Aug 12 2009
Generational Diversity: Making Room for the Gen Xers and Millennials!
Generational diversity has never been such a hot topic… until now! Generation Xers and Millennials are moving in and changing the rules of the game in almost every work setting!
Young professionals between the ages of 22 and 42 have jumped into the workforce with high levels of confidence and self esteem; they’re optimistic, willing to express their ideas and opinions, and they aren’t afraid to critique the ways things have been done. There’s an ever-growing demand for their skills and fresh knowledge. They’re diverse in their racial and cultural make-up, and they’re creating innovative solutions to some of the oldest and toughest problems facing our world today.
Let’s face it, Generation Xers and Millennials are shaking things up! And while this is an exciting time for those of us exiting the GenXer population, for some, it’s also a time of confusion and frustration. While many Gen Xers and Millennials have been heralded for helping companies maximize their bottom lines, some have been stopped cold in their fast-moving tracks by stereotypes fueled by miscommunication and sometimes resentment by those who feel young and emerging professionals are impatient and less loyal to their companies and profession.
It’s true, there are very clear distinctions in the way different generations view their self-worth, their quality of life, their commitment to their professions and their futures. Creating a space to build understanding and effectively manage these differences can either make or break opportunities for positive workplace relationships.
One of the ways ASCE ensures that its younger members (members 35 years of age or younger) feel “at home” is by providing venues for their participation in all levels of the Society. ASCE has a board-level Committee on Younger Members (CYM), and Younger Member Forums have formed across the country. And, there are a number of student organizations, awards, publications and other member benefits and services targeting young professionals preparing to enter the civil engineering profession and become active leaders within ASCE.
ASCE values the perspectives of its members in all their generationally diversity. And ASCE knows that it can achieve inclusivity that extends beyond the traditional characteristics of “diversity” - age, language, race and country of origin, education, sexual orientation and physical abilities. Active and effective inclusion also leverages unique perspectives through diversity in thinking.
So let’s talk about real generational differences! How is your Section building multigenerational team success? For example, is your Section connected with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?
Lisa J. Jennings
Senior Manager, Diversity and Pre-College Outreach
All around the country, including here in Boston, it seems the YMG’s are thriving, and in some ways, the YMG’s are more connected with the real world than the remainder of the ASCE membership. Whenever I run an event, I know the YMG membership will be there full force to give back to their community or aid in the education of the even younger generation. I battle with 2 groups: the older membership that feel community service and educational outreach are for the young, and those young people who don’t see reason to get involved with anything in the first place. Some companies go out of their way to breed a spirit of community involvement into its membership and we should make it our goal as ASCE members to provide that same encouragement not only to young civil engineers but to all. If we ourselves do not unilaterally reach out, we should not ever really expect true diversity. More often than not, when I visit schools, I find the young people that understand what engineering is, for the most part, have family that are engineers.
I feel better having expressed that, but the question was really all about forms of communication among the section. Formally, the BSCES focuses on having a very easily understood and easily edited website (www.bsces.org), but informally, for outreach purposes, we run http://www.engineeryourfuture.org, plus run the Facebook page Engineer Your Future and put out Twitter messages as “Engineeryrfutur”. Much of what we put there extends beyond New England and even beyond just civil engineering (since at the K-12 level, there is no need to be so compartmental), so I encourage everyone to join the facebook group and tune into our tweets.
It seems to me that a large difference in the generations is the change from a “work hard” attitude to one focusing on “quality of life.” The younger members are much more focused to do things that improve quality of life - whether for the community, clients or themselves. I hear more and more younger engineers saying that they want a job that makes them feel like they are making a difference, even if it means a reduced salary/benefits. Along with this, the younger engineers often view helping the community above getting ahead at work. I think this is a large reason why they are so easy to question the current standards and processes - they aren’t in the engineering field to work hard, they are in it to make a difference.