Generations@Work

As this most historic of years comes to a close I find myself inspired to post/write/blog, whatever thought label gets me back in the game.  Been off doing some very interesting research and likely some of the observations and insights gleaned over these past months will find their way into this space in the weeks and months ahead.
But in light of the momentous events that we have all been witness to in this country and around the world  over the past six months, my first post in a long while comes from a reflexive place. Here’s where I begin again.  Whereas some folks might have imagined that generations as a topiic of interest would have abated if not disappeared by now, my sense is that it’s just getting interesting.

Safe to say we have now passed the first two phases of generational musings, especially about generations in the workplace.  If you’re new and need to catch up look back at the archives of this and many other blogs that for years have been laying the ground work for the very important work to come.  Phase One was just getting the idea of a generation more solidly embedded in the serious, or in many cases, not so serious social discourse.  This phase included a lot of definitional work such as identifying the current generational cohorts and marking their time in history.  Phase One also set out some of the terms of the discussion/debate especially by characterizing generations and establishing their peer personality.  The second phase, most likely starting mid-decade, began to apply the insights from Phase One taking note of generational influences in various domains of social life especially the workplace.   A new generation, the Millennials, was taking it place in the labor force and the savvy observers of social life began to take note.
As always in thinking about the emergence of generation as an acceptable social category beyond the pages of Rolling Stone magazine, I give special mention to the work of historians William Strauss and Neil Howe and in particular to their groundbreaking work Generations, the History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069.  It took historians and not sociologists to do the work of inserting the idea of a generation into the public consciousness in a way that helps us make meaning of our times.  And now we enter Phase Three.

The context. Our political system has been mauled almost beyond recognition.  Our economy is reeling from the dark energies emanating from Wall Street.  The once mighty US auto industry today sits precariously at the precipice.  Many of our social systems, education and health care just to name two, are groaning under the weight of neglect and antiquated modes of thought.  The economic and social status of tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of human beings worldwide has never been more precarious.  And a generation long used to wielding the reigns of power in all aspects of American life is losing its grip while simultaneously exposing its astounding weaknesses. Not to cast everyone in the Baby Boom generation in the same mold but it was absolutely astounding to hear the response given by George Bush to a question posed by ABC journalist       about the fact that Al Queda was not in Iraq when he ordered the invasion.  Bush’s response - So What!
Move over mentoring and coaching, it’s time for the big questions now.
For one, we have seen a generational shift in American politics and it is likely that the Baby Boomers have elected the last president of their generation.

Second.  We are witnessing perhaps the greatest shifts in wealth generationally in American history.

Third.  We are now in the throes of the worst economic crisis in seventy years that is hitting all generations pretty hard but will have a particularly powerful effect on the Millennial generation.

Fourth.  When our economy inevitably recovers from this economic crisis our workplaces will look very different than they do today.  In spite of the fact that nearly every business and organization on the planet is struggling day-to-day to manage the global downturn the businesses and organizations  that can afford to should begin to imagine what the workplace will look like in two or three years and begin to plan accordingly.

It’s issues like these that get the blogging juices flowing again.  It’s time for the big questions now!