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Refreshing

An Ending Era: Workforce Demographics

By Leslie Rothman

The era of the disposable employee is coming to a close. The mindset that has surrounded the workplace since baby boomers aplenty entered it in the 60’s and beyond has been “we can find ready, willing, and capable employees if the ones we have don’t work out.” This attitude mirrors our broader societal context of a world at our disposal, with vast resources available for our use. In Human Resources we’ve worked hard to influence this mindset – represented by our changing terminology from Personnel to Human Resources. By referencing employees as “valuable assets,” “associates,” and now “talent” we have championed the innate value of employees with varying degrees of success.

Changing Demographics

We now have both the opportunity and the necessity to lead a shift in thinking which is as far reaching and fundamental as moving the workplace from the industrial era to the information age. What’s driving this need to shift our thinking? The answer is demographics, in two distinct ways. The number of people departing and entering the workplace as well as the changing mix of generations in the workplace as this ebb and flow occurs.

The number of people departing and entering the workplace

This is a simple result of our changing demographics. It significantly alters the supply and demand curves for employees. “The U.S. birthrate continues to decline. By 2025, 1 in 5 workers will be over age 55. The slowing of the workforce translates to an estimated shortfall of 20 million workers over the next 20 years.”

  • “With retiring baby boomers and a 5.7% decrease in 25-39 year olds by 2010, there will be a shortfall of 7.4 million bachelor degree holders in the workforce by 2012″¹
  • The current recession will slow the exodus of retirement eligible baby boomers.²

However, as employees, this group will seek different organizational roles, many looking for an opportunity to “downshift” their careers, schedules, and work commitments; and eventually they will depart the workforce.

The changing mix of generations in the workplace

The baby boom generation currently makes up the largest percentage of U.S. political, cultural, industrial, and academic leadership. As the reigning leadership group, it will be critical for baby boomers to really understand and accept the very different values and needs of the generations behind them that are becoming a more critical part of the workforce.

Generational Values and Norms

Compare these generational values and norms regarding the workplace:

TRADITIONALS (Born prior to 1946)

Respect for time in a position
Adhere to rules and are loyal to organizations
Value education and sacrifice
Conform to, and respect authority

BABY BOOMERS (1946 -1964)

Focus on values – optimistic about contributions they can make
Team-oriented and expect to have a voice at the table
Value loyalty and “paid their dues”
“Give 110%” -self sacrificing and driven

GEN X ERS (1965 -1980)

Present fresh perspectives, are individualistic
Not intimidated by status, power, authority
Value a fun and stimulating work environment
Focus on family first -between work and home

GEN Y’S (1981-1999)

Value diversity and no gender role bias
Seek out social aspects of the workplace
Present confidence and optimism
Desire clear goals and on-going feedback

When these differing values and motivators mix and mingle in the workplace, there is plenty of opportunity for misunderstandings and un-met needs.

A clear difference with the earlier generations of Traditionals and Baby Boomers and the Gen Xers and Ys is that these newcomers to the workforce are less likely to stick around if work doesn’t provide plenty of ongoing stimulation, fun and learning, and reward them for what they bring to the workplace. They will demand ongoing opportunities for growth, building competence, and continual challenge. Motivating, rewarding, and coaching employees will take prominence in retaining them.

Paradigm Shift

What does this Paradigm Shift mean for us? The “easy come and easy go” mindset must change, or organizations will not be successful. Both the ability to hire and retain will be impacted if an organization can’t make this shift.

An organization’s growth will be limited as well its productivity. You may think, “I’ve heard this already. We have some new programs in place.” However to really change this mindset requires a paradigm shift. The context surrounding how we operate as organizations and leaders must be altered. Good employees will become increasingly harder to find and much quicker to leave. We must treat them with respect and care.

This shift parallels the way we have started to view our larger world and the planet’s resources.The increasingly familiar slogan of reuse, recycle, renew can be applied to our workforce. How about?:

Refresh, Retrain, Renew

If we refresh, retrain, and renew organizations remain strong, vibrant and sustainable.

How can we accomplish this?

This shift in mindset impacts all aspects of HR work. We will need to:

  • Develop policies that match the mantra, like flexible benefits and work schedules, time off, and career and family sabbaticals.
  • Fund solid financial investment that supports career stewardship, personal and professional development.

  • Most importantly, develop tangible incentives for the behaviors and attitudes we want to promote.

