Generational Perspectives on Employment: A Contrast between Baby Boomers and Millennials

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The world of employment has evolved significantly over the years, with different generations experiencing and interpreting work in distinct ways. Baby boomers and millennials, What Generation Am I? A Guide to Generations by Year (parents.com)separated by several decades, have grown up in contrasting socio-economic, technological, and cultural landscapes. These factors have played a role in shaping their perspectives on employment. In this article, we will delve into the divergent viewpoints of baby boomers and millennials regarding work, examining their values, priorities, and approaches to careers.

Work-Life Balance

Baby Boomers:

For many baby boomers, work was often seen as a means to provide for their families and secure a stable future. Many were part of the traditional 9-to-5 work culture, where long hours at the office were considered necessary for career advancement. The concept of “putting in the time” was deeply ingrained, often at the expense of personal and family life.

Millennials:

Millennials, on the other hand, tend to prioritize work-life balance. Work Life Balance | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)They witnessed their parents’ dedication to their jobs and the toll it took on family life. As a result, millennials often seek flexible work arrangements that allow them to balance their careers with personal interests and family time. Remote work and freelance opportunities are particularly attractive to this generation, enabling them to integrate work into their lives, rather than the other way around.

Career Loyalty

Baby Boomers:

Loyalty to one’s employer was a hallmark of the baby boomer generation. Many individuals spent the majority of their careers at a single company, viewing job stability and benefits as vital components of their employment. Climbing the corporate ladder and staying with the same company until retirement were common aspirations.

Millennials:

Millennials tend to value personal growth and skill development over long-term loyalty to a single employer. They are more willing to change jobs and even switch careers in pursuit of new challenges and opportunities. This fluid approach to employment can be attributed, in part, to the economic instability witnessed during their formative years and the rise of the gig economy, What is the gig economy and what’s the deal for gig workers? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org) which has normalized job hopping and freelancing.

Purpose and Fulfillment

Baby Boomers:

While many baby boomers found purpose and fulfillment in their work, these aspects were often secondary to the financial stability that employment provided. Career choices were frequently influenced by practical considerations rather than a quest for personal passion.

 

Millennials:

Millennials seek meaning and purpose in their careers. They are more likely to prioritize jobs that align with their values, allowing them to make a positive impact on society and the environment. This generation places a premium on job satisfaction and is willing to make career decisions that reflect their personal beliefs and goals, even if it means sacrificing higher-paying opportunities.

Technology and Adaptability

Baby Boomers:

Baby boomers adapted to technology as it emerged, but their careers were not as intertwined with digital tools and platforms as those of millennials. They often had to learn new technologies later in their careers, and some may have viewed technology as a disruptor rather than an enabler.

Millennials:

Having grown up in the digital age, The Digital Age: The Era We All Are Living In – DZone millennials are comfortable with technology and its rapid evolution. They readily embrace new tools and platforms, which has contributed to the rise of remote work, digital nomadism, and the gig economy. This adaptability allows them to navigate an ever-changing job market with relative ease.

In conclusion, the differing perspectives of baby boomers and millennials on employment reflect the evolving nature of work and societal values. While baby boomers often prioritized stability and financial security, millennials place greater emphasis on work-life balance, purpose-driven careers, and adaptability. Understanding these generational differences Generational Differences in the Workplace
 [Infographic] (purdueglobal.edu) is crucial for employers, policymakers, and individuals seeking to thrive in the modern world of work, fostering collaboration and harnessing the strengths of each generation.

2019 – The Year of the Millennial

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sherrie-suski-millennials2019 is the year that the Millennials, or Generation Y as they are sometimes referred to, will overtake the Baby Boomers.  Their numbers will top 73 million while we see the Baby Boomer population in the US decreases to 72 Million. Those staggering realities have far reaching impacts across consumption trends, housing and employment, just to name a few.  It is less about being classified as the generation who wants to know “what’s in it for me” than about the impact their shear numbers will have on shaping our economy.  

Morgan Stanley recently published their research in the ReShape US Housing brief that outlines the dwindling demand for single family homes purchases and the uptick in the long term rental markets, especially the single family home market, as the Millennial population moves through their lifecycle from the freewheeling singles to the couples with kids, looking for a little more space.  The millennial population has long been thought to diverge from the baby boomers in their lust for purchasing a “permanent” home. This generation seems content with the flexibility that a rental home provides, and while many will start out in apartments, as the generations that preceded them did, most will eventually be in search of a single family home to rent.  The lack of permanency that is dictated by the desire and decision to rent instead of own has implications in the workplace as well. The millennial generation is less likely to expect to stay in a position for a decade or more. In fact, most millennials expect to have 15-20 jobs over the course of their careers and a full 91% of millennials expect to stay in a job less than 3 years.  Part of what drives that ability to move frequently is their decision to rent instead of own their own homes.

