Generations At Work: Managing The Clash Of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, And Nexters In Your Workplace

More advance praise for Generations at Work: “With the aging of America, every workplace will soon be coming to grips with the challenge of managing ‘age diversity.’ In Generations at Work, the authors do a wonderful job of clarifying the needs and values of all working generations while offering invaluable guidance on how to maximize productivity among them.” —Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. author of Age Wave and Age Power President of Age Wave LLC “Generational conflict in the workplace isn’t new, and it isn’t going to go away. Generations at Work sorts through the stereotypes and delineates the strengths and weaknesses of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters. This book provides the practical advice managers need to turn conflict into harmony.” —Susan Mitchell author of American Generations: Who They Are, How They Live, What They Think “The definitive guide to understanding what makes other generations tick. An on-target blend of theory and practice.” —Bradley Richardson author of JobSmarts for TwentySomethings “The best book out there on generations in the workplace—a book not just to be read, but put into practice.” —Neil Howe historian and co-author of The Fourth Turning and Generations G E N E R AT I O N S AT WO R K Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace Ron Zemke Claire Raines Bob Filipczak American Management Association New York • Atlanta • Boston • Chicago • Kansas City • San Francisco • Washington, D.C. Brussels • Mexico City • Tokyo • Toronto Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, an imprint of AMA Publications, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Tel.: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zemke, Ron. Generations at work : managing the clash of veterans, boomers, xers, and nexters in your workplace / Ron Zemke, Claire Raines, Bob Filipczak. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8144-0480-4 1. Diversity in the workplace—United States. 2. Age groups— United States. 3. Conflict of generations—United States. 4. Supervision of employees. I. Raines, Claire. II. Filipczak, Bob. III. Title. HF5549.5.M5Z45 2000 658.3 0084—dc21 99-33791 CIP © 2000 Copyright Performance Research Associates, Inc., Claire Raines, Bob Filipczak. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, an imprint of AMA Publications, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Printing number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Part One: Dynamics of the Multigenerational Workplace 7 CHAPTER ONE 9 Old Farts and Upstarts: Crisis in the Cross-Generational Workplace 29 CHAPTER TWO The Veterans: What Will the Colonel