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Dalahn Colley
Entrepreneur, United States
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What Motivates Employees? The Answer Depends (Partly) on their Generation
The age of retirement has been moved to 60, 65, 70 years and beyond. Where each generation used to pass the baton; there is no baton being passed anymore.
We can now find multiple generations (up to 4!) working in the workplace together. There are many intergenerational differences, including work motivation. While every person is different, it is proven that generational similarities such as priorities, motivators, reward preferences etc. do exist.
 An organization has to address that when creating a motivational plan. There are currently four generations in the workforce / rat race :-). Generational trends and motivators have been researched and identified by experts. To address the employees as a group an effective leader will understand and convey the messages proven to motivate each generation:
The generational names are debatable but these are the names I chose to use:
1. The Matures are born prior to 1946. They believe work is an obligation, no news is good news, their employer respects their experience and professionalism. Their satisfaction is gained from a job well done.
2. The Baby Boomers are born between 1946-1964. They view work as an adventure, want to be valued and needed by their employer. They don’t appreciate criticism and work for money, title and recognition.
3. The Generation X’ers are born between 1965-1980. They view work as a contract, want to do it their way without rules. They also feel freedom is the best reward and will seek feedback as opposed to waiting.
4. The Millennia's are born between 1981-1994. They view work as a means to an end, but want meaningful work done with other bright creative people, and want everything to manifest with the push of a button.
(Source: Lesonsky R., 2011).
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Scott Greenwood
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What Motivates Employees? What's Behind Generational Differences
The generational differences are a function of wha (...)
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David Wilson
Manager, Canada
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Multiple Generations Have there Own Characteristics
I agree that every generation has its unique chara (...)
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Daniele
Manager, Italy
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How to Arrange Employees into Motivational Groups
Generations is only one aspect to be take into acc (...)
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Hinda K. Sterling, Ph.D.
Consultant, United States
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Motivation is Complex and is Primarily Based on Traits
Thank you for the thoughts you presented. However, (...)
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Loek Hopstaken
Consultant, Netherlands
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Generational Differences in Motivation / Communication Depend on the World Region
Communication across generations is definitely an (...)
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Gil Vondrasek
Consultant, United States
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We Are What We Were When
There was a great training film from the 1980's en (...)
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Dr Hussein Laqwer
CEO, Saudi Arabia
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Culture Influences Employee Motivation More than Generation
I think the motivation for work is a cultural issu (...)
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Dev Sen
Teacher, United Kingdom
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Age is Just a Number
We tend to forget the idea of "retirement" is just (...)
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SAMUEL LUZOBE
Consultant, Uganda
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The Relation between Maslow's Pyramid and Motivation of Generations
Employee motivation... Interesting! My contention (...)
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Prasanna
Student (University), Sri Lanka
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We Need a Method to Efficiently Assess Individual Employee Motivation
Motivation levels of workers differ from one to an (...)
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Truong Thi Lan Anh
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Work-life Balance is the Common Motivator among Generations
I would suggest there's one thing in common among (...)
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jorge eixeres
Director, Spain
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4 Generations for 4 Ways or Life
Imagine those 4 generations with the same instrume (...)
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Jone Sovalawa
Student (University), Australia
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Differences in What Motivates Younger and Older Employees
Motivating the younger generation remains a challe (...)
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Johnny Michael Tan
Management Consultant, Malaysia
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6 Commonalities in what Motivates Employees Among Generations
6 commonalities straddle the Baby Boomers, Gen X a (...)
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Danilo Mazzarol
Manager, Italy
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The Age of Individuals Influences their Behavior and Motivation
For sure the individual's age makes the difference (...)
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Wulf-Dieter Krueger
Teacher, Thailand
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What Motivates All Generations?
What motivates all generations? Competence of and (...)
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WALTER Pascal
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Common Motivations Among all Generations
I agree that the answer depends partly on their ge (...)
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JoAnn Becker
Management Consultant, United States
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Just Learn About the Multi-generational Workforce
I know a 98 yr young retired US Federal judge who (...)
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karel sovak
Professor, United States
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Leaders can Motivate Multiple Generations with Empowerment
I think the best indicator of a motivated employee (...)
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Rebecca Kibazo-Gasque
United States
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Employee Motivation Across Age Groups
@Truong Thi Lan Anh: I agree with you that work li (...)