So how do employers provide opportunities to appeal to a generation that does not value permanency, stability and the status quo?  The millennials are the first generation to grow up digesting and assimilating mass quantities of information at a time.   Therefore, it’s important to make sure your content captures millennial’s attention and then keeps it. Communicate through multiple touch points, with emails as a last resort.  Use text blasts, contests and social media sites to communicate.

Ensure that both programs and communications are tailored for the individual.  The millennial population is not used to a one size fits all approach. They are used to having campaigns tailored exclusively to them based on past buying or search habits.  Ensure your programs are capable of the same. Jellyvision has a wonderful tool where ALEX, a bot, walks each person through their own health insurance open enrollment based on their unique needs and their answers to questions pondered on their behalf.  Our research has shown not only wide acceptance of these types of tools but that first year participation rates were over 72%.

It is approaches like the above that will both individualize the message and capture the attention of a generation that values an engaging experience over the stability and predictability of the status quo

2019 Human Resources Initiatives

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Ushering in 2019 means pondering what the new year means in terms of HR initiatives.  Which were successfully put to rest last year, which will continue and carry forward and which are perhaps new initiatives this year based on the economic climate.

Top of the list is the tight labor market and lower retention many companies are experiencing.  We experienced the beginning of this challenge last year as companies struggled to find the talent they needed to fill positions to fuel their growth.  Companies will need to consider:

Flexibility in the workplace– More companies are finding ways to attract and retain workers with key skill sets by offering a combination of flexible work schedules.   Late starts, work from home, shorter in the office hours are all opportunities that will attract a different segment of the population than those able to work from 8:00-5:00p or more likely 7:00am-6:00pm.

Learning opportunities that span the entire workforce- Succession Planning programs are giving way to Talent Planning programs which encompass the whole organization.  Employee are looking for both lattice and ladder training opportunities. IDP’s (Individualized Development Plans) are becoming popular.  Instead of unleashing a plethora of online and webinar-based training opportunities, organizations are spending the time to develop individual training plans for each employee.  These are likely developed around core competencies that have already been established in the organization.

On-Boarding programs– not to be confused with the 1-3 day orientation programs, on-boarding programs will usually span 3-6 months and focus on quickly getting the new employee up to seed and integrated into the organization effectively.  Research links effective onboarding to reduced turnover and increased retention. In one study, employees were 60% more likely to remain with the organization for more than three years when there is a structured onboarding program.

Holistic Wellness Programs– wellness in no longer associated with simply the absence of disease, but has become a term that we associate with multiple forms of wellness.  Is your workforce physically, emotionally, socially and financially well and what can you do to support their efforts? Employee are looking less for balance between personal and work lives and more for integration.  One should not be exclusive of the other. Employees want time and training devoted to helping them learn how to meditate, eat healthy foods, manage their finances and generally live happy lives which, in turn, yield happy and more productive employees.  

Artificial Intelligence– no discussion would be complete without including AI.  HR technology companies are developing and promoting more and more Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. Some of the technologies being developed can help HR professionals track and reveal troubling patterns in real-time to address such issues as employee engagement, turnover, and absenteeism (to name a few).  Automating repetitive tasks and improving workforce productivity are two of the top potential outcomes from implementing AI technology.

Each year brings its own set of challenges and opportunities to the HR profession.  This last year of the decade is no exception!

Tech and Analytics Set Top HR Departments Apart

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According to recent research from The Hackett Group, an IT service management firm, “World-class HR organizations” achieve more than other HR operations by spending 26% less, relying on 32% fewer staff and embracing digital transformation.  The adoption of digital technology could help HR departments reach world-class status in fewer than five years and see progress in less than two years. To be honest, HR departments who fully embrace the use of tech and analytics can see progress in as little as 6 months.  

The study went on to find that top tier HR organizations are better at developing people and moving them into new roles; two-thirds of open managerial positions at these organizations were filled by internal candidates. The Hackett Group said world-class HR departments contain an estimated 33% fewer transactional employees and 34% fewer staff dedicated to employee lifecycle activities.  The old rule of thumb of having 1 HR person per 100 employees is falling by the wayside with the introduction of technology. Technology not only makes the bottom line look better, but offers opportunities to employees, previously solely devoted to administrative work, an option to focus on more meaningful activities and the opportunity for real growth and career path.

Among the study’s takeaways, authors found that world-class organizations use digital technology to improve the customer experience, develop analytics capabilities, transfer resources from low- to high-value initiatives, and provide expertise and insights to business leaders. Use cases include recruiting, compliance, staffing services and outsourcing.  

