xRead Article 1 - Electronic Consults in Otolaryngology

To illustrate the challenges of managing a diverse workforce, health care leaders need an understanding of how each generation experienced the same factors.Table 1 highlights characteristics associated with each generation, their experiences and their views.

Table 1: Overview of Characteristics for Each Generation

Traditionalists Baby Boomers Generation X Millennials

MajorTrait

Loyalty

Competition

Self-reliance

Immediacy

Eclecticism, self reliance, free agents, work/ life balance, independence MTV,AIDS, Gulf War, 1987 stock market crash, fall of communism/Berlin Wall, Challenger shuttle explodes

Community service, cyberliteracy, tolerance, diversity, confidence Internet, social media, 9/11 terrorist attack, deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa Internet, smart phones (text messaging), social media, instant messaging

Sacrifice, loyalty, discipline, respect for authority

Broad Traits

Competitive, long work hours

Watergate, women’s rights, JFK assassination, civil rights and Martin Luther King Jr., VietnamWar, man walks on the moon

Great Depression, WorldWar II, Cold War, KoreanWar, suburban sprawl begins, first satellite launches

Influential Events

Mobile phone, Walkman, computer

Defining Invention

Fax machine, radio Personal computer, television

Latchkey kids, high divorce rate

Family

Traditional, nuclear

Disintegrating

Blended families

An incredible expense

Education

A dream

A birthright

A way to get there

Cautious, conservative, save, save, save

Put it away, pay cash

Money

Buy now, pay later

Earn to spend

Source: Adapted from a compilation by “FutureWorkplace” found in The 2020Workplace by Meister, J. andWillyerd, K., 2010. NewYork: HarperCollins. Copyright 2010 by Jeanne C. Meister and KarieWillyerd.

10

Managing an IntergenerationalWorkforce: Strategies for Health Care Transformation