Studying Generation C in the Workplace

By Christopher Salute, SIOP Blogger

During my last post, we discussed the idea of students requesting Facebook interaction from their professors. I received a good amount of feedback regarding interacting with students outside of the classroom from readers and even friends and family who read the blog. I love the idea of using Yammer or LinkedIn for in-network social situations. And, I agree that it is a huge organizational challenge (work, school, or otherwise) when direct reports or students request social interaction you are not comfortable with. I’ve even spoken with colleagues who have asked students what their classroom expectations are. And, students are now expecting texts, Facebook messages, and other communications outside of the classroom.

The story about academic interaction, though, was simply an example to illustrate the new generation of students who will soon be entering the workforce. This new generation (those born between 1990 and 2010) was first introduced in early 2011 by Booz and Company in an article about their consumer preferences. Recently, it has been officially recognized by Nielsen as Generation C. It is the first generation of what we call “digital natives.” The “C” stands for connected and communicative.      

My colleagues (Ryan Duffy, Carolyn Sweetapple) and I have been doing some research on this new group of employees since last Fall under the guidance of Dr. Comila Shahani-Denning. Unfortunately, one major limitation is that most of them have not yet entered the workforce. So we can only work with a small sample and make vague inferences from trends we’ve seen in Generation Y (those born between 1980 and 2000). The generational overlap gets confusing. But, what we can say is that Gen C will expect constant and immediate feedback at the workplace.  They will try to make use of the technology around them, forgoing the traditional cubicle-style workplace for a home-based work environment.

We’ve got some ideas on how this technology will shape Generation C. Will they prefer a more flexible work schedule since they are constantly connected? Will their technical skills make them more trainable? Will their lack of formal communication make them less marketable?  Or, are these technology preferences just one component of what makes up this generation as opposed to a trend that will alter employee selection and development as we know it?

The digital gauntlet has been thrown. What we learn from this new crop of students and employees will make for some interesting changes to the work landscape as we know it. We’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Comments

[Salute]

David,

I appreciate your input. But nobody is making unsupported claims. Anything we're stating in our paper has come from supported research. To further this knowledge, we are simply asking questions. We hope to find something significant.

I suppose if a question has been answered by one authority, we should cease to ask it?

Not sure that you have an understanding of someone's research after reading a short blog. A little dissapointed. But, thank you for reading, nonetheless.

[David Costanza]

Thee is simply no solid theoretical or empirical evidence for generation-based differences among workers. Have workers changed over time? In some ways, yes. In others, no. When there are changes, are they attributable to the common conceptualization of a "generation" (i.e., a group of people being a certain age at a certain period in time and being commonly influenced by historical events)? No. Research does not support that conclusion.

It is disconcerting that such unsupported stereotypes continue to be promulgated, and on a SIOP-sponsored forum nonetheless. We have stopped saying that all women are compassionate leaders and all men a better firefighters. Why is it OK to continue to promote unsupported and unhelpful stereotypes based on popular press and consultant-driven notions about the so-called generations?

[Peggy Salute]

Another amazing and informative article. I wouldn't expect anything less from the author.