Baby boomers, generations X, Y and Z - who are the different generations of employees and what distinguishes them.

Baby boomers, generations X, Y and Z - who are the different generations of employees and what distinguishes them.

Currently, on the labor market we are dealing with a specific interpenetration of certain groups of employees - different generations, generations of employees. Until recently, baby boomers dominated among employees entering the labor market, and today they are slowly giving way to millennials and are retiring. What distinguishes each group, what are their strengths and weaknesses? In this article, I will try to present the most important issues regarding individual generations of employees.
 

Baby boomers

Baby boomers are people born in the years 1946-1964, i.e. people associated with the post-war demographic boom. You can learn more about this in the book "Generations - what is changing? Compendium of multigenerational management”. Although there are many people on the labor market born in this period, they are slowly giving way to younger colleagues.
 

The most important features: a generation that is very conservative, not entirely flexible and likes to receive the so-called feedback from the employer (they treat it as a kind of attack on their person, something bad). People with a very specific approach to work, working in one place for a long time and reluctant to change. The positive features of boomers include high commitment to work and accuracy.

Generation X, the children of the boomers
 

Generation X is the generation right behind the boomers. These are people born in the years 1965-1979. An important fact is that this generation is much higher than their parents in terms of education (as much as 27% more people from Generation X have higher education compared to baby boomers). It is among the representatives of this group that the greatest bloom of thinking in the context of work-life-balance can be noticed, because these people constantly strive to maintain a balance between private and professional life.
 

The most important features: Generation X are mature, ambitious and focused on achieving specific goals set for them by the employer. They value diligence, focus on solving one problem at a time, and loyalty. Negative characteristics of generation X include distrust of superiors, lack of trust in modern electronic devices such as computers and smartphones. Generation X is certainly people who value the so-called a paper "pad" (e.g. a contract) for everything that is of value to them.

Millennials, i.e. Generation Y

This is undoubtedly the best educated group of people, because every second person among representatives of this group has a university diploma. These are people born in the years 1980-1989. People who value their "I", know their value on the labor market and are able to fight for "theirs".
 

The most important features: people with strong features, fighting for their rights, knowing their rights and being able to effectively enforce them. Multitasking people, open to new ideas and challenges. Knowing their importance and needs within a specific organization - they like development and constant expansion of their competences. They do not like stagnation, they easily establish relationships with colleagues. They expect respect, flexible working hours and higher (compared to other generations) earnings from the employer. Representatives of this group appreciate the high competence of their superiors and openness to dialogue. Undoubtedly, the "weaknesses" of millennials include too high expectations set for the employer, lack of good communication in intergenerational teams, and putting mainly one's goals at work as superior.
 

The youngest generation - Generation Z
 

The youngest representatives of the labor market, i.e. generation Z, also known as C in reference to the English words: connect, communicate and change, are a generation focused mainly on communication via the Internet, placing communication as the superior form of solving problems in the company.

The most important features: people open to new ideas and solutions. Focusing on the usefulness of the created tools, the convenience of their use. If they design it with the end customer in mind, showing high empathy. People for whom the border between the real and the virtual world is not very significant, mainly due to the dynamic development of social media. Generation Z, however, has problems with concentration, it is difficult for them to stay in one job for a longer period of time, they value dynamism and continuous development. They are unsure of their future. They are not as "faithful" to their employers as other generations, they like changes.

Summary:

The very division into specific generations of employees is a purely conventional matter, giving a theoretical view enabling a general overview of the situation. In addition, the characteristics of individual groups can penetrate each other, just as we can meet a boomer who likes to change jobs often, and we will find a person from generation Z who will work in one place for the next 20 years.
 

However, it is important to notice the trend - each new generation is a series of changes and challenges for today's organizations. This creates another field for development for enterprises, forces organizations to use new competitive advantages and ways to reach new candidates. An interesting example is the fact that the youngest generation is looking for completely different qualities in an employer than just the causative power to ensure high pay. They focus primarily on communication, equal treatment, a variety of ambitious and development projects, the possibility of remote work from anywhere in the world, or at least freedom and a dynamic work environment. This is undoubtedly a big challenge, especially for older enterprises that have certain developed standards and are not susceptible to such large changes.
 

It is therefore worth being aware and knowing a certain pattern, the division into individual generations, which will allow you to look at the labor market holistically and better adapt to the increasingly dynamic changes taking place.