Someone Save Me From My Baby Boomer Manager!

You are a Generation Y (millennial, Gen Y, Nexter) worker born between 1980 and 2000 and you report to a Baby Boomer manager. If you’re finding it difficult working and communicating with your manager, you’re not alone. Gen Y/Boomer generational conflict is increasing in the workplace. It’s a frequent area of concern that clients express to me as I work with them in my training and mentoring work.

Earlier, I addressed this Gen Y/Boomer conflict and I explained what Boomer managers can do to adapt their style to work more effectively with their Gen Y workers. With this post, I will speak up for your Boomer boss. I’ll explain how you as a Gen Y worker can adapt your style to work more effectively with your Boomer manager. Before you accept the temptation to write her off as that old professional who is behind the times, let me give you some insights and strategies to help you work with my generation.

We’ll start first with some insights because as I tell clients in my professional work, you have to first understand where another person lives (values, motivators, work preferences, behavioral style, etc.) before you can adapt your style to improve your relationship with them. So, what are some of the common American experiences that shape the Baby Boomer generation and help to explain some of our common patterns of behavior?

Our Boomer History

Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.  We have a unique generational personality based on what occurred in our time in American history. As explained in the book, Generations at Work, we grew up in a time of economic growth and social upheaval. The defining events of our time include the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Era, the Cold War, the Women’s Liberation Movement, assassinations, civil protests, and suburban growth. Our heroes are Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, and others like them.  Ours was a conflicting time with rapid growth and high uncertainty.

Personal growth, personal gratification, involvement, work, and a team environment are important to us.  In general, we will bend rules to meet our own needs, we want to be rewarded for our work, we will leave unfulfilling relationships to seek more fulfilling ones, and we believe in equality. We’re confident and when things do not work well we can see others as the problem. We often have a strong sense of what should be done, how we want to be managed, and what we want to get from the workplace.

These are some general patterns of behavior that describe our generational personality.  There will be individual differences but the information I provided has been corroborated by several organizations including the Higher Education Research Institute and the National Center for Educational Statistics among other firms.

So, what does this mean for you as a Gen Y worker reporting to a Boomer boss? Here’s three tips to improve your interaction with your Boomer manager:

Interaction Tips

• Develop a good work ethic.  One of the major complaints of Baby Boomer managers is the different work ethic of many Gen Y workers. If you want to improve your relationship with your boss, come to work, be on time, meet established deadlines, do quality work, and take pride in your work. Don’t slack off in doing your job. Remember that we value work, growth opportunities, teamwork and equality.  When you do not keep your commitments, you violate these generational values and then the problem begins.  Have good follow-through on all aspects of your job.  If you do this, you will gain our respect and appreciation!

 Communicate respectfully. We, Boomers, have worked very hard–sometimes too hard–to acquire the professional skills that we have. We want to be respected as mentors by younger workers and not dismissed as a dinosaur that needs to move out of the way. Although we are not your parents, as Boomers, we are old enough to be your parents. We expect you to communicate respectfully with us even when you disagree with us.

We’re not your buddy so some of your relaxed methods of communication that you do with each other may not be acceptable to some of us.  For example, some Boomer managers relay to me how they do not like the casual way some Gen Y workers drop the F-bomb.  You’ll have to watch and evaluate how relaxed you can be with us in your communication. There will be individual differences.  The one thing you do not want to do in your communication with us, however, is be dismissive.  We do not like it!

Here’s an insider secret about why you need to get this area right with us and it goes back to our teamwork and equality values. We, Boomers, have a strong desire to contribute and help others.  Learn how to communicate effectively with us and we’ll want to help you all the time! You’ll have a supportive boss, a mentor for life, and an advocate for your professional success.

• Don’t expect automatic rewards before you earn them. Let’s be honest here! Many of us Boomer family members have given you so much attention that we have spoiled you. Your generation has also been accustomed to everyone getting a reward in any competition.  All of this has made you confident, optimistic, and charming which are all positive characteristics.  However, all of this attention has also given you unrealistic expectations in the workplace.

Your Boomer boss is not your parent, aunt, uncle, coach, or teacher.  They are your boss and they have hired you to perform a job.  Don’t expect to be given many perks, workplace flexibility, and other rewards just for showing up to work.  You’re not at home, in school, or on your sports team.  You’re in the real world now and you have to earn your rewards. Do good work, use your superior technology skills to improve the workplace, and teach us new things about social media and IT and you will not have to worry about rewards! Do this and we’ll become your supportive, Boomer boss invested in your career development and workplace satisfaction!

So you do not really need someone to save you from your Baby Boomer manager!  With some understanding of our generational personality and some adjustment on your part, you can turn this problem relationship into a powerful professional relationship. Perform your job well, communicate respectfully, and drop your unrealistic expectation for rewards before you earn them and you can save yourself from your Baby Boomer manager!

Reference:  Zemke, R., Raines, C & Filipczak, B (2000). Generations at Work. AMACOM

Written by Robert Tanner | Copyrighted Material | All Rights Reserved Worldwide

This article is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge.
Content is for informational or educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional advice in business, management, legal, or human resource matters.

Robert Tanner, MBA

Welcome to my leadership blog. I'm the Founder & Principal Consultant of Business Consulting Solutions LLC, a certified practitioner of psychometric assessments, and a former Adjunct Professor of Management. As a leadership professional, I bring 20+ years of real world experience at all levels of management.

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