Transcript The War, the Boom and Alphabet Soup

Generational Change – Helping
the Veterans and Boomers to
work with Generation Next
Simon Willcock
August 2008
Dr AB
Has recently moved to your
community with her partner and
five year old child.
Has extensive past experience in
Child health and Mental Health,
both of which would be welcome
in your practice.
When offered a position, Dr AB
states that she will only work to
3.00 p.m. , three days per week,
with no overtime or weekend
work.
Dr XY
An enthusiastic Basic Term
registrar who wants to be a
procedural GP.
At a meeting of the practice
principles, he states that the
practice is not meeting its
obligations in terms of face to
face teaching, and that he has
some ideas as to how this
could be rectified.
So…..
….. How do we feel?
….. How should we respond?
The Generation Gap!
“It’s becoming conventional wisdom that recent
medical graduates are reluctant to accept the
responsibility of sole practice in country areas or
to work long and anti-social hours…
If so, what coming generations of doctors might
gain in lifestyle could be offset in lost community
standing through forgone opportunities to serve
and inspire others.”
Shame on you!
“It wasn’t that doctors of previous generations
were workaholics … Rather they had a finely
honed sense of the hierarchy of needs and
believed that the mark of a leader was to look
after others first.
In those more stoical times, medical families were
prepared to accept that they had to share their
husband and father with people whose
immediate need might be greater than theirs.”
Tony Abbott – Australian Doctor magazine, 9 June 2005
(Former Minister for Health , and Classic Baby Boomer!)
The career expectations of medical graduates
today differ vastly from the expectations of their
colleagues from previous generations.
Research …. demonstrates that junior doctors
make career choices based on pragmatic
factors, such as income expectations, working
hours, length of training time and availability of
part-time work, with sense of vocation being
a secondary consideration.
Dr Clare A Skinner (MJA) 2006; 185 (1): 35-36
(Gen X’er)
Lifestyle!
Bah…..Humbug!
What does this mean?
1. Are generation X and Y doctors “different” from
their predecessors in their approach to work?
2. If they are working differently, is this because
- they really are less motivated, altruistic or
robust?
or
- they are basically the same, but adapting to a
changing world?
The Way we Work
Are we “different”?

Medical students are the same as other young
Australian adults in terms of psychological morbidity
but
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Medical graduates have higher levels of burnout and
psychological morbidity than the general Australian
population (Willcock et al – 2004)
There is no evidence to suggest that recent graduates
have differing psychological profiles to their predecessors
(high in emotional sensitivity, obsessive behaviours etc.)
So….
1. Are the observed differences due to
generational change?
2. If so, what are the implications of generational
change?
3. How do we adapt positively to this change?
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Richard Lewis – Florida Radiology Imaging
- Organisational Behaviour meets Gen. X
and Y - a Practical Approach - (2005)
Jennifer Moody – Recruiting Generation X
Physicians - NEJM; Jan-Feb,2002
Which of these events do you
remember from Primary School?
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VJ day
The First Moon Landing
9/11
Shooting of John Lennon
Melbourne Olympics
The First Gulf War
The Dismissal
The 1929 Wall Street Crash
Which of these events do you
remember from Primary School?
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VJ day
The First Moon Landing
9/11
Shooting of John Lennon
Melbourne Olympics
The First Gulf War
The Dismissal
(1945)
(1969)
(2001)
(1980)
(1956)
(1991)
(1975)
The Veterans
Born 1922 – 1944 (now 62 – 84 years old)
 Stock market crash
– 1929
 The abdication crisis
– 1936
 The Bombing of Darwin
– 1942
 VJ day
– 1945
 Korean War
- 1951-3
 The Cold War
- 1948 - 62
Veteran values and traits
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Hard Work and Thrift
Dedication and Sacrifice
Respect for Authority and strict adherence
to rules
Duty before Pleasure
Veterans in the workplace
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Seniority and age are directly correlated
Acceptance of directive leadership
Obedience and Conformity over
Individualism
Work ethic relates to a “manufacturing”
economy (level of input correlates with
amount and quality of product)
The Baby Boomers
Born 1945 – 1964 (now 44 - 63 years old)
 Television
 Rock Music
 The Pill
 Moon Landings
 The Kennedy assassination (USA)
 Sir Robert Menzies (Australia)
 Vietnam War
Boomer Values and Traits
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Optimism
Security
“Liberation”
Personal growth and gratification
Health and wellness
“Involvement” rather than “teamwork”
Boomers in the Workplace
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Service oriented ( a legacy of the veterans)
Uncomfortable with conflict
(Overly) sensitive to feedback
Opinionated and Judgmental
difficulty
accommodating alternative views
Respond well to directive leadership, but
understand complex organisational behaviour
Generation X
Born 1965 – 1980 (now 28 – 43 years old)
 Feminism
 Oil, Energy and Nuclear Power debates
 Personal Computers
 AIDS
 Economic rationalism and unemployment
 “Latch key” children
Gen X – Values and Traits
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Techno-literacy
Diversity and Informality
Balance and fun
Self-reliance
Motivated by independence, lack of rigid
structures, technological advance and
equity
Gen X in the Workplace
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“This is just a job” (gasp, shock, horror)
Flexible hours
Informal work environment
Negotiated Supervision “Give them lots to do
and the freedom to do it their way”
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Multi-tasking
Distaste for corporate politics
Work ethic is influenced by the globalisation and
the “information economy”
The myths about Gen X
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They’re materialistic
They have it easy
They’re whiners
They think they are “entitled”
They don’t want to work hard
The truth about Gen X – they don’t
want to be stereotyped!
How do you Teach, Train and
Engage Gen X

