Multigenerational Workforce Jessica Karas & Rebekah SweeNey NURS 450 Ferris State University The multigenerational workforce by Jessica Karas and Rebekah Sweeney.

(American Nurses Association, 2014) & (Coburn & Hall, 2014) Introduction The Multigenerational Workforce affects: Nurse retention The Nursing shortage Turnover rates Job satisfaction Quality of work life Psychological empowerment (American Nurses Association, 2014) & (Coburn & Hall, 2014) According to the American Nurses Association (2014), nurse retention, nursing shortages, and high turnover rates are top three complaints amongst nurse administrators in the United States. The consensus is that generational differences are to blame. There are four generations in the workforce today and their values, behaviors, work ethic, and communication styles differ greatly. However, each generation has commonalities of wanting job satisfaction, quality of work life, and psychological empowerment (Coburn & Hall, 2014). Therefore, health care environments must be altered to honor these differences and enhance teamwork amongst the generations. (Image from Microsoft PowerPoint 2010)

Objectives By the end of this presentation the learner will: Know the 4 generations that are present in todays workforce Understand the values and beliefs of each generation Understand how the feelings and behaviors of each generation affects their interactions Gain insight into improving teamwork across the generations to achieve patient goals Reflect on the multigenerational differences that exist in their individual work environments In this presentation, we will help the learner understand what the four generations are, what they value, how they communicate, how they feel towards each other, and suggest strategies to help improve the multigenerational workforce and achieve patient goals in a cooperative environment.

Health Care Environment Pre-Boomers/ Veterans 1925-1945 Baby Boomers 1946-1964 Generation X 1965-1976 Millennial 1977-1994 The current nursing workforce consists of four generations: Pre-boomers/veterans, baby boomers, generation X, and millennials, and each group is categorized by their birth year. The pre-boomers/veterans are individuals born between 1925-1945, the baby boomers were born between 1946-1964, generation X was born between 1965-1976, and millennials were born between 1977-1994 (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). Currently, pre-boomers/veterans make up 3% of the nursing workforce, baby boomers make up 32%, generation X makes up 39%, and millennials make up 26% of the workforce (Moore, Everly, & Bauer, 2016). Historically, each of these generations have grown together and intermingled with one another, but have widely different values and beliefs that has subsequently created different perceptions of the workplace. It is these perceptions that cause different choices and behaviors that affect the work environment. (Robinson-Celeste, 2016) (Robinson-Celeste, 2016)

Health Care Environment Values Pre-Boomers/Veterans—Rewards for their service Baby Boomers—Job perks and promotions Generation X—Cooperative training and investment Millennials—Making a differences and credit Beliefs Pre-Boomers/Veterans—Hard work pays off Baby Boomers—Generation X should pay their dues Generation X—Don’t trust establishments Millennials—Life revolves around work (Robinson-Celeste, 2016) Each generation holds differing values and beliefs based on their life experiences. The pre-boomers/veterans are loyal, hard workers and they believe that their hard work pays off and they value rewards for their services (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). Baby boomers are competitive but have a strong work ethic (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). They value job perks and promotions and believe that generation X should pay their dues (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). Generation X strives to be seen as leaders and they value cooperative training and investment while having little trust in establishments (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). Millennials strive to provide work or services that matter to the world (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). This generation believes that life revolves around work while valuing making a difference and receiving credit for their work (Robinson-Celeste, 2016).

Health Care Environment Communication Styles Pre-boomers/Veterans—Formal, written/letters Baby boomers—Face-to-face, telephone Generation X—E-mail, text message Millennials—Text/instant messages (Robinson-Celeste, 2016) Managing Conflict Pre-boomers/Veterans—Quality, respect, authority Baby boomers—Teamwork, Cooperation, buy-in Generation X—Independent, critical, hardworking Millennials—Sociable, loyal, technologically savvy(Bragg, 2014) Just as each generation holds differing values and beliefs, they also communicate differently and prefer different methods of conflict management. Pre-boomers/veterans prefer formal methods of communication such as written documents or letters (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). Baby boomers prefer communication to take place face-to-face or via telephone (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). Generation X and Millennials prefer the use of technology for their communication needs by using email, text messaging, and instant messaging (Robinson-Celeste, 2016). When it comes to conflict resolution amongst the generations, understanding their values, beliefs, communication styles, and life experiences can help us understand each generations perspective. “Veterans experienced World War II, and many grew up with a strict regimen. As such, quality, respect, and authority are typically important to them” (Bragg, 2014, para. 8). “Baby boomers, the Woodstock generation, tend to value teamwork, cooperation, and buy-in. The Baby Boomers on your staff may need to make an extra effort to encourage problem solving and handling conflict independently” (Bragg, 2014, para. 8). “Gen Xers are usually independent, family-focused, intolerant of bureaucracy, critical, and hardworking. Gen Xers in particular will expect their supervisor or coworkers not to beat around the bush” (Bragg, 2014, para. 8). Millennials “can be characterized as highly socialized, loyal, and technologically savvy. When it comes to conflict, they may think, ‘This older person is yelling at me,’ even though you have not raised your voice. This feeling may be because millennials are not accustomed to words not written in a text form” (Bragg, 2014, para. 8).

Interferences Each generation feels differently about the others: Subsequent generations are lazy and incompetent Each generation must “pay their dues” Each group needs help in certain areas: Pre-boomers/Veterans & Baby boomers—learning and understanding technology Generation X—acknowledging their short comings and areas for improvement Millennials—learning to spend time with people not technology and recognizing that they do not know it all (Howard, 2017) While each generation has varying feelings and beliefs about the other generations, they all share a couple commonalities in their beliefs. Each generation feels that subsequent generations are lazier and less competent than their generation is (Howard, 2017). Each generation also feels that the other generations must pay their dues and should not be given the fast track to leadership or management roles (Howard, 2017). It is important to recognize and address these feelings within nurses because if these feelings are not addressed then they can lead to anger, hostility, and aggression in the workplace. These emotions can negatively impact the work environment by reducing the amount of teamwork and productivity of both individuals and groups. One way to combat these emotions is to recognize that each group can rely on one another for help in their weakest areas. For example, both pre-boomers/veterans and baby boomers have less experience with technology and can rely on millennials to teach them how to understand and use technology appropriately (Howard, 2017). Generation X has trouble recognizing their own faults and areas of improvement; therefore, they would benefit from having a baby boomer mentor to help them learn to accept their shortcomings (Howard, 2017). Millennials are have a hard time with face-to-face interactions since technology is a strong presence in their lives and they also have a hard time recognizing that they do not know it all, so this group would benefit from the guidance and support of the pre-boomers/veterans or baby boomers (Howard, 2017).

Implications & Consequences Root Cause Analysis Generational differences can lead to lack of communication and poor teamwork amongst health care providers Lack of communication and poor teamwork can lead to decreased job satisfaction and decreased employee retention Decreased job satisfaction and employee retention can lead to decreased patient safety and poor patient outcomes Poor patient outcomes result in organizational struggles and decreased health of individuals, families, and communities Ultimately, poor patient outcomes and organizational distress can be related to the generational differences experienced in the workplace. When not addressed appropriately, generational differences can lead to poor communication and decreased teamwork amongst health care workers which can lead to decreased job satisfaction and decreased employee retention. Decreased job satisfaction and decreased employee retention can lead to a reduction in the quality of care provided to patients, which leads to poor patient outcomes, organizational struggles, and decreased health of individuals, families, and communities.

Recommendations Strive for employee retention and improved performance by: Tailoring a workplace that is accepting of generational differences Educating employees on similarities and differences that exist across the generations Helping employees understand different perspectives and how these differences can positively impact patient outcomes A prepared nurse manager and nurse leaders (such as ourselves) should plan for retention and performance issues in the workforce by tailoring work toward the four different generations based on what they value. To do this you have to achieve empathy. Some suggestions for training would include, training to find commonalities, training to understand different perspectives, and training to achieve the same patient outcomes. The goal of special training is for employees to understand the different perspectives and find commonalities to achieve the common goal of positive patient outcomes. We must create an environment where the four generations feel empowered, job satisfaction and a high quality of life. Leaders must remain educated, creative, open-minded, and inventive when developing strategies and programs to support and teach the generations (Bragg, 2014). Other options for generational support include mentoring programs, recognition programs, and employee engagement groups.

Conclusion Educate Train Empathize Brainstorm Celebrate Diversity In conclusion, the four generations in the nursing workforce have widely different values, beliefs, communication styles, and confliction management styles based on their life experiences and perceptions of the world around them. Although the generations are living in the same world and revolving around each other, they’ve evolved to have different ideas on how things should be done. These differences can create problems that are directly responsible for poor nurse retention, a future nursing shortage, high turnover rates, poor patient outcomes, and organizational distress. Some strategies to overcome generational difficulties are to train employees to empathize with each other and to brainstorm together to come up with ideas to achieve the same patient outcomes. We are told to celebrate diversity every day and the multigenerational nursing workforce is on the front line of diversity.

References Bragg, J. (2014). Lead to succeed through generational differences. American Nurse Today, 9(10). Retrieved from https://www.americannursetoday.com/lead-succeed-generational- differences/# Coburn, A.S., & Hall, S.J. (2014). Generational differences in nurses’ characteristics, job satisfaction, quality of work life, and psychological empowerment. Journal of Hospital Administration, 3(5), 124-134. doi:10.5430/jha.v3n5p124 Howard, C. (2017). Can we all just get along: Communicating through generations of nurses. Retrieved from http://allnurses.com/nurse- colleague-patient/can-we-all-961735.html Moore, J.M., Everly, M., & Bauer, R. (2016). Multigenerational challenges: Team-building for positive clinical workforce outcomes. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(2). doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol21No02Man03 Robinson-Celeste, J. (2016). How to manage a multigenerational workforce and not go totally insane. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-celeste/how-to-manage-4- generatio_b_8125158.html