“Attitudes to work in the 21st century, boomers, slackers and Y?”

Reading a small selection from the plethora of books describing the differences between generations, it’s easy to get caught up believing the clichés and stereotypes given to the post-war generation of Baby boomers, (those born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X, (those born between 1965 to 1977), and Generation Y, (born 1978 – 1998). Nevertheless, it’s an interesting exercise to take a snapshot of your own workplace and see if you can recognise any ‘generational differences’ manifesting in attitudes to work and interactions between your colleagues and bosses, and examine whether some of the clichés apply. What I’ve discovered is how contradictory these stereotypes can be.

Baby boomers are often portrayed as ‘toeing the company line’, doggedly working their way to the top, not questioning their ‘superiors’, and resisting change. However, baby boomers were once young rebels and have turned out to be the innovators of society. A recent issue of BRW focuses on some of Australia’s top innovators, most of whom are baby boomers.

Generation Xers on the other hand, want to satisfy their need for relationships and socialisation through teamwork, and are supposed to bring a more ‘relaxed’ attitude to work. However, Gen Xers are not necessarily the slackers described in Douglas Coupland’s cult classic Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. They’re extremely hardworking, but not without questioning the status quo. Research suggests this generation is less concerned with status and money than their baby boomer predecessors. Penelope Trunk, a columnist at the Boston Globe reports there has been a shift in work ethic taking place since Generation X became adults.

Generation Y, the youngest generation at work, want to be treated with respect and recognised for their contributions to an organisation's success. Along with Gen Xers, they got a rough deal, as, unlike baby boomers, they have never been able to expect a "job for life" at any single organisation. As a result, they are more motivated by personal growth and the opportunity for developing skills they can take with them throughout their career.

Lesson here is, don’t pigeon-hole people in your workplace according to which generation they fit into. The economic and social environment in which you were born does have a bearing on your attitudes to work, but there are no hard and fast rules. It’s more important to develop an understanding as to why not everyone’s attitude to work is the same.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

Vault Library Troubleshooting

The Vault Online Library uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology to ensure that only authorized users can use the Vault guides.

Here are some pointers on accessing the Vault guides with minimal DRM hassles:

• The DRM is facilitating just one operation: downloading a Vault guide onto one computer, so that it can be viewed or printed on that computer. If you download a Vault guide onto your work computer and then email it to your home computer, the guide will not open.
• Version 7 of the Adobe Acrobat Reader gives you the best results.
• Sometimes a strong corporate or personal firewall can interfere with the transmission of data necessary to unlock a document. Temporarily deactivate your firewall before downloading
  

If you’re still having difficulties, take a look at Vault’s detailed download FAQs or contact the Library.

The Frank Lowy Library's career resources page

The Career Resources page is a joint project between the Frank Lowy Library and the AGSM Placement Office and is a central place to look for resources on how to get a job.

To access the careers page, you first need to login to the Frank Lowy Library research site [see these instructions for logging in].

There are three main components to the Career Resources page: the Vault Online Career Library, Useful Links, and Print Resources.

Vault Online Career Library
The Vault Online Career Library is the centrepiece of the Career Resources page. Current students are able to access over 70 electronic Vault career guides. The books are comprehensive, authoritative and are typically about 200 pages in length.
There are guides for particular industries (Energy, Technology, Advertising etc.) and top employers within an industry. There are also guides to more general aspects of the job-seeking process, such as resumés, cover letters and interviews.

Much of Vault’s content is U.S.-focused, but that is changing with the recent inclusion of Australian employee surveys which cover:

• Workplace surveys
• What it's like to work for a specific employer, including, but not limited to corporate culture, diversity, hours, dress code, and opportunities for advancement.
• Interview surveys
• Hiring process and interviews (how many rounds of interviews, who conducted the interviews, and whether there were any specific interview questions you remember of note).
• Salary surveys
• Information about base salary, signing and year-end bonuses, stock options, vacation time, and other special perks and reimbursements.
• Business outlook surveys
• Analysis of strengths and weaknesses in competition, distribution channels, products and services, employee morale, etc.

Useful links
The second component of the Career Resources page is a collection of career-related links selected by the AGSM Placement Office. If you know of a good resource please contact the Library on 02 9931 9390 or library@agsm.edu.au.

Print Resources
The third section of the Career Resources page highlights some of the books that the Frank Lowy Library has in this area. Click on the hot topics to get a list of books on job hunting, career planning or interview techniques. These books are often more in-depth and authoritative than many of the job-seeking resources which can be found online.

Career research - finding company and industry information

Do your homework before you contact a company.
Gather as much information as you can. The online databases provide a wealth of detail on companies and industries.

Proquest
Start here by checking the thesaurus for industry terms to search as a subject term combined with a geographical area or other relevant terms.

Business Source Premier
Great for industry profiles. Search the industry as a subject term, then click on Industry profiles. Also contains Datamonitor company profiles.

Mergent and Reuters Business Insight
Contains industry reports on technology, energy, finance,
health care and consumer goods.

GMID Euromonitor
Look here for statistical information and market reports.