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During a couple of recent events, participants explored the behaviour of different generations in the workforce. People talked about the differences between older managers and their younger team members.

Suggestions were made that  younger people being less committed to organisations (and work in general) and that older managers often struggled to connect with them. Others talked about communication styles and behaviour.

It  makes a certain sense to assume the social, technological and economic environment we grow up in helps shape our perceptions and values. There is no doubt the challenges presented by the use of social media in the workplace have an underlying “generational” aspect.

Reading the work of  William Strauss and Neil Howe (from which most work on the generations stems) it becomes obvious their concepts focus on US citizens though the pervading impact of the US economy makes the analysis relevant to many countries in the West.

In terms of  understanding of the life-experiences of the majority of people working in Western companies however, there are some underlying truths revealed in the Strauss-Howe work. With an increasingly global community, cross-border operations  and diverse, cosmopolitan workforces however, some of the propositions have to be handled with care.

While hardly scientific, the concepts are interesting and insightful. The heart of the Strauss-Howe theory is that two types of eras, Crises (periods of secular upheaval) and Awakenings (periods of cultural renewal), in repeating cycles of around 40 years, expose people to historic events which radically reshape  the social political and economic environment of people coming of age as young adults.

The major changes in society certainly have an lasting impact on family structures and behavioural patterns, education, values and work ethic. It seems credible this will make a lasting difference for the rest of our lives. But what conclusions can we draw about the experience and patterns of behaviour about the generations in the workplace? Read the rest of this entry →

Kent County Council plans to “improve motivation” by paying more for superior performance.

Talks with unions aim to remove annual increments with effect from April 2010, to allow the council more scope to reward better performers at the top of their pay grade.

While performance must be a vital focus of management, performance pay does not suit every business! It is vital to understand the landscape, consider how pay acts as a motivator in the environment and culture of the business and design systems to deliver these outcomes robustly. Read the rest of this entry →