Workplace diversity helps

Clivebenss SG

By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent

IT IS a quirk that drives some seniors round the bend: The young executive busy sending an SMS even as the boss is talking.

But yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean had 400 business leaders in stitches when he described the habit.

'I have heard older folk lamenting that they cannot understand why young people seem to be texting messages all the time, even when they are in the middle of a conversation,' he said when opening a one-day conference on fair employment practices.

'They wonder which conversation is more important.' These different traits of different generations at the workplace were distilled by a new survey into four generations of workers: the traditionalist, the baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.

It also described the misgivings they had of one other. Still, the age of a colleague should not matter, said most of the 3,500 employees who took part in the survey released yesterday by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep).

But such diversity at the workplace improves the organisation's performances, said Mr Teo, who is also Defence Minister.

Clivebenss SG

generation gap.

BanguIzai SG

Gen Y hardest to work with

Thu, Apr 08, 2010
my paper

EMPLOYEES here aged 30 and above, particularly older ones, have the most difficulty working with colleagues belonging to Generation Y - those aged 29 and below - a study has found.

But the converse is not always true for Gen Y. While seven in 10 Gen Y workers have problems working with baby boomers - those aged 46 to 64 - only 6 per cent have difficulties with those aged 65 and above.

Workers of other generations cite attitude problems of Gen Y, such as being arrogant, impatient or abrupt, as a common reason why they find working with Gen Y difficult, according to the study by training, coaching and consultancy organisation Digne Consult Asia Pacific.

On the other hand, Gen Y employees may generally have fewer difficulties working with older colleagues because they can adapt to change and are flexible working with older generations, said Mr Frank Kuijsters, Digne Consult's director.

But Gen Y may not take as well to baby boomers because the latter resemble their parents, he added.

The firm polled 3,500 employees, from last October to this January, to understand inter- generational issues here.

The study was commissioned by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep), whose members comprise unions, the Government and employers.

The study underscored inter- generational issues that firms should be sensitive towards as Singapore's workforce becomes increasingly diverse, be it by age or gender, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said yesterday at the Conference on Fair Employment Practices.

Singapore's workforce is expected to comprise more older workers as the population ages.

Preliminary findings of a Manpower Ministry survey last year show that nearly two in three firms polled let employees work past the retirement age of 62.

In a separate Tafep-commissioned study on managing mature workers, released yesterday by the Singapore Human Resources Institute, nearly half of all firms polled thought that there is a loss of knowledge when older workers leave.

Yesterday, Mr Teo also gave the inaugural Tafep Exemplary Employer Award to four companies - Philips Electronics Singapore, FedEx Express, Maybank Singapore, and Cherie Hearts Group International - for effectively implementing progressive and fair employment practices.

Clivebenss SG

But the converse is not always true for Gