Were you aware that there are two subsets? I wasn’t until I began the research on the book “10 Answer Keys, Communicating with the 5 Generations in the Workplace.”
- Boomers (1946-1964)
Boomers grew up in a time of dramatic social change. It is possible to divide this generation into two subsets.
- Born prior to 1956: Cuban Missile crisis, assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., walk on the moon, Vietnam draft, anti-war protests, civil rights movements, riots, and Woodstock are events that epitomized the dramatic cultural changes of the 1960’s.
As a result this subset has a free-spirited, social cause oriented, experimental and individualistic tendencies.
- Born 1956-1964: Watergate, Nixon’s resignation, the oil embargo, raging inflation, gas shortages, the Cold War, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Live Aid are the events that created this subset of Boomers to be less optimistic, have a tendency to distrust government, and possess a more cynical viewpoint.
Boomers have a tendency towards being workaholics. Hard work and sacrifice is the price to pay to be successful and they want to make a difference. The way to have job security was to work harder than the person next to them. They enjoy teamwork and collaboration along with group decision making. They do not appreciate constant feedback or micro-management.
As leaders/managers, they desire quality in their work as well as in others. They believe you must be prepared for the unexpected (which is why they carry two pens instead of one). They value and will want to keep to policies and procedures. Their ability to embrace change will be slow.
As for the adapting to technology change, this can be diverse. We will see Boomers with the few flip phones that remain on the market. We will also see Boomers using Smartphones. The two subsets may distinguish some key differences in the Boomers adaptability to increasing use of technology in the workplace.
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