Generations at work: The surprising data driven narrative

Happenstance would have it, that these past couple of months would have me focused on diving deeper into generational trends at work.

At first, I was quite skeptical that any generational difference would be noteworthy beyond that what has already dominated the headlines over the past couple of years. One of my all-time favorites was a piece that @HuffingtonPost covered following the fictional Millennial character Lucy. She portrayed the typical overzealous and sometimes na?ve worker – seeking to chase her passions and find boundless meaning in her entry level job.

Of course she would come to find out that it was not all unicorns and rainbows. Almost all of my friends could relate. Our careers took unexpected turns thanks to the great recession and many of us found ourselves doing something not at all related to what we went to school for. Yet, we were still passionately zealous to find our calling and purpose in work – even if it was taking well into our 30’s to discover.

So, when I was asked to take a closer look at Millennials’ workstyle preferences I assumed they would tend towards the pioneering – big picture, risking taking, purpose driven persona. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

To read our full report check it out here.

The exciting thing this report taught me – was less that Millennials are much more guardian type than anticipated. But rather that data can help shatter our stereotypes and allow new narratives to form about the people around us.

All too often I get stuck in my traditional ways of thinking – quickly confirming what I think I already know. But data – when used correctly – can be a powerful weapon against the confirmation bias. Data can cause us to look again and rethink through experiences, allowing a new narrative to emerge.

There is a great challenge in social science research – as it is likely to become self-fulfilling depending on our biases, language and assumptions we carry into the interpretation of people. If we keep stereotyping Millennials (or any generational cohort for that matter) we will keep finding instances that prove us true. But digging deeper, challenging what we think we know and considering alternative endings to our stories allows a much richer – and maybe even truer narrative to form.

Want to learn more on the most misunderstood generation (including insights on baby boomers)? Check out our Millennials study and let me know if you were as surprised by the results too.

Curious about what’s coming next? Generation Z is getting ready to enter the workforce.

Kelly Monahan completed her PhD in Organizational Leadership, focusing her research on human resource development in the workplace. She often ponders and writes about the ways we can create better work experiences that focus holistically on employee development while also creating organizational value. @MonahanK