What Generational Statistics Tell Us About the Need to Get Along in the Workplace

Do we really have to get along?

It’s a funny question, but one I am asked more often than you would think. Sometimes I’m asked quietly by a consulting client or sometimes it comes from a bold attendee at a keynote presentation during Q&A.

Last May, I was speaking at an insurance conference in Phoenix, Arizona and a gentleman (we’ll call him Baby Boomer Bob to protect his privacy) stood up and stated/asked with all sincerity, “I don’t like the way these Gen-Xers and Millennials act. I’ve got enough clients who are Baby Boomers. Can’t I just ignore the younger generations and do things the way I like them?”

Bob is probably speaking on behalf of a lot of you out there. It’s often true that how other generations view things and approach problems can sometimes be confusing, exasperating and well, seem completely WRONG!

2006 2016

GENERATIONS
Ages % of Labor Force
Ages % of Labor Force
Traditionalists 61 - 78 15.6% 71 - 88 7.6%
Baby Boomers 42 - 60 32.4% 52 - 70 27.2%
Gen Xers 28 - 42 22.8% 38 - 52 33.2%
Millennials 7 - 27 29.2% 17 - 37 32%

Alas, if you were hoping to wait the storm out…the generational mixing pot is not going to simmer down anytime soon. I was chatting with a new friend at the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) in the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment (whew that’s a mouthful). She shared the Labor Force report projections for 2006 -2016 and it looks like we will be together for a good long time.

Let’s take a look at the numbers of where we are now and where we are going in the next eight years. I think you’ll agree that investing in understanding other generations is going to be mission critical to your success.

Currently in the workforce we have four generations actively working, often side by side.

The BLS researches the demographics and trends in 10 year segments. If we start with what things looked like in 2006 and then project out to what the 2016 mix will look like, it gives us a good preview of the generational mix on the horizon.

In 2006, our Traditionalists were 61 -78 years old and 15.6% of the active workforce. While many expected our Traditionalist to be exiting the workforce entirely the BLS projections have Traditionalists continuing to be a strong presence in 2016, contributing 7.6% to the overall labor force.

The Baby Boomer wave entered the workforce with a big splash in the 1970’s. With high fertility rates and record levels of women participating in the labor force, we saw rapid growth of the labor pool until 1999. In 2006 the Boomers, 42 to 60 years old, filled 32.4% of the labor force. However, they will not be moving into retirement as quickly as their predecessors. In 2016, Baby Boomers are projected to fill 27.2%, of the work force more than doubling Traditionalists participation rates at this stage of their working life.

A number of trends reported by the BLS are going to keep Baby Boomers active in the workforce:

• Increase in the number of individuals living longer, healthier lives
• Higher levels of education resulting in people participating in the workforce longer,
• A move away from defined benefit pension plans toward defined contribution plans which gives workers more incentive to remain working and contributing longer.

And if these three were not enough, many Baby Boomers will be putting off their retirement for all of these reasons combined with the devastating impact of the current economic crisis on their retirement funds value.

Generation X began to enter the Baby Boomer dominated workforce as youths in the 1980’s with limited success.

In 2006, at ages 28 – 42, Gen X squarely shared the prime age-worker stage with mid to late Baby Boomers as 22.8% of the workforce. In 2016, Gen X will briefly become the majority shareholder making up 33.2% of the work force. Gen Xers will be 38 to 52 years old leaders and prime age workers and bridging the abyss between senior Baby Boomers and energetic, innovative Millennial rising stars.

Our Millennials (Gen Y) have entered the workforce at a slower pace than any other generation. A number of factors impacting their entrance include: personal choices, rising family incomes, competition for available jobs, and increased numbers of young people attending and staying in school longer. In 2006, the Millennials were 7 – 27 years of age and filled 29.2% of the workforce. By 2016, they will be 17 – 37 years of age and make up 32% of the workforce.

Bottom line, the workforce is currently and will continue to be an “age diverse” mix of four generations. Organizations seeking to leverage the knowledge of senior workers and capture the energy and optimism of the younger generations will be smart to invest in understanding the way each generation prefers to learn, lead, communicate and work to get the job done. Or you could just wait and see if it all works out, but I wouldn’t recommend it…