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gonzalez
Management Consultant, France
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How Employers Motivated Employees over the Years...
Since last industrial era in 1900, modern companie (...)
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Maia de Lourdes Larrea
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Motivation is Different for Different Cultures
@Dr Hussein Laqwer: I also think that this theory (...)
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Angel
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It Doesn't Matter How Old People Are, they Want Only One Thing...
A promotion, better salary, a tap on the back, etc (...)
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Bert Walker
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Dealing with Responsibility / Accountability When you Grow Older
@Gil Vondrasek: You wrote: "Does our birth date im (...)
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Vance E. Woods
Student (MBA), United States
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Generational Motivation
@Samuel Luzobe: Generation motivation is definitel (...)
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Daniel Newton Obaka
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Two Levels of Motivation: The Natural-Purpose and the Environment-Tainted Motivation
This generational analysis comes at a time when th (...)
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Alain Kriegel
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What Motivates People over the Generations?
I agree that everyone is looking for a balance bet (...)
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Carlos Torres
Business Consultant
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Work Motivations of Young and Mature People
Indeed, the different generations may have other p (...)
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Shafiul Azam
HR Consultant, Bangladesh
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Employee Motivation also Varies According to Individual Personality
Indeed employee motivation varies from generation (...)
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Arif ur Rehman
Professor, Pakistan
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Careful with Generalizations of Generational Imbalances in Working Mindsets
@Gil Vondrasek: Another movie that comes to my min (...)
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Dev Sen
Teacher, United Kingdom
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Baton of Experience is Not Passed among Generations
@Carlos Torres: indeed the problem we face as more (...)
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raffaele campanella
Management Consultant, Italy
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The Importance of the Boss
I have a very clear statement in my mind, after 35 (...)
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Dilip Khanal
CEO, Nepal
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Common Motivation for 4 Generations
Appreciation, challenge and reward are common in a (...)
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Upadhyayula Narayana Das
HR Consultant, India
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What Motivates Employees? Generational Determinant
Ascribing motivation as a function of generation m (...)
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Martin Noonan
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Motivating Younger Employees to Find Greater Depth in Understanding
Motivation is like perception. "It's not mine, its (...)
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Beddoe
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Age / Generations Don't Matter Much
Personally I feel these simple categories are gene (...)
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Ellis
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What Motivates Employees from Various Generations
Basic needs, such as security and recognition have (...)
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Dr Gary Jones
Business Consultant, Australia
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Interesting Comments by All
All the comments are valid some coming from an aca (...)
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Mbaile
Manager, South Africa
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What Motivates Employees: Use what they Like Most
For the younger generation of employees the most i (...)
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hendrick Sauzande
Manager, Malawi
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Motivation of Generations not Valid in Poor Countries
Motivation is not a direct function of generation, (...)
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Hemant Desai
Management Consultant, India
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Motivation Based on Generations Alone is Suicidal
All theories give you a point of view which necess (...)
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de vries
Consultant, Netherlands
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Attributes of Generations / Cohorts
Generation planning is important. Not only in mana (...)
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John limpus
Australia
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What Motivates Employees from Various Genarations
What motivates employees is reward. This is not al (...)
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AKOM JOSHUA
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Motivations of the Various Generations
According to Maslow, motivation need not depend on (...)
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Gafar Bamikole
Accountant, United Kingdom
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Generational Traits in Employees’ Motivation
Compared to universal motivational theories, gener (...)
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DOUGLAS AIDOO
Student (Other), Ghana
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What Motivate an Employee does not Depend on Generation
I think flexibility in job designs and reward syst (...)
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abraham garshong
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Common Denominator to Motivate Employees from Various Generations?
@David Wilson: I am in line with your thinking. It (...)
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KATHRYN STEINER, MBA
Entrepreneur, United States
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Various Generations Differences and Perspectives Worthy of Study
As the parent of a 21 year old, I have to admit I (...)
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hernando bernal
Professor, Colombia
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Media Motivate the New Generation?
Motivation is more than perception, Alvin Toffler (...)
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Naomi Elisabeth
Indonesia
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The World Changes and that Impacts the Motivation of Generations
Change can be associated with this topic. I mean, (...)
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