Imagine:

  • Being able to predict turnover down to the individual level
  • Having zero errors in your administration because all of it is automated
  • Guiding each of your employees through their own personal benefit enrollment process focusing on only the items important to them
  • Creating a flawless candidate experience where each candidate gets a “red carpet” treatment

World-class HR leaders understand the need to provide other business leaders with HR data and insight affecting their individual operations. This technology-based capability demonstrates HR executives’ knowledge of the business and financial sides of an organization, which can seat them alongside other C-suite executives and shore up employee trust in HR program.  Top HR departments around the globe are moving to not only use but embrace these tools. Have you started?

2018 Canadian HR Trends

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It is always interesting to look at Human Resources Trends from around the world to explore the similarities and differences of varying cultural perspectives.  As our parent company is Canadian, let’s look at a few of the trends that are top of the list for 2018.  Morneau Shepell compiles an annual list of Canadian HR Trends:

Insights on what HR leaders are expecting in the coming year:

 

• Improving employee engagement is a top priority

Employee Engagement is top of mind for companies in the US as well.  Not only for altruistic motives, but for the sheer fact that engagement can be tied to better productivity and bottom line numbers all around.  Trying to tap into the discretionary effort each employee has is big business. http://www.snacknation.com/guides/definitive-guide-employee-engagement/

• Streamlining administration and absence management continue to be focus areas

Streamlining administration is a worthy cause in any country.  Streamlining can take the form of creating new processes or automation.  Robotic process automation has real potential to transform the mundane tasks in HR.

• HR leaders continue to be cautious about salary increases.  Salaries expected to increase by 2.3 per cent in 2018.

While salary increases are trending just slightly higher in the US, there are still concerns about how to differentiate between average and high performers with such small increase budgets.

• Employers are looking at workforce data in silos, with very few looking at data in an integrated way

Data will be THE FOCUS in 2018 whether in silos or a more integrated approach. 

• Complex mental health claims are the top disability management concerns

Large claim management in general is a concern.  A few large claims can turn the loss ratios in the wrong direction.

• Manager training is a focus in managing absence and disability

Manager training is a focus for all companies.  It should encompass the hard skills like managing absenteeism and disability LOA’s, but should also encompass softer skills like having difficult conversations, confrontation and inspiring your employees.

• Organizations are concerned that their employees are not adequately prepared for retirement

This is a growing concern amongst many US employers as well.  Financial wellness training for the workforce is a partial solution.  Other approaches may include automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans and writing plan documents to exclude the popular loan provisions.

Companies around the globe have the same goals, to inspire their workforces, yielding a team of more engaged workers and better profits at the bottom line.

Health Insurance 2018

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PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI) annually projects the growth of health insurance and more specifically, medical costs, in the employer insurance market for the coming year.  They also identify the major factors expected to impact the trend.  Moving into 2018, the healthcare industry seems to be settling into a “new trend” which is marked by more moderate fluctuations and single-digit medical cost trends

HRI projects 2018’s medical cost trend to be 6.5%—the first uptick in growth in three years.

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What does this mean for employers still seeking to get the most for their insurance dollars and provide the best benefits for their employee population?  In a labor market that is heating up and becoming more competitive, employers are looking for new cost containment strategies beyond shifting more costs to their employees.

Target Health and Wellness

Many employers are creating wellness programs and enlisting the employees in a partnership arrangement regrading practicing better health habits.  Although hard numbers are difficult to come by, many employers believe they are creating a focus on wellness that will pay off at the bottom line.  Employers are offering smoking cessation programs, health fairs populated by as many as 100 different vendors, offering everything from multi vitamins to massage, and healthy snacks, like fruit and nuts instead of candy, cupcakes and empty snacks.

Investigate provider arrangements

More employers are taking a harder look the health services they are providing and how those health services are being offered.  Some are considering more restrictive arrangements like EPO’s (Exclusive Provider Organizations)  where they can get better discounts by decreasing the size of the provider network.  Other options include offering 2 tier plans where the employer pays a sizable percentage of the lower plan, but gives the employees an opportunity to “buy up” if they want to choose the more expensive plan.

Evaluate the value of drug spending

Employers are banding together to put pressure on drug companies to moderate price increases. Similar pressures were enacted in the early 1990s and significant decreases in the drug price growth rate.

We are already seeing some pharmaceutical companies take action, limiting price increases, offering cheaper generic alternatives and proactively addressing questions of value in the marketplace.

Even though health insurance price increases have slowed over the past three years, they still outpace inflation and employers need to continue to pursue alternatives that will lead to a healthier workforce and, ultimately, to lower health insurance costs for everyone.