Research Paper On Managing Multigenerational Workforce In The Healthcare Industry

Abstract

The changing landscape of healthcare industry affects employee satisfaction, quality of healthcare and leadership roles and goals. One of the unique things happening in the current healthcare industry is the amalgam of four different generations in the workforce. This is a unique challenge the leaders of the healthcare industry are facing today. The presence of Traditionalists and Baby Boomers alongside Generation X and Generation Y creates a unique set of challenges for the leaders. The first and the biggest challenge to envelop the industry soon is the void that will be created in the workforce when Baby Boomers will begin to retire. In addition to that, the four generations for belonging to different time period have different leadership style preferences, values, work ethics and attitude towards life, because of which the healthcare leaders should accommodate strategies suitable to establish effective communication with different generational groups of employees. This report presented some challenges of the multigenerational workforce and the role of leadership in addressing those challenges.

The Generations in the Healthcare

The Traditionalists
The Mature generation, also called the Traditionalists, born in the period between 1922 and 1945, were raised with the influence of Great Depression and World War II. A majority of this generation has retired from the workforce. They believe in seniority and hierarchies (Harding, 2011). They value professional respect, loyalty and dedication to work. They are averse to change and prefer authoritative leadership style.

The Baby Boomers

The Baby Boomers born between the period of 1946 and 1964 were raised in post-World War II era marked by economic prosperity and consumerism. 48% workers in the healthcare industry are the Baby Boomers, with many approaching retirement. Their core values lie in personal growth, optimism, and loyalty to the workplace (Wesolowski, 2014). They are competitive and consider money being status symbol.

Generation X

Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X’s representation in the healthcare industry is only 23%. Raised in a time of rapid change when both social and economic factors influenced their education and development, they are focused on personal growth and their core values include technological literacy, global thinking, diversity, independence and informality (Murray, 2011). They do not value loyalty to the workplace and consider skill and knowledge acquisition important (Stanley, 2010).

Generation Y

Born between 1981 and 2000, the Generation Y’s representation in the healthcare industry is only 20%. They are tech-savvy and enjoy multi-tasking (Murray, 2011). This generation is more ethnically diverse than the previous generations. Their core values include teamwork, optimism, achievement, street smartness, and diversity.

Employment Challenges for the Healthcare Leadership

The healthcare industry is up against a set of unique challenges that have resulted from the amalgam of four generations in the workforce. Firstly, there is a lowered perception about healthcare industry due to which less number of generation Y population prefers healthcare as a lucrative career option than the previous generations. Currently, 48% of the healthcare professionals are from the Baby Boomer generation (Stanley, 2010). This generation is aging, and soon will start retiring from the workforce. This will create two problems for the healthcare leaders. Firstly, there is not enough generation X people to fill in the gap that will be left behind by the Baby Boomers (Coulter and Faulkner, 2014). Therefore, many leadership roles will be given to Generation Y, even if they are not fully competent. Secondly, after the Baby Boomer generation retires, they will require more healthcare services due to their advanced age related health conditions. As the average life expectancy has increased, the Baby Boomer generation is expected to live long, and it will increase the demand for healthcare professionals, which, by rippling effect, will create a supply void in the market if Generation Y is not willing to join the healthcare industry.

How to Manage the Multi-Generational Workforce

The ultimate goal of a leader is to attain high performance, which can be possible only if the leader is able to use the resources effectively in the attainment of organizational goals (Daft and Lane, 2005). In order for the healthcare leaders to manage the current issue effectively, they need to apply their conceptual and human skills at once. No single formula of leadership for managing these four generations will be useful, because the needs and preferences of each of the generations are different from one another. Therefore, the leaders should apply their cognitive skills to think strategically, and identify and evaluate the complexity of the problem (Daft and Lane, 2005). They should understand and respect the differences between the working style, leadership preferences and attitude of each of the generations. For instance, authoritative leadership styles may suit Traditionalists but may not go well with other generations. Informal leadership styles be suitable for Generation Y, but may not go well with Generation X or the Baby Boomers. Therefore, a leader must adjust his leadership style in accordance with the needs and preferences of the employees of each generation (Murray, 2011).
The healthcare leaders should apply their human skills to coordinate the multigenerational workforce so that they are able to communicate with each other effectively (Daft and Lane, 2005). For that, the leaders should create an organizational environment in which a healthy flow of constructive communication between different groups takes place so that each group begins to understand and respect another group’s values and work ethics. In order to establish a natural flow of communication between the four generations, fruitful training and communication programs among diverse generational groups must be effectuated to beget a culture of adaptability (Wesolowski, 2014).
Differences exist between the preferences of the four generations in terms of salary structures and incentive preferences, and the leaders ought to understand these differences while implementing strategies to motivate the employees. For example, Traditionalist and Baby Boomers prefer traditional salary structure consisting of basic, variable and pension, while Generation X and Generation Y are more favorable towards non-traditional incentives, such as bonus and share options. In terms of work distribution and scheduling work hours too, the differences among the generations need to be kept in mind. For example, most of the previous generations are more comfortable working in a fixed work schedule (Wesolowski, 2014). Among all generations, Baby Boomers do not mind overtimes. However, Generation Y prefers more non-traditional way of working, such as work from home. A flexible work arrangement is highly motivating for Generation Y population. On the other hand, Generation X employees, who are in the prime of their career, look for promotions and professional career opportunities more aggressively than the other generations. They value it so much that if they are not satisfied with the growth opportunity an organization offers, they may quit it without hesitation. Therefore, in order to retain Generation X employees, leaders should lead them to a defined career growth chart. The leader must understand that one-size-fit-for-all formula will not work while managing the multigenerational workforce. If the leader is unable to understand and appreciate the differences existing between the generations, then he may end up creating more frictions among the employees over work arrangement rather than solving them.

Conclusion

In the face of this unique challenge of four generations working alongside in the healthcare industry, it is important for leaders to understand the differences between people of these four generations. Since each generation has grown up in a different time period, they have completely different cultural beliefs, attitude, work ethics, and value system, which poses a challenge to the leadership. Unless these differences can be properly addressed and dealt with, the collision between these four generations may lead to a long term dispute. Baby Boomers are the main workforce in healthcare industry, constituting 48% of the workforce, with many being in the leadership roles. However, Baby Boomers will soon start retiring within the next few years, which will create a labor shortage in the industry. Since Generation X represents only 23% of the workforce in the healthcare industry, the positions that will become empty following the retirement of the Baby Boomers need to be fulfilled by Generation Y employees, who are also underrepresented in the industry. Apart from that, organizational policies and leadership styles should be flexible. Leaders should change their style based on the group they are addressing. They should be adaptable. Organizational communication, salary and career graphs should be created in such a way that they meet the requirements of all the generations.

References

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