The Similarities Between Generations

Despite the differences in goals, approaches to work and communications styles, employees from different generations do have some things in common.

Supporting me on this are people performance  consultants, N-Gen (www.ngenperformance.com).  To that end, they have identified 4 areas of commonalities:

1.  Effective Leadership –  Each generation may have different ideas as to how a leader should act and what qualities they should possess, but all employees, across all generations, want to work for leaders that they respect and whom they trust.

2.  Appreciation & Recognition –  Employees from of all generations want to be appreciated and recognized for their work. While the type of recognition and the frequency of this recognition certainly varies from generation to generation, the basic premise remains the same: employees want to know that their hard work, dedication, and skills sets are valued, appreciated, recognized and rewarded.

3.  Work/Life Balance –  Employees from each generation desire time to spend with their family and friends. Employees want to be part of an organization that values a work / life balance.

4.  Debt & Savings –   Across the board, each generation has the same financial priorities: buying a home, saving for children’s education and retirement.