The ‘Baby Boomers’, the ‘X’, the ‘Millennials’ and the younger, the ‘Z’, form the business landscape, a diversity that has not yet been taken advantage of. All of them share space, obligations and work responsibilities, but they work differently. The great challenge is to take advantage of its potential in a new environment in full digital transformation.
They say of the X who are less concerned about the charges and more because their work makes sense. Many identify this group, who opened their eyes between the late sixties and 1980s, as the bridge generation, because they live between two of the big ones, the Baby Boomers and the Millennials. They have been the most mediated in recent years: their self-reliance, their detachment from norms and digital skills have made them an object of desire for organizations, an attraction that is mutating into disenchantment. Let’s not forget the youngest of the business family today: the Z. Born in the mid-90’s, they are starting to find a place in the labor market. It is the first generation of the 21st century, they are autonomous by nature and technology has been part of their life since their childhood. All of them coexist in today’s organizations and their management depends on their professional future and that of companies.
The Observatorio Generación & Talento, together with the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, its academic partner, has celebrated in the last year a dozen meetings between workers of the different generations to analyze what they contribute and how they are transforming these four generations the way of doing things. To this qualitative sample has added the results of a survey, carried out to 3,697 workers. With all this he has elaborated the Diagnosis of generational diversity, a report that advances EXPANSIÓN exclusively and that constitutes a deep analysis of the intergenerational talent in the companies. According to Ángeles Alcázar and Elena Cascante, impellers and managing partners of Generacciona, the creator of this observatory, generational reality becomes strategic for organizations and there are still many challenges to be resolved: “We need Baby Boomers to retire as late as possible and While our mature youth, Generation X, caught between the burdens of their age and lack of projection by the Baby Boomers plug, they feel stressed and unmotivated because Everything comes down to them. “Of the Millennials (Generation Y) they emphasize their formation and their precarious incorporation into the labor market,” they do works that do not correspond to their preparation. “And finally the Z,” witnesses of an inherited world, Who see how the efforts and work of their parents and siblings are not the bulwarks of success. The same thing is no longer believed. ”
BABY BOOMERS
(1956/1964) Bill Gates, Angela Merkel or Barack Obama are some of those who are part of this generation that in Spain is characterized by its long-term vital projects and the family that determines their interests. This generation, born between 1956 and the late sixties, is recognized as that of the romantics who are linked to things and people and who deposit their affections in those traditions that have been built. This attachment that gives stability and security also has a B face that is already felt in many organizations: their fear of letting go of what is known to cling to something that changes continuously. His work fidelity has no discussion. They value what they have achieved and feel very proud of their trajectories. They are aware of the privileges they have gained, which also influences their fear of change, so many panic when they lose their job: they feel helpless because they do not have the tools to deal with a new world they do not know.
They do not feel that threat before the generational relief. They almost do not mention Generation X, they see them very close, they respect them and they understand their language, they feel comfortable and safe. Millennials are labeled as challengers and nonconformists, who do not respect authority and who are not willing to make the sacrifices they have made.
‘GENERATION X’ (1965/1980)
They usually occupy the intermediate positions in the organization. They have the pressure from the top of the seniors – who are roped off for senior positions – and, from below, that of the younger employees who are coming on. It is the generation of the consolidation of women in the labor market and feel the pressure of the demands of a good professional career and their private lives. Responsible and adaptable, they are described as the trapped generation between the reconciliation of family life and work.
When asked about what made them feel more proud about their professional performance, they spoke little or nothing of the achievements pers