SWE - Spring 2008 - (Page 44) What Generation Gap? Jennifer J. Deal, Ph.D., thinks the flap about the generation gap is overdone. In her book, Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground, she explained that the conflicts among generations have little to do with differences in what people of different generations want at work. Conflicts are fundamentally about clout — who has it and who wants it. “The so-called generation gap is, in large part, the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, fueled by common insecurities and the desire for clout (authority, power, and control),” said Dr. Deal. “The generation gap is blamed for conflicts that really have nothing to do with fundamental generational differences. Most conflicts have everything to do with the natural desire of older people to maintain their clout — and the desire of younger people to increase their clout.” Dr. Deal’s research on more than 3,000 leaders shows a number of commonalities between the generations: I People of all generations want to be able to trust their supervisors I No generation really likes change I All generations like feedback I The number of hours employees put in at work depends more on their level in the organization than on their generation throughout their careers — and so did their experience. Jennifer Deal, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership, added that they had reason to do so. “For boomers, staying with the same employer was often an economic necessity because of a bad economy and the competition for jobs rather than real choice,” she observed. She believes that under the same economic conditions, millennials would prove no less loyal than boomers. However, with today’s demand for engineers, millennials can move among L-R: Millennial Jenni Haines, strategy and planning manager, and boomer Peggy Koch, information technology engineer, blend their talents and experience at Hewlett-Packard’s Inkjet Supplies Business Unit. employers. They value the experience they gain from different sources. Gen Yers also have a tendency to move. They watched their parents get laid off in previous downturns and thus don’t feel loyalty is in their best interests. As a result of the current demand for engineers, Kropp regularly sees resumes showing frequent job changes. Millennials and Gen Yers seek the best opportunities to expand their knowledge, whether at their current companies or elsewhere, and thus explore as many career options as possible. “In general, it seems that college students are not expecting to work for the same company their entire careers. They seem more open to joining another company to get the best opportunity,” explained Katie Wentling, production team leader at the DuPont Sabine River Works site. The biggest challenge for today’s recruiters, especially in such traditional industries as oil, gas, energy, healthcare, aerospace, and defense, and in federal and local government agencies, is attracting a dwindling pool of talent. According to Sarah Zehr, assistant dean and director of Engineering Career Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with boomers retiring, companies find it difficult to hire experienced people. Until recently, many of the older industries weren’t hiring in great numbers. Thus, the expertise that a sufficient number of mid-career people would normally offer to incoming engineers isn’t there. Companies must depend on less-experienced employees to fill job vacancies. With 20 percent 44 SWE SPRING 2008
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