Nursing Profession Generational Diversity

Generational Diversity in the Workplace

Generational diversity is a facet of every organization’s workplace that, despite its importance, is sometimes disregarded. In the nursing profession, as in any other, there are four distinct generations that are actively engaged in the workforce today. Veterans (1925-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Gen Xers (1963-1980), and Millennials (1980-2000) are among these generations (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). One key characteristic of these groups is that each has gone through a unique set of historical and social events that have shaped their uniqueness—their attitude toward labor, their worldview, and so on, and ambitions as well as aspirations (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). It is not uncommon that each of these generational groups has its way of approaching and viewing work and career although this does not mean therefore that within a certain generational group all the individuals behave similarly. The unique characteristics of each person remain dominant regardless of whichever group they belong (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). However, to explore the idea of likeness at the workplace by members of specific generational groups, it is factual that within the cohorts, members will always contribute common ideas, approaches, and values to their places of work and that form the basis of this classification. The report thus critically examines the main characteristics of these generational groups in the nursing profession, the most likely types and causes of conflicts, strategies for cohesive co-existence among the different generational groups in the nursing profession, and the benefits of the multigenerational nursing team for both the organization and the patients.

Characteristics of the Generations at Workplace

As already described before, each of the generations has its unique characteristics which distinguish it from the rest hence defining them. To begin with, there are the Veterans also known as the Traditionalists groups whose characteristics according to Hu Herrick, & Hodgin (2004) include; high loyalty and dedication to their work and employees, they have well-built commitment to collaboration and teamwork, they have high consideration to enhancing interpersonal communication, their values were shaped and influenced by the postwar depression, and in the U.S, they are made up of the affluent population due to their savings after the war impacts.

On the other hand, Baby Boomers are the generation, first in history to dedicate more of their time to work than to personal life. They have little trust in authority and large systems. The Civil Rights Activists, inflation, and Viet Nam played n important role in shaping their values (Hu Herrick, & Hodgin, 2004). They have high optimism and willingness to change compared to the earlier generation. The decline of dot.com marketplace resulted in the decimation of their retirement savings thus this generation has to work longer hours and engage in part-time jobs to increase their earnings.

Generation Xers are sometimes referred to as the slacker or the lazy generation. They can question authority and are also known to be the generation which can balance work and life. They were born mainly during the decline of the population growth rate, and they possess higher technical skills than their predecessors (Hu Herrick, & Hodgin, 2004). They place less priority on work making their employers assume they are not dedicated. However, this is a generation that is very willing to expand their skills and very adaptive to the job instability than any other group.

The last group is the Millennials which has the following characteristics according to Hu Herrick, & Hodgin (2004); they are a global-centered generation which came during a period of high internet growth and terrorism, they are more resilient especially in exploring change, they appreciate inclusion and diversity, and they are highly educated among the four generational groups due to interaction with enhanced technology.

Types and Causes of Conflicts in Multigenerational Workforce

All organizations and workplaces are constituted of the multigenerational workforce with the Traditionalists (older nurses) exploiting their experience to direct the organizations and the Millennials (younger nurses) fresh from the colleges but ripe with a lot to prove to their seniors. In any culturally diverse group, conflicts are prone to arise just like in the multigenerational labor force. Successful organizations are therefore characterized by their ability to turn conflicts into strengths and differences that may arise into unity.

The conflicts which are witnessed in the multigenerational nursing team are not different from those experienced in all other organizations and workplaces. They include; conflicts arising from styles and methods of communication, conflicts arising from generational stereotypes, those caused by working styles, conflicts as a result of coworker expectation, and conflicts as a result of leadership expectation. The key to dealing with multigenerational labor forces is forging strong relationships and bonds with every employee regardless of their generation group. Every employee is expected to employ soft skills such as interpersonal communication to establish an interpersonal relationship to overcome any disagreement that may arise.

Strategies for Multigenerational Co-existence

Organizational and nurse managers can no longer assume that giving high pay and medical benefits are enough to retain top talents as the four generations interact (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). Each of them has its unique interests that must be addressed uniquely. For instance, as many of the Veterans (old) nurses retire, more Baby Boomer nurses are seeking postretirement opportunities and Generation Xers are searching for more challenging but balanced jobs whereas the Millennial nurses are looking for higher perks to compensate for their technological skills and loyalty to the organizations (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). Thus, nurse managers must source for suitable ways to recruit and retain their diverse workforce.

To achieve this, the managers must invest in motivation, mutual respect, and enhanced communication. The leader must recuperate the compensation and benefits awarded to the different generations as a motivation (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). They must be designed in a way that they meet the attitudes, unique perspectives, and values of every group, for instance, most people who retire (Veterans) need more time off than monetary rewards whereas the Millennials may need more flexibility in their career (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). The nurse managers must also expand communication by introducing several strategies for the corporate conveyance of the message. The same message should be passed through different formats to reach every employee. Baby Boomers and Veterans may prefer verbal communication whereas Millennials and Gen Xers may prefer e-mails or instant messaging. Information sharing sessions should also be important moments for the employees as it is aimed at boosting their interpersonal communication skills. To ensure mutual respect, the leader must enhance interpersonal skills which help in fostering a good relationship between employees as well as with other leaders (Hendricks & Cope, 2013). Creating a respectful and inclusive arena where all nurses regardless of their cultural background or generation can interact harmoniously is paramount for a leader.

Benefits of Multigenerational Nursing Team

The nursing workforce today is becoming more diverse regarding the age demographics thus establishing a career environment that is well constituted and rich with skill and maturity especially from the Veteran nurses and youthful enthusiasm from the Millennial nurses Mitchell et al., 2015). Therefore, nursing organizations that include employees of diverse age groups have the advantage of creating a multicultural labor force with a wide range of skills beneficial to both the organization and the patients seeking medical services.

The advantages include; a diverse set of skills, for example, the young nurses may possess high-tech skills necessary for delivering nursing services in the 21st century whereas the older nurses possess interpersonal skills needed in communicating with the patients (Mitchell et al., 2015). A combination of these skills is beneficial to both the patient and the organization. The young nurse also possesses technological skills which are a necessity in the contemporary workplace Mitchell et al., 2015). A multigenerational nursing team also has the advantage of mentoring where members of each group can learn from each other (enhancing mentoring) and lastly, a diverse nursing team has the advantage of continuity since there is no group that is at risk of becoming obsolete.

References

Hendricks, J. M., & Cope, V. C. (2013). Generational diversity: what nurse managers need to know. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(3), 717-725.

Hu, J., Herrick, C., & Hodgin, K. A. (2004). Managing the multigenerational nursing team. The Health Care Manager, 23(4), 334-340.

Mitchell, R., Boyle, B., Parker, V., Giles, M., Chiang, V., & Joyce, P. (2015). Managing inclusiveness and diversity in teams: How leader inclusiveness affects performance through status and team identity. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 217-239.