How generational stereotypes hold us back at work | Leah Georges

180,339 views ・ 2019-05-16

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
Translator: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Krystian Aparta
0
0
7000
00:12
So, for the first time in America's modern history,
1
12579
2381
00:14
we have five generations interacting at work.
2
14984
2571
00:17
The veterans, born between 1922 and 1943,
3
17579
3587
00:21
are known as the Greatest Generation, the matures, the silents.
4
21190
3935
00:25
They're known for their self-sacrifice,
5
25149
2277
00:27
respect for authority and work as its own reward.
6
27450
3334
00:31
The boomers came shortly after, born between 1944 and 1960.
7
31141
5416
00:37
This is a generation characterized by hard work.
8
37002
2636
00:39
In fact, we can thank this generation for the term "workaholic."
9
39662
3244
00:43
They appreciate competition, they love effective communication.
10
43795
3901
00:47
And they're thinking towards retirement, if they haven't retired already.
11
47720
3658
00:52
Generation X is known as the lost generation
12
52402
3070
00:55
the latchkey generation, born between 1961 and 1980.
13
55496
4248
00:59
This is the smallest generation,
14
59768
1874
01:01
sandwiched between boomers and the big millennials.
15
61666
3260
01:04
More parents were divorced in this generation
16
64950
2103
01:07
than any generation prior.
17
67077
1944
01:09
They also were the first generation to tell us about work-life balance,
18
69045
3889
01:12
and the first to really ask for that in the workplace.
19
72958
3064
01:16
And then millennials -- you know, the everybody-gets-a-ribbon generation --
20
76647
3604
01:20
born between 1981 and 2000.
21
80275
2675
01:22
Never knew a time where technology wasn't present in the home.
22
82974
3448
01:26
They're incredibly pragmatic, they're hopeful and they're determined.
23
86831
3263
01:30
They think they're going to change the world,
24
90118
2118
01:32
in fact, I believe they're going to do it.
25
92260
2015
01:34
They might be a little bit idealistic sometimes,
26
94299
2397
01:36
but in just the last several years,
27
96720
2028
01:38
we've seen millennials overtake Generation X
28
98772
2829
01:41
to be the most represented generation in the workforce.
29
101625
2857
01:44
In fact, more than one in three people in the United States labor force
30
104506
4092
01:48
is a millennial.
31
108622
1150
01:50
And soon to join us there, Generation Z, born since 2000,
32
110145
3746
01:53
our high school interns or soon to be high school graduates.
33
113915
3362
01:57
Now, if you open any internet browser,
34
117688
2215
01:59
look at Amazon,
35
119927
1198
02:01
search any of your favorite search engines,
36
121149
2317
02:03
you might assume there's a literal war in the workplace, right?
37
123490
3674
02:07
We see blog topics like
38
127188
1665
02:08
"Seventeen reasons why millennials are the worst generation."
39
128877
3327
02:12
And "Why baby boomers have ruined it for everybody."
40
132228
2563
02:14
Or "Bridging the great generational divide."
41
134815
2286
02:17
It's like turning into this "West Side Story,"
42
137125
2158
02:19
like, boomers come in one door,
43
139307
1493
02:20
millennials come in another door, the lobby,
44
140824
2087
02:22
they just fight with each other all day, complain, go home, do the same,
45
142935
3413
02:26
come back to work, right?
46
146372
1200
02:28
Well, so what if I told you these generations may not exist?
47
148157
5566
02:34
I've been spending some time thinking about this and researching this,
48
154406
3310
02:37
and fellow researchers and I aren't exactly sure
49
157740
2293
02:40
that these generations are real.
50
160057
2134
02:42
And in fact, if we can agree that these groups even exist,
51
162702
3362
02:46
we certainly don't agree who belongs in them.
52
166088
2854
02:49
And they span something like 20 years.
53
169468
2707
02:52
So at whatever point in history,
54
172199
1688
02:53
a one-year-old and a 20-year-old are said to share the same value system,
55
173911
4182
02:58
to want the same things at work,
56
178117
2159
03:00
to have the same stereotypes working for and against them.
57
180300
3833
03:04
And in fact, different areas of the world define these generations differently.