Leadership: Critical Area of Focus

Retraining leadership at all levels so they recognize and acknowledge this necessary shift and then adapt new behaviors is the most critical area of focus.

The role of the manager will now require the ability to teach, stimulate, communicate in new ways, and actively promote the growth and support the flexibility of each individual. The long held attitude of “we had to pay our dues, work our way up, put in long hours, sacrifice and stay loyal so they should too” goes the way of the dinosaurs.

Not unlike global warming, the first challenge is to get widespread acknowledgement of the impending landscape. The next step is to create a new vision for our workplaces, then develop policies and programs, shape and model new practices and behaviors, and provide explicit individual and organizational rewards to change the behaviors of past decades.

It takes time, and we have some.

Let’s use it wisely.

 

An Ending Era was reprinted with permission from the Spring H.R. Convention, 2009 and is a copyright publication of Career & Workplace Directions, LLC and cannot be copied without the express written permission of Career & Workplace Directions, LLC. Copyright © 2009 by Leslie Rothman, Career & Workplace Directions.

¹K. Tyler (2002). Neckties to noserings: Earning the trust of a multigenerational workforce. From: www.businessleader.com/bl/aug02/necktiestonoserings.html

²Data from the report, “The Convergence of the Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology: The implications for commerce, business, and policy.” 2007 and the Employment Policy Foundation

Thriving vs. Surviving in the Workplace

by Leslie Rothman

Most of us are living with the concept “lean and mean”. This is the reality of many organizations today. Operating in an increasingly global marketplace forces companies to get the work done with minimal cost and, despite an often voiced “employees are our greatest asset”, this results in a decreased commitment to employees’ long term futures.

As a result, when times are tough, employee cuts are frequently made. Since the late 1980’s I spent a significant amount of my HR management career on the job cutting side, and have been part of numerous downsizing conversations. In my current work as an Outplacement Coach, I have worked with many individuals impacted by position eliminations. The integration of these experiences leads me to the following recommendations on how to maintain your competitive advantage in these challenging times. I call them;

The 3 Keys to Surviving and Thriving in today’s workplace

  1. DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO
  2. LEARN TO WORK EFFECTIVELY IN CONSTANT CHANGE
  3. MANAGE YOUR CAREER STRATEGICALLY
DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO

Frequently people who get cut are surprised because they view themselves as competent, loyal, hardworking, “good performers”. Typically this is all true, and the reality is, that isn’t enough. In these competitive times, to stay in the game, being good isn’t good enough. You need to be GREAT at what you do. It’s typical for at least half the people I see as an outplacement provider to say, “I haven’t really liked my job for a while. I’ve thought about doing something else, but of course I never told anyone that”.

You know what, it showed. People pick up on subtle indications of a lower motivation or decreased enthusiasm. Sometimes it manifests itself in not staying current with your discipline or industry, not putting in extra time, not coming up with new ideas or solutions. Often people have been in their jobs too long and are bored, stale or burned out as a result.

Most of us have busy lives and busy schedules and we don’t take time to think about what we like and are really good. Instead of taking charge of our work lives, we spin frantically on the gerbil wheel.

Take Your Engagement Temperature

There are many ways to take stock of activities that engage you and identify what talents they draw on. A simple way to do this is by using an Engagement Thermometer. Twice a day for 7 days schedule a check-in time to take your “engagement temperature”. At your scheduled check-in, give yourself a 1-3 engagement rating for the day’s activities and note if you’ve been engrossed, in your element, the time flew by or the opposite, you were bored, stressed, or overwhelmed. For the activities you’ve been doing that you rank with a high engagement score, jot down the abilities and skills you tapped into to get that work done. Be as specific as possible about the abilities. Rather than noting, “I was talking to customers on the phone”, specify what you were doing –i.e., helping to solve a problem, answering routine questions, or persuading them to try something new.

After you do this for 7 days, compare the charts and you’ll be surprised at the amount of data you’ve accumulated about yourself. Using this data, develop a career goal that incorporates using the identified engagement activities and abilities more regularly in your work. If you need help with developing a career goal or formulating how to get from where you are to what comes next, seek out a good career resource. This can be a career book like What Color is Your Parachute, career articles on a job board website, or the advice of a Career Coach.

LEARN TO WORK WELL IN CONSTANT CHANGE

Stop fighting and bemoaning changes. I see many people who get stuck in a negative place as a result of changes. This can look like rehashing injustices, blame others or themselves, taking on a “whatever – with a shrug” attitude, or outwardly appearing like everything is fine while inside they are hurt or angry.

