Generations at Work

From veterans to nexters

“…13,14 These problems can all be detrimental to a nursing unit and to a hospital overall; however, when properly managed, there's much to be gained by multigenerational diversity. 13,14 These problems can all be detrimental to a nursing unit and to a hospital overall; however, when properly managed, there's much to be gained by multigenerational diversity.…”

Multigenerational workforce issues and their implications for leadership in nursing

“…They tended to be uncomfortable with change and tend to favour command and control management/leadership styles. Their core values are law and order, respect for authority, duty, honour, dedication and sacrifice (Calhoun & Strasser 2005, Gursory et al. 2008).…”

“…They prefer to be tech‐savvy, employ multitasking and are keen to participate or collaborate in decisions as much as possible. Their core values are optimism, civic duty, confidence, teamwork, modesty, achievement, morality, ‘street smart’ and diversity (Duchscher & Cowan 2004, Calhoun & Strasser 2005). They are a product of their times, they are more numerous, more affluent, better educated and more ethnically diverse than any of the previous generational groups and according to Weingarten (2009) older generations are commonly surprised at the range of positive social habits they exhibit.…”

“…The impact of a variety of multigenerational groups working together is that misunderstandings regarding values, work ethics, communication styles and approaches to problem solving may be common and lead to conflict (Ulrich 2001, Calhoun & Strasser 2005), disharmony or an unproductive workforce. The result of these misunderstandings and work ethic differences are likely to be costly to organizations as they can result in increased absenteeism, interpersonal conflict, low‐quality patient care (Weingarten 2009), communication breakdown and a lack of staff motivation.…”

Intergenerational Issues in Nursing: Learning From Each Generation

“…Not to be laid off or downsized as their parents were, Generation X works hard to master a variety of skills that will ensure employment in a difficult job market (Calhoun, 2005). They often work extra shifts and stay late to exhibit their devotion and commitment.…”