58
184157
3730
03:07
So we can't even compare generations across various areas of the world.
59
187911
4142
03:12
And these stereotypes about each generation
60
192077
2017
03:14
have, in a lot of ways, created this self-fulfilling prophecy,
61
194118
3308
03:17
that people begin to act as if they're part of that generation
62
197450
3246
03:20
because we've said out loud that generation is real.
63
200720
2992
03:23
I'm not so sure that it is.
64
203736
1547
03:25
And in fact, this idea of generations
65
205307
2329
03:27
has become deeply embedded in United States culture.
66
207660
3124
03:30
When we talk generations,
67
210808
1429
03:32
people know exactly what we're talking about.
68
212261
2729
03:35
In fact, people have a lot of thoughts and feelings
69
215014
2518
03:37
about each of these generations.
70
217556
1539
03:39
And I'll tell you how I know this.
71
219119
1649
03:40
I did the thing
72
220792
1159
03:41
that every red-blooded American and pre-tenure academic does
73
221975
2935
03:44
when they have a question.
74
224934
1246
03:46
I Googled some stuff.
75
226204
1206
03:47
And this is what I learned.
76
227434
2318
03:49
Google is based on algorithms,
77
229776
1699
03:51
and they provide you with commonly searched terms,
78
231499
2419
03:53
or suggested hits, based on what other people are searching
79
233942
2857
03:56
surrounding the same topic.
80
236823
1318
03:58
And it gave me a really good sense of what people think
81
238165
2579
04:00
about each of these generations.
82
240768
1531
04:02
Take a look.
83
242323
1230
04:03
I learned that baby boomers are conservative,
84
243577
3347
04:06
that Americans think they're stupid.
85
246948
1849
04:08
The worst generation, they're angry,
86
248821
1819
04:10
apparently they're racist and they're so important.
87
250664
3336
04:14
Looking at Generation X,
88
254512
1867
04:16
I learned Generation X is a cynical group,
89
256403
2468
04:18
they're angry,
90
258895
1508
04:20
they're known as the lost generation -- we know this;
91
260427
2488
04:22
they're the smallest generation.
92
262939
1870
04:24
Apparently, they're stupid too.
93
264833
1592
04:26
(Laughter)
94
266449
1001
04:27
And mostly, they're frustrated with baby boomers.
95
267474
2587
04:30
Alright, millennials, this is what I learned about us.
96
270664
2532
04:33
So, we're obsessed with food.
97
273220
1444
04:34
(Laughter)
98
274688
1802
04:37
We're also stupid, ah!
99
277339
2754
04:40
We're lazy, we're sensitive, we're fired,
100
280117
2428
04:42
we're also hated, and we think we're important.
101
282569
2201
04:44
And perhaps the most terrifying search result on the internet --
102
284794
3188
04:48
Generation Z is screwed.
103
288006
2246
04:50
(Laughter)
104
290276
3150
04:53
OK, so, for five years, I've been talking to leaders and followers
105
293450
4671
04:58
across a wide variety of organizations.
106
298145
2495
05:00
And this is what I've come to realize.
107
300664
2294
05:02
Generations haven't become part of the conversation --
108
302982
2595
05:05
generations have become the conversation at work.
109
305601
3752
05:09
What I've learned
110
309377
1150
05:10
is that we're working under the assumption that those Google results are true.
111
310551
4073
05:15
And so, what I think is that organizations are now desperate
112
315735
5040
05:20
to figure out how to "manage" the multigenerational workplace.
113
320799
3794
05:24
"Manage" it.
114
324617
1349
05:25
We manage all sorts of things.
115
325990
1793
05:27
We're preparing for this wave of millennials to come to work.
116
327807
3405
05:31
So we prepare for hurricanes, right?
117
331236
2182
05:33
We prepare to take the MCAT, we prepare for natural disasters.
118
333442
3278
05:36
Why are we preparing for 23-year-olds to come to work?
119
336744
2730
05:39
(Laughter)
120
339498
1095
05:40
I've talked to these organizations,
121
340617
1703
05:42
and I've heard amazing things that they're doing
122
342344
2607
05:44
to create a workspace for everybody to get along
123
344975
2732
05:47
and to have autonomy and to feel like they're thriving.
