Four generations of employees collide in teams working across organizations, from baby boomers who are nearing retirement, to Gen X (those in their 40s), to Gen Y or “millennials” (roughly 25-40 years old), and new generation employees. Z (youth born since the late 90s). Panorama matches a portrait of the ideal boss with an X-ray of what motivates and annoys employees based on the generation they were born into.

Bad relationships with bosses and their consequences, from toxic work environments to career limitations, top any list of reasons why employees leave their jobs, regardless of generation. In a year still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, when nearly half of employees are considering a job change, the quality of leaders and their relationships with subordinates is perhaps more important than ever. A few inept bosses and the drop in employee productivity they can create is an equation that can turn into a toxic bomb for the entire company at this time.

However, as always, simple things are actually complex: with four generations of employees in the workplace at the same time, each with their own list of things that motivate and annoy them, it’s harder than ever to define the perfect boss. With the help of clinical psychologists specializing in organizational culture, teams and leadership, such as Dragos Iliescu and Lavinia Sanculescu-Popa, as well as human resources specialist Juliana Laurent, Panorama links the portrait of the ideal boss with an X-ray robot of the factors that motivate and annoy employees, depending on the generation in which they were born.

The need for this analysis arose in the summer before the pandemic, by the pool with a cocktail in one hand and the most incredible summer read in the other, reading How to Work for an Idiot in fits of laughter. This book is the famously humorous how-to guide “How to Survive and Thrive Without Killing Your Boss” by American consultant John Hoover. There was a time when worrying that the new coronavirus would change the world, including the dynamics of work relationships, really wasn’t on anyone’s list (less than Bill Gates). However, no doubt like the character lounging in the sun, the minds of many employees then, as now, were preoccupied with how toxic the workplace can become due to the wrong bosses.

“Idiot bosses are those mutant hiccups on the ladder of organizational evolution who, like cockroaches, are immune to the calamities that destroy truly talented and creative people.”

– John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot

“Although the idiots are clams stuck to the boss’s survival ship, they can still have important uses—as long as they don’t make a decision. The bad news is that they usually make the decision. The good news is that talented and dedicated people can rise above the situation and prosper in spite of their idiot bosses,” wrote John Hoover in the first edition of his book.

So we started digging deeper. We can say that the bad news does not end there. The Dunning-Kruger effect, which causes the most incompetent to have the most confidence in themselves and their own abilities, and therefore to achieve more success on the hierarchical scale, is stronger than ever, especially in the younger Generation Z, 20s. the big one is coming. They are also the most narcissistic workers, but also the most mentally vulnerable and difficult to motivate.

But there is also good news. Good bosses do exist, even if they are rare. And serious companies are spending more money than ever to identify and select them in one of the most difficult labor markets in which at least four generations are actively working.

4 generations of employees and their ideal bosses: what motivates them, what annoys them

The diversity of generations working simultaneously in an organization is greater than ever. From near-retirement Baby Boomers (the generation born between the end of World War II and 1964), Generation X (those in their 40s born between 1965 and 1980), to Generation Y or “Millennials” (about 25-40 years old). , born between 1981 and the late 90s) and new employees of Generation Z (young people of the late 90s, early 2000s).

The birth years of each generation vary somewhat in the specialized literature, and depending on the specifics of the country, other generational cohorts can be defined, more appropriate to the local culture (as is also the case in Romania). Panorama chose the most common classification, for the convenience of correlations in the discussion.

Psychologist Dragos Iliescu specialized in the dynamics of leaders and teams in organizations. He explains to Panorama that the differences between generations are not as significant as many articles in the popular literature make it seem. However, they exist. Not all people in a generation are the same, but “cohorts” (as they are called in the language of specialists) are imbued with the same cultural habits of a certain period. “The generation has a common experience that unites it – they listened to the same music, went through the same upheavals or crises,” explains Iliescu.

Each such generation is motivated and annoyed by specific things in relations with superiors. An X-ray of these workplace “motivators” and their importance for each generation can be an extremely useful guide for those who want to understand what makes a good boss and what makes a bad boss, compared to the expectations of people as diverse as age and socio-cultural. origin.

Psychologist Lavinia Sanculescu-Popa, a member of the APIO (Association for Industrial and Organizational Psychology) steering committee, was able to draw such an X-ray for Panorama based on data collected from a sample of Romanian workers spread across these four generations. Of course, for most employees, regardless of generation, one thing remains unchanged: the most important thing is recognition of merit and achievements.

Read the full article on Panorama.ro