These negative attitudes lose customers and they lose jobs, despite your “competence” level. There is much that can be said about how to progress through normal emotional reactions to change without getting stuck in a negative place. Two important strategies are;

  1. Recognize your own response to a change and acknowledge it as where you are. If you see any of the negative behaviors mentioned above in your attitude, pay attention to addressing them. If you aren’t sure, ask a trusted co-worker or friend who will speak candidly, to give you feedback about your attitude. Don’t argue with what they say. Listen, asks questions and then think about what you heard and how you really feel.
  2. Develop 1 -2 short term objectives that will help you move forward. Some examples;
  • Connecting with a positive friend/professional acquaintance who seems to thrive in change and learn from what he/she does.
  • Making a weekly date with yourself to do something enjoyable just for you that
    gives you positive energy
  • Trying a new activity that interests you and has a creative element to it
  • Updating your resume
  • Joining a professional or social association to meet new people

You get the idea. The benefit beyond the positive experience of any one of these specific objectives is the sense of accomplishment you’ll get when you develop and complete your objective, as well as the sense of  control you regain by taking positive actions.The optimal goal is not to just adapt. This implies dealing with changes but better still is developing the ability to recognize increasingly quickly what your reactions are to any changed situation, identifying what you’ve lost and then taking positive steps in your altered environment.

MANAGE YOUR CAREER STRATEGICALLY

Active and strategic career management is the opposite of what most of us do – drift, or spin along, waiting for something or someone to tell us what our next career step will be. This approach takes the control and responsibility out of your hands –and you become a victim of situations by default. Here are four strategies to take back control and position yourself positively for changes that come your way.

Establish an Annual Career Goal

Ask yourself “What do I want to be doing in one year? Where do I want to be?” Some examples;

  • Be the best in my business which means…
  • Expand my customer base by __ %
  • Receive a higher performance rating in my current job
  • Get a promotion to ________

If you want to be in the same job and improve your performance –What holds you back? What sharpens your edge?

If you want to do something different –what do you need to do or learn to move forward?

Develop a goal every year and work toward it by identifying and implementing specific action steps. Now you’ll gain some forward momentum.

Schedule a Twice Yearly Check-in

Put 2 one hour appointments into your calendar. Use this time to check in on your current level of engagement, attitude, and progress against your goal and action plan. You may want to solicit feedback from others on any of the above if you need additional input. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Don’t sacrifice doing this for the inevitable urgent crisis of the moment. This is an important time
to pick your head up, assess where you are, and strategize on how to keep yourself moving forward.

Be a Constant Learner and Experimenter

Becoming a constant learner and experimenter is both a defense and offensive approach toward your career management. It is defensive in the sense that you must be adding to your skills, experiences and knowledge to maintain your current position and keep your edge. It becomes an offensive strategy when you are constantly improving toward a goal which will increase your marketability in the arena you’re interested in.

Self improvement activities can be taking classes, attending conferences or workshops (how many of you regularly max out your training funds?) volunteering for projects, doing volunteer work, or reading professional publications. Little things that help break your routine, like doing something different during your lunch break, can help you to think creatively and give you time for professional development.

Practice Continual Networking

Finally, it is important to integrate ongoing networking into your life, and not just when potential staff reductions are headed your way. It is frequently easier to strike up a conversation or make a new contact when you’re employed –you aren’t asking for anything. Make it part of your professional agenda to constantly meet and mix with people in your profession or area of interest. A few ways to network;

  • Keep in touch with people that impress you at conferences, workshops and meetings
  • Join an association and actively participate on committees and attend the functions
  • Participate in community events, committees, and associations

The payoffs will be many – you’ll continue to hear about opportunities,(often when you’re not looking the best opportunities pop up) keep yourself industry current, and you’ll be building your contacts for the future when you may need them.

To incorporate these strategies; 1. Doing What You Love 2. Working Effectively in Constant Change, and 3. Applying Strategic Career Management into your work life – start with whichever one of these areas seems to be your Achilles heel. Make forward progress on one and then move to the next. You’ll be amazed at the positive difference applying each one of these strategies can make for you. And you will be far less likely to end up being “cut and without a plan” if you’re organization decides to cut back.

 

“Thriving vs. Surviving in the Workplace” is reprinted with permission from The Employment Times, this is a copyrighted publication of Career & Work Directions, LLC and cannot be copied or printed without express written permission of Career & Work Directions, LLC.