124
347731
3314
05:51
But I've also heard some really incredibly harebrained ideas
125
351069
2874
05:53
about how to navigate the multigenerational workplace.
126
353967
2539
05:56
Are you ready?
127
356530
1151
05:57
This is what I saw.
128
357705
1165
05:58
I visited an organization,
129
358894
1253
06:00
and they adopted this idea that if you can see it, you can be it.
130
360181
4063
06:04
A really important concept.
131
364268
1873
06:06
But I think they blew it.
132
366165
1341
06:07
The put pictures on the walls of the ideal multigenerational workplace,
133
367530
3873
06:11
because if you can see it, you can be it.
134
371427
2733
06:14
(Laughter)
135
374767
2850
06:17
Or like this one.
136
377641
1158
06:18
(Laughter)
137
378823
2143
06:21
Like, I don't even want to work here.
138
381528
1921
06:23
(Laughter)
139
383473
1025
06:24
You don't get to wear color here, apparently,
140
384522
3174
06:27
and HR seriously has problems with people jumping in heels,
141
387720
2802
06:30
I promise you that, OK?
142
390546
1558
06:32
I talked to an organization who recently decided
143
392553
2937
06:35
against putting a ball pit in the break room
144
395514
2691
06:38
because that's how you retain millennials.
145
398229
2600
06:41
We're 30, not three.
146
401307
2072
06:43
(Laughter)
147
403403
1365
06:44
And in fact, I know a young, at the time, millennial,
148
404792
4666
06:49
who was told that if she wanted people to take her seriously,
149
409482
4071
06:53
just because she was a millennial, she would have to do this --
150
413577
3492
06:57
wear shoulder pads.
151
417093
1660
06:59
Yes.
152
419244
1151
07:00
People younger than her and older than her wouldn't take her seriously
153
420419
3428
07:03
unless she wore shoulder pads.
154
423871
2278
07:06
Straight-out-of-the-80s,
155
426173
1150
07:07
can't-even-buy-them-anywhere shoulder pads.
156
427347
2579
07:09
This young woman had two graduate degrees.
157
429950
2800
07:13
This young woman was me.
158
433117
1600
07:16
And this is the best we came up with?
159
436268
2262
07:18
How to navigate the multigenerational workplace ... is shoulder pads?
160
438554
4158
07:22
(Laughter)
161
442736
1825
07:24
So, this is also what I've learned talking to organizations
162
444585
3080
07:27
that employ a wide range of people of various ages.
163
447689
3475
07:31
We are so much more similar than we are different.
164
451498
2669
07:34
And we're hearing this consistently.
165
454191
2420
07:36
People want work that matters, they want flexibility,
166
456635
2738
07:39
they want support, they want appreciation,
167
459397
2008
07:41
they want better coffee.
168
461429
1166
07:42
But none of these things are tied to a generation.
169
462619
3410
07:46
Now, sure, we see small differences in what people want.
170
466053
3016
07:49
We know 20-year-olds and 60-year-olds go home and do different things.
171
469093
3602
07:52
They have different values.
172
472719
1516
07:54
At least when it comes to things happening outside of work.
173
474259
3054
07:57
But I think what's happened
174
477854
1536
07:59
is that this focus on generational cohorts,
175
479414
2639
08:02
these groups of people,
176
482077
1349
08:03
has created a space where we just forgot that people are people.
177
483450
4421
08:09
And to know who they really are, who we really work with,
178
489061
3209
08:12
we have to figure out how to better navigate
179
492294
2064
08:14
this multigenerational workplace
180
494382
1603
08:16
than ball pits.
181
496009
1597
08:18
Call me one of those idealist millennials, but I think we can get there.
182
498437
3394
08:21
And I don't think the idea is too terribly difficult.
183
501855
3600
08:25
What if we radically, simply, not easily,
184
505879
4095
08:29
meet people where they are?
185
509998
1800
08:32
Individualize our approach.
186
512482
1500
08:34
I've never met a generation.
187
514006
1531
08:35
I've had a lot of conversations
188
515561
1524
08:37
with people who happened to identify with a specific generational cohort.
189
517109
3666
08:41
I know that 80-year-olds text message
190
521538
2769
08:44
and 23-year-olds crochet blankets.
191
524331
2111
08:46
None of these things are stereotypical of that generation, right?
192
526466
3467
08:49
Nilofer Merchant -- she's a thought leader in innovation --
193
529957
2811
08:52
she tells us we have to meet people in their onlyness,
194
532792
3117
08:55
that is, that spot in the world where only we stand,
195
535933
2739
08:58
as a function of our unique history, our experiences and our hopes.
196
538696
4401
09:03
But this requires flexibility and curiosity.
197
543887
2629
09:06
And what happens when we meet people in their onlyness,
198
546540
3540
09:10
only the spot in the world that they stand,
199
550104
2158
09:12
we learn that that boomer who is just acting "angry" at work all the time
200
552286
4926
09:17
is scared.
201
557236
1611
09:18
Because he's worked every day since he was 16 years old,
202
558871
4079
09:22
and on a Monday, sooner than he can imagine,
203
562974
2794
09:25
he'll never go to work again.
204
565792
1745
09:27
He's got plans.
205
567895
1166
09:29
It's going to take like a week and a half
206
569085
1976
09:31
to do all the things on that retirement list.
207
571085
2277
09:33
But then what?
208
573736
1349
09:35
What if we give a little bit of grace
209
575109
1809
09:36
to the person that might be a little scared?
210
576942
2082
09:40
Or that Generation X-er
211
580175
2270
09:42
who has four drop-offs, three kids, two hands,
212
582469
3690
09:46
and is just trying to keep the wheels on the bus.
213
586183
2291
09:48
Sure, maybe she's a little aloof at work.
214
588498
2031
09:50
Maybe she's a little independent, maybe she's exhausted.
215
590553
2698
09:53
Or that millennial
216
593577
1278
09:54
who asks for a raise after two months because they're "entitled?"
217
594879
3492
09:58
Well, maybe it's because that generation has more debt
218
598395
2564
10:00
than any generation before them, coming out of college,
219
600983
2880
10:03
and they just need the money
220
603887
2373
10:06
to keep going, to pay rent.
221
606284
1800
10:08
And suddenly, when you meet people in their onlyness,
222
608847
2842
10:11
that spot in the world only they stand,
223
611713
1873
10:13
we're not talking about a generation anymore.
224
613610
2102
10:15
We're talking about Jim or Jen or Candice.
225
615736
3164
10:19
And so here's my challenge to us.
226
619760
1733
10:21
Pick a person, just one, and explore their onlyness.
227
621855
3488
10:25
And then learn.
228
625744
1151
10:26
And then in the moments where it's appropriate, teach.
229
626919
2531
10:29
And figure out what they bring to work that no one else can bring to work,
230
629474
3515
10:33
because that's what makes work richer.
231
633013
1858
10:34
And then do it again.
232
634895
1401
10:36
And do it again.
233
636320
1176
10:37
And then some day, we're not working with generations anymore.
234
637520
2921
10:40
We're working with people.
235
640465
1683
10:42
And so to really understand the beauty of the multigenerational workplace,
236
642172
3492
10:45
I think we just have to meet people where they are.
237
645688
2691
10:48
And that doesn't require that we unpack and live there with them.
238
648403
3833
10:52
But we might find, at least on occasion, it's a beautiful place to visit.
239
652260
3483
10:56
And so I think there's just no need
240
656331
2255
10:58
to argue about which generation is the most angry
241
658610
2776
11:01
or the most entitled or the most so obsessed with food.
242
661410
2994
11:04
We all come to the classroom, to work, back to our homes,
243
664966
2944
11:07
a little bit tired and a little bit tattered sometimes.
244
667934
2752
11:11
Maybe let's just do our best to humbly meet people where they are,
245
671093
3109
11:14
how they show up that day,
246
674226
1637
11:15
generation and all.
247
675887
1267
11:17
And in those moments
248
677665
1150
11:18
where it can feel a little bit like intergenerational warfare,
249
678839
3746
11:22
I think we can at least all agree
250
682609
2661
11:25
that shoulder pads aren't the solution.
251
685294
2238
11:27
(Laughter)
252
687556
1539
11:29
Thank you.
253
689119
1159
11:30
(Applause)
254
690302
3729
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7