Use diverse methods, including web technology
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Use adult, self-directed learning techniques
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Expect and answer questions
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Validate the need for work-life balance
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Less need for traditional “perks”, but they resent
the inequity if they see the Boomers getting
excessive perks
Generation Y
Born 1981 - ? (Now up to 27 years old)
 The Internet, Laptops and Mobile Phones
 9/11, Madrid, London
 Pay TV
 Sydney Olympics
 Tampa
 Hillsong Church
Generation Y – Values and Traits
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Optimism and Confidence
Civic Duty and Morality
Techno-savvy
Street smart and tenacious
Group oriented
Heroic
Generation Gap
Generation Y in the Workplace
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Challenge them
They are better team workers than their
sibs from Gen X
They want inspiration
They want heroes
They want it now!
Myths about Generation Y
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They spend too much time watching TV
and playing video games
They are getting a great education
They are self-obsessed and decadent
“Today’s youth are disrespectful and
undisciplined”
Plato – ca. 400 B.C.
How do you Teach,Train and
Engage Generation Y?
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Respect them
Effective orientation to new environments
Be honest about the work and teaching
environments – the good and the bad!
Tell them your expectations and goals
Ask them for their expectations and goals
Then… together define a strategy to meet them
Note: Gender roles of previous generations
do not apply to generation Y
What Does this all Mean?
Successive generations are hard working
and willing to make sacrifices, but have
their own values that need to be
respected.

The kids are OK … really! Give them the
tools to get the job done, and they will
succeed.
What Does this all Mean?
Working in 2006 is all about teams leadership is OK, but is referent
(i.e. directed to the appropriate person or
people for each individual situation)

Forget hierarchical, authoritarian
management
– the days of “I tell.. you do” are gone.
“I’m aghast at [Tony Abbott’s] ignorance and
outdated ideas… wake up, we are in a new
millennium now.” Dr Heather McNamee, parttime GP. (AusDoc 22 June 2005)
“I recall how outrageous it seemed at the time
when a GP recruited to a remote community in
the mid-1990s refused to do on-call work. But
she stayed longer in a tougher environment than
most. No on-call work is now normal practice for
solo GPs in remote communities and a very
sensible decision in retrospect.” Dr Sam Heard
(baby boomer),(AusDoc 10 May 2006).
Finally ….
Don’t get bogged down in the stereotypes and
media hype – they probably say more about us
(our own insecurity and lack of personal growth)
than they say about the generations following
us.
“In a life crowded with the legitimate needs of
other people, time for yourself can seem the
most elusive gift possible. But it may also be the
most essential”
Stephanie Dowrick – Choosing Happiness
… and remember, the need
to have fun and to keep the
balance in your life is
universal across all
generations.