Book Review - Retiring the Generation Gap: How employees young and old can find common ground.

Unlike many other books written on generational differences in the workplace. Retiring the Generation Gap is an empirically based research study. Jennifer Deal (Center for Creative Leadership) analyzed the workplace perspectives of over 3,200 employees of varying ages. Research-based books are not always enjoyable to read but Jennifer Deal does a good job of making the quantitative analysis bearable and meaningful with practical advice for how employees of all ages can find common ground. Each chapter contains a description of the issue, a description of the research conducted, the principal conclusion of the research expressed as a principle, and the author’s take on how to apply the principle to make cross-generational work life easier.

On the first page of the book the author states:

1. Fundamentally people want the same things, no matter what generation they are from.

2. You can work with (or manage) people from all generations effectively without becoming a contortionist, selling your soul on eBay, or pulling your hair out on a daily basis.

Finally, an empirical book with a positive focus that discusses the things that the generations have in common. The introduction also includes an important discussion on the dangers of making generalizations because as the author notes, there will always be individuals who do not fit a particular generalization.

The author divides and defines the generations as:

Silents (1925-1945)

Early Boomers (1946-1954)

Late Boomers (1955-1963)

Early Xers (1964-1976)

Late Xers (1977-1986)

The book presents ten principles but the author also discovered an underlying theme that informs each principle. The theme is that “most intergenerational conflict shares a common point of origin: the issue of clout—who has it, who wants it”. The author concludes that fundamentally, generational conflict often stems from a particular group’s notion that it gets to make the rules and that the other group has to follow those rules.

The ten principles are:

1. All generations have similar values; they just express them differently

2. Everyone wants respect; they just don’t define it the same way

3. Trust matters

4. People want leaders who are credible and trustworthy

5. Organizational politics is a problem—no matter how old (or young) you are

6. No one really likes change

7. Loyalty depends on the context, not on the generation

8. It’s as easy to retain a young person as an older one—if you do the right things.

9. Everyone wants to learn more than just about anything else

10. Almost everyone wants a coach

One of the important take aways from Retiring the Generation Gap is “you don’t have to tie yourself into knots trying to accommodate each generation’s individual whims, and you don’t have to worry about learning a new set of whims when you next generation comes along. People from different generations are largely alike in what they think, believe, and want from their work life.”