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EXECUNEWS Volume
1, Issue 120 December, 2007On behalf of Jim Norwine and Terry Ray.we hope you enjoy this month's issue of ExecuNews. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide information we hope you find informative. Since our firm specializes in Management Recruiting, Outplacement Services, Temporary Staffing and Human Resources Consulting/Coaching, we have a broad assortment of information to share. Please be assured we do not share email addresses with anyone. Thanks to all of you who are passing this along to friends and co-workers.
HIGH GAS PRICES AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION According to a recent nationwide survey, two-thirds of American workers say that soaring gas prices are making it harder to get to work and more than one-third are looking for jobs closer to home to avoid the extra cost. The survey revealed that 4.5% of people have already changed jobs and another 35 percent are thinking about it in order to reduce expenses with commuting. Clearly, the price at the pump is the newest threat to employee retention.
Among the 1,300 participants in the online survey, 12 percent said they were looking for shorter routes to work or more fuel efficient motorcycles instead of cars, while 6 percent were relying on public transportation to reduce costs. Many of the survey participants firmly believe this problem is not going away, at least any time soon.
Companies
are facing hardships related to the spike in gas prices, but they
need to be sensitive to the fact that employees are experiencing
a similar budget crunch. Rising fuel costs are not just an operational
business issue. There is also, a human resources component that
must be addressed as well. FOUR GENERATIONS OF WORKERS COLLIDE U. S. employers now count four generations on their payrolls, mostly because people are living and working longer. The leading edge of Generation X hits 40 this year and they have issues with Generation Y. Boomers have to start taking Gen X-ers seriously enough to talk succession plans. Plus, they need to figure out how to work with their elders – the Traditionalists – as the U.S. workforce continues to age.
Their differences are more than simply age. They have to do with lifestyles and work styles shaped by forces as disparate as dust bowls and iPods. More employers are getting interested in the generations and how they work together. If not, they may find themselves in trouble.
Basic Differences
The oldest group, the Traditionalists or Veterans, was born before World War II. Its members tend to respect authority and tradition. While they prize loyalty, they still may balk at younger bosses’ new ideas- - after living through everything from Total Quality Management to Six Sigma.
Boomers are a driven bunch, partly because their sheer numbers meant they always have had to compete for jobs. Trained that asking for help is a sign of weakness, they’re burning out with today’s workloads. Plus, they are not very impressed with the less-ambitious Gen X-ers.
Generation X is emphatic about balancing work and life, partly because they don’t want to follow Boomers into burnout. Their goal is building careers, which means they welcome new and different assignments at work. X-ers are more inclined to accept a lateral move, whereas Boomers see that as being sidelined. Also, unlike Boomers, X-ers have a tough time trusting companies.
Generation Y finds Gen X-ers too distant, and X-ers think Y-ers need too much hand-holding. Parents doted on this generation, so they feel loved and supported and optimistic about the world. Also, this heavily scheduled generation worked less than any other while growing up, so they missed basics such as punctuality and dress code.
Successful
employers will learn to understand the difference between generalities
and stereotypes. When asked, many employers describe the Four
Generations as follows: Oldsters are technophobes, Baby Boomers
are workaholics, Gen X-ers are slackers and Generation Y members
are too young to know anything.
NEW BREED OF COLLEGE GRADUATES Each spring, approximately 1.5 million new college grads enter the workplace hoping to put their newly acquired degrees to good use, get their careers going, and start making some cash. Thanks to a bright job market, more than half of 12,303 graduating students polled by the National Association of Colleges already had accepted jobs by early May. Meanwhile, another 49% of those seeking full-time jobs are still looking. But Generation Y grads tend to be more finicky about the employers they want to work for than previous classes. Rather than just seek a solid paycheck and a good chance at a promotion down the road, they hope to join a deep-pocketed company, where they can work for a hip boss in an office that has free food, flexible hours and video game consoles. WOW!! TO LOVE, HONOR AND PROVIDE CAREER ADVICE For many people, some of life’s biggest decisions are those associated with work and career. But where do most of us turn for advice and counsel? According to a recent survey of 150 executives from the 1,000 largest U.S. companies, the vast majority (42%) said they would turn to their spouse or significant other for guidance. Twenty-eight percent said they would turn to their mentor, 13% to a co-worker, 11% to a friend, 5% to another family member and 1% to someone else.
The results
of the survey should remind us of the influence of family members
and a $15.00 marriage license. Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional. Roger Crawford
ABOUT EXECUNEWS ExecuNews
is a monthly newsletter distributed by ExecuGroup, Inc.
The purpose of the newsletter is to provide information
we hope you find informative. Since
our firm specializes in Senior Management Recruiting, Outplacement
Services, Employee Retention, Temporary Staffing and Human Resources
Consulting, we have a broad assortment of information to share. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and business associates. The contents are considered for general information purposes only. This article should not be considered as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific fact or circumstance. If
you would like to learn more about our firm and the services we
provide, please visit our website at
www.execugroup.com.
If
you are interested in employment opportunities, please visit
www.findagoodjob.com.
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