me more, I say, and they often launch into a tirade of frustrations revolving around the younger generation’s:

• lack of attention
• lack of respect for existing rules
• lack of loyalty
• attitude to work that is all about ‘getting away with doing the minimum’

“And don’t get me started on customer service,” they sigh. The conversation usually ends with an exasperated and resigned manager saying, “They live in a different world.”

Youngergenerationitus has many symptoms, but if you want a cure don’t treat the symptoms—treat the disease. So let’s look at this disease. Youngergenerationitus is most commonly caused by a belief and an assumption that is present in some Generation X managers:

• The belief: the world is the way I see it and have experienced it—so you need to see it my way, even though you did not grow up with any of my generation’s experiences and you are unable to constantly read my mind or physically transport yourself into my body and brain.
• The assumption: you know my beliefs, understand them and go along with them. Also we don’t need to discuss or incorporate your way of seeing the world, because my way is the right way—and this way has always worked for me and others.

Youngergenerationitus has some significantly negative effects on the relationships between younger and older generations including: tension, resentment and frustration. In extreme circumstances it leads to another rather nasty side effect called high turnover rate. The No.1 reason most people leave a job is because of their manager. So, if you are a manager suffering from youngergenerationitus what can you do? Well there is a cure that can be administered in two stages:

• Stage 1: understanding
• Stage 2: managing with understanding in mind

Stage 1: understanding

When you start to:

• really understand the way that the younger generation sees the world and why
• compare it to how you see the world and why it might differ

You can then start to be mindful of two key things when you are managing younger generations on a day-to-day basis:

• Their and your needs—you may not always be able to accommodate their needs but it’s good to know what they are because there is often an opportunity for compromise or even just to acknowledge them. After all it’s not all about you doing what they want—it should work both ways. Also when you understand they have different needs, and see the world differently you may also realise that you too should communicate your needs and way of seeing the world to them—so they can understand you better next time.
• Their strengths—there are two sides to every coin. Through understanding you can start to see strengths where perhaps before you only saw problems and weaknesses. When you understand these strengths you can then use them to help you, the staff themselves and the whole team to succeed.

What follows are some typical examples of these differences—to help HR managers understand the reality they face when dealing with the younger generation.

• I see them as technology addicts
• They see themselves as technology savvy
• I see myself as not putting technology before human contact
• They see me as technology resistant
• I think that they question everything, are challenging and difficult
• They think of themselves as asking questions so they can make informed decisions
• I see myself as respecting authority
• They see me as a ‘yes man’

Stage 2: managing with understanding in mind
Once you have a good understanding of where they are coming from, you need to be mindful of this whenever you are managing them. There are many ways of doing this which can be used to great success—the key is keeping their way of seeing the world in mind as well as yours. There are many other cures for youngergenerationitus but I find this one works pretty well. So if you ever come down with it or know someone that is suffering right now then please pass on this article—so they can get well soon.

This article is published in HR Magazine Autumn 2011 issue