“Women and America’s Changing Work Culture” panelists (from left to right): Suzanne Burnette, Women’s Bureau, Moderator; Jeffrey Vargas, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Suzanne Haynes, Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Dr. Naomi Swanson, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHS; and Edana Lewis, Esq., U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Women’s Bureau photo)

The Clash of the Generations

At the “Women and America’s Changing Work Culture” session, Jeffrey Vargas, Chief Learning Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, presented “The Clash of the Generations.” Four generations now coexist in the workplace, where there may be a 50-year age difference between co-workers:

• Traditionalists/WWII Veterans (born 1922-1945);
  
  
• Baby Boomers (1946-1964);
  
  
• Generation X (1965-1979); and
  
  
• Generation Y (1980-2000).

According to Jeffrey Vargas:

• "The largest group, the Baby Boomers (ages 44 to 62 this year), want to have it all. They have worked hard, put in the hours, and want promotions and titles. They are very competitive, want to be known as experts, and feel their years of experience on the job should be valued and rewarded."

• "Generation X (ages 29 to 43) grew up shaped by the increase in divorce, single parents, and both parents working to try to make ends meet and get ahead. Generation X saw how out of balance their parents’ lives were, became skeptical of the loyalty their parents had to their employers, and grew up self-reliant. They make relationships a priority and put their families ahead of their jobs. They want workplace flexibility, and if their employers won’t provide it, they will find employers who will. They focus on building new skill sets that they can take with them wherever they go."

• "Research tells us that from a very young age Generation Y (ages 16-28) was given both frequent instruction and frequent praise, and that this in turn has created a generation of confident and idealistic young people who believe they can have it all and deserve to have it all. They want you to support their personal goals. They want marriage and family and lots of workplace flexibility especially when they have children. Like Generation X, they are skeptical about loyalty to their employers, and if they cannot get the workplace flexibility they want, they will look elsewhere."

Workplace Flexibility for Generations X and Y

With a wave of Baby Boomer retirements on the horizon, recruiting and retaining Generations X and Y are critical.

In the session, “Workplace Flexibility:  Innovations Across Sectors,” Deborah L. Frett, CEO, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation and BPW/USA, presented workplace flexibility as a strategy to recruit and retain a young workforce. Employers, in consultation with employees, must create flexible work environments that foster loyalty, including options for transitioning back to work after maternity or parental leave. BPW has partnered with a management consulting group to augment office staffing, thereby enabling more flexibility for programmatic activities.

Muriel R. Watkins, Vice President for Human Resources, New York Times Media Group, said that a demand by Generation Y women and men employees to have flexibility – including parental leave – has caused a shift in the way the company thinks about work life.

Wi$ing Up Financially:  A Multi-Generational Perspective

Participants in the “Wi$ing Up Financially” session (from left to right): Krystal Slivinski, Alpha Sigma Alpha (ASA); Beverly Lyle, Women’s Bureau; Katherine Burns, ASA; Nadia Spears, ASA; Ruth Nadel (panelist); Nancy Granovsky (Moderator), Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A& M System; Geraldine Cox, ASA; Jane Walstedt, Women’s Bureau; Kristi Carden, ASA; Lori Scott, ASA; Dr. Maria Malayter, National Louis University; Christine Thomas, ASA; and Cindy Kelley, ASA. (Department of Labor photo)

The panel, “Wi$ing Up Financially:  A Multi-Generational Perspective,” included panelists from Generation Y all the way back to the generation born before World War I. In response to the question, “What are you doing/what did you do to prepare yourself for retirement?” women from two generations responded:

• Baby Boomer panelist Evelyn Lugo, President and CEO, ELo Properties, Inc., said she doesn’t think of retiring from her profession, but thinks of retiring to another activity or part-time work. She recommends that women pursue interests outside their 9-to-5 jobs that would generate income in retirement.
  
  
• Ruth Nadel, a retired Women’s Bureau employee who is in her 90s, had this advice for women in the workforce:

• “You don’t retire from, you retire to.”
• “One needs structure in one’s life.”
• “You have to do what gives you pleasure and satisfaction.”
• “Age is just a number, and it’s unlisted!”

For more information on the Wi$e Up financial education program for Generations X and Y women, go to www.wiseupwomen.org.

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Statements of or attributions to private sector speakers or participants may not necessarily reflect Department views.

For more information about the Women's Bureau, contact:
U.S. Department of Labor
Women's Bureau
200 Constitution Avenue, NW - Room S-3002
Washington, DC 20210
Telephone 1-800-827-5335 or (202) 693-6710
Fax (202) 693-6725