Changing Workforce Values

One of the most striking ways to study how the role of the supervisor has changed over the last 50 years is to look at the values of the workers they supervise. A list of typical work values in the 1940s and 1950s is illustrated below, as well as some of the critical values of today’s workforce. What a contrast!

Looking at the two lists of values, it becomes clear that today’s worker is no longer happy to just have a job. Today’s workers not only want work to be meaningful and fun, they want to be recognized for their contributions. This need for job fulfillment is expressed not only by workers, but by supervisors and managers themselves.

Values of the Workforce Past and Present

Occasionally, we hear disgruntled managers say, “Workers today have no values!” Typically, the manager, a Baby Boomer who worked long, hard hours to get where he or she is today, has difficulty understanding Generation X’s priorities, which include the need to be recognized; workplace flexibility; equality among team members; and an employer who recognizes the employee’s need to have a balanced life. Simply put, employees born between 1960 and 1980 who are now in, or just entering, the workforce have very different values than the previous generation.

While there may be a tendency on the part of the manager to discount these values as being “soft,” self-serving, or not loyal to the employer, taking a quick look at the facts will help us understand why today’s workers are bringing with them a very different set of values.

First, we jokingly say employees today listen to radio station “W.I.I.F.M.” or, “What’s in it for me?” Workers are keenly interested in how much you pay and what benefits you offer. They see themselves as providing you, the employer, with a needed commodity, and want to be fairly paid for what they offer. Some harsh economic facts are driving Generation X’s financial concerns. According to Claire Raines in her 1997 book, Beyond Generation X, the following conditions are faced by young employees today:

In addition to financial challenges, younger employees look to the future they will be inheriting and see pollution, crime, racial tension, and AIDS, leading to a sense of powerlessness. Experienced managers often see these skeptical employees as “jaded” and note they don’t share the same sense of optimism that the manager did when he or she started working.

Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects for today’s manager, though, is this generation’s lack of respect for authority and limited interest in titles. This generation was the first to grow up, under the guidance of Dr. Spock, in an egalitarian home atmosphere. Both parent and child had rights and provided input into family affairs. Further, this was the first generation that spent long hours on their own, after school, waiting for parents to return home after work. The ability to “fend for themselves” has resulted in a more self-reliant, autonomous employee.

Based on these values, what skills did it take for a supervisor in the 1940s and 1950s to manage their workers effectively? If the worker was loyal to the boss, loyal to the company, and thankful to have a job, the skills needed to manage might look like those outlined below. Based on today’s values, review the skills needed to be a successful manager in today’s world.

Skills to Manage
Employees Past and Present

How is that for a list of what is required for supervisors to do their jobs effectively? Ten years ago we could look at the list of what today’s workers want and agree that it would be nice if we could provide a work environment like that. We might even agree that it would theoretically be the right thing to do. Today, however, we are faced with a new reality, and that is, if you are managing a business where the majority of your front-line employees are members of Generation X, your business will not be successful, and may not even survive, unless you manage them well.

Given the changing values employees bring with them to the workplace, coupled with the fact that it has become increasingly more difficult to hire qualified employees in the late 1990s (and incredibly expensive to replace them when they leave), it makes sense that effectively managing the workers of today is not optional, it is mandatory.

The challenge for all supervisors today is to gain the attention, trust, enthusiasm, and commitment of their employees. It is no longer adequate to assemble, organize, and manage capital, raw materials, and a workforce within a tightly defined system of production. What is required is the leadership skill to create work environments of creativity, innovation, and enthusiasm so that once hired, our employees are committed, loyal, and stay with us.

In Chapters Two and Three, we will discuss the skills that help build relationships, encourage motivated employees, and foster a creative environment. The remaining chapters are devoted to enhancing your skills to become a confident, successful leader in today’s environment.