Motivating the "What's in It for Me?" Workforce.(credit congress: SUPER SESSION)(Motivating the "What's in It for Me?" Workforce: Managing Across the Generational Divide )

For the Baby Boomer manager, dealing with the younger, techno-savvy generations that are filing into the workplace can be a frustrating experience. They are not driven by the same factors that pushed their generation, or the generations before them. These younger workers, which now make up about 50% of the nation's employees--a percentage that will only grow larger--place a greater importance on free time and often have a strong sense of self-entitlement. Money is valuable to them, but not as much as their identity outside the office, and there is little interest in "paying their dues"--they want it all now.

In his book, Motivating the "What's In It For Me?" Workforce: Managing Across the Generational Divide, author Cam Marston, sums up the youth entering today's workplace by writing, "Remember 'Baby on Board?' From the rear windows of minivans, station wagons and SUVs hung the yellow-orange placard that called out to anyone nearby, 'Precious cargo! Be careful! Stay away!' Today, those babies are entering the workplace."

According to Marston, members of Generation X and the New Millennials were often pampered by parents who wanted to be friends more than authority figures and are seen as being less-driven, apathetic and less willing to put in longer hours at the office than the Baby Boomers that now make up a majority of the higher rungs of the corporate ladder. The members of these younger groups have different definitions of success, are more interested in self-fulfillment and believe that a strong work ethic is no longer mandated by a 10-hour workday. The Gen X-ers and Millennials also don't place stock in company loyalty after watching their parents suffer through lay-offs and "rightsizing" despite long hours and family time forfeited. They often switch from job to job. Dissatisfaction with their boss has become the number ...