This Think Tank brings together GenX, GenY and Boomers to discuss the importance of work culture: what keeps them engaged and what keeps them loyal?
Our Boomer Think Tank , Millennial Think Tank and GenX Think Tank have weighed in.
The Definition of Work Culture via Wikipedia is:
Culture is the character and personality of your organization. It’s what makes the organization unique and is the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviours and attitudes.
It is the “way things get done”.
Work Culture is one of the more important and trending topics within the #FutureofWork today.
A career means much more than a stable place to work for 25 years and employees are looking at company values, meaning, community, and culture.
Our panelists this week included:
Tiffany Daniels – Millennial, Communications within Workforce development, Austin, TX
Albert Qian – Millennial, Marketing within High Tech in Silicon Valley
Mila Araujo – GenX, Director of Financial Services, Montreal, QC
Jillian Jackson – Millennial, Digital Marketer in Real Estate, NYC
Stephan Thompson – Genx, Supervisor, Auto Insurance, Reading, PA
Martin Waxman – Boomer, Digital Communications Consultant and PR
For the most part, everyone on the panel has had multiple jobs. While their circumstances have varied, some common themes surfaced:
When I graduated I was told that most people would change careers 5 times in their lifetime and I took it to heart… Every step I took in my career was to continue to enhance my skills and morph with the demands of the environment. ~ Mila Araujo
Martin noted that Millennials may be blamed for being disloyal to companies and leaving too soon. In reality, this generation is responding to the new workplace rules that GenX and Boomers may not have accepted:
There are no jobs for life anymore. ~Martin Waxman
Zero-Overhead Growth (ZOG): When times are tough and companies still want to grow, but the costs of operations continue to rise, the knee-jerk reaction is to lay off people with the highest salaries, and hire people to replace them at a cheaper rate. The workplace has created this mentality that no one is indispensable.
While Stephen has maintained a great career and now is extremely satisfied with his current work environment including the benefits and flexibility he’s afforded as a result, he also contends,
If I was offered a job somewhere else and [it gave me what I currently have now] I would go because if push came to shove, they would get rid of me in a heartbeat. ~Stephen Thompson
Among Millennials, all are currently engaged in their current jobs. Common threads stood out within this discussion:
I am more happy than I expected to be… I don’t generally like working for people. After a certain amount of time, I get bored or feel stagnant and tend to take on interests at a different rate than the position that grows with you. But as my interests grew, the position and requirements took on a new growth spurt and I had something to strive for. ~Jillian Jackson
The approach management must take is to understand why people leave, improve it if it needs improvement and [be in tune with the pulse of its people].~Mila Araujo
We try to get our inside people to understand what the field guys are up to and empathize with them [and vice versa], with the goal of providing the necessary resources or suggestions to help each do a better job.
I will trust my employees until they show me otherwise. ~ Stephan Thompson
Albert, Jillian and Tiffany are realistic about what the future holds for them as they journey through their respective careers.
Some insights from GenY:
Albert summed this up nicely,
If the last 5 years told me anything, it will be a continued roller coaster ride. I’m going to learn a lot about myself. I’m going to make a lot of mistakes. I’m going to do a lot of succeeding. I will continue to meet amazing people.
As much as I want it to be a little quieter and less chaotic, it probably won’t be. I think how I succeed and where I succeed will be totally dependent on whether I can pick myself up and be versatile in what I can do… and be creative in how my career moves forward. ~Albert Qian
You can view or listen to the hangout in its entirety below:
Photo source: Flickr
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