Team Building: Recruiting Tips Across Generations

The labor market is tight. Many businesses around my town are short-staffed and have restricted hours due to the challenges of hiring. Yet, I also believe many companies could do more to find, and retain, workers. A huge barrier, in my mind, are differing generational values. While these differing values do not apply to everyone, and we need to be careful not to stereotype, values have changed over the last 40 years. Let me explain.

I frequently hear people in leadership, who are often in their late 50s or 60s, complain that “younger workers don’t know how to work” or that they “don’t have a work ethic”. Some even say younger workers are “lazy”. These statements are all different ways of expressing their belief that their challenges in recruiting are not their fault.  Younger workers are usually not a good fit for their organizations because young workers “don’t value work”.

From the perspective of younger workers, however, it is not that they don’t value work. it is just that they also value family, experiences, and work-life balance. They are not “lazy” but they also don’t want to be slaves to their jobs. They do want time to spend with their kids. They are willing to work hard, but not forever and not in ways that take them away from other priorities. 

What are the implications of these differing values? Companies that are successful at recruiting and retaining younger workers find ways to shift their cultures towards the values of younger workers. Increased paid vacations, shorter workdays (or weeks), and increased remote work options all help. Some software developers now offer unlimited paid time off because the market is so tight (and they have learned that most developers don’t take a lot of time off, even when it is offered). 



So, rather than lamenting the lack of a “work ethic” in younger workers, many companies would be much more likely to find the help they need if they could embrace some of the values that many younger workers share. This entails letting go of a rigid belief in what should be, and instead embracing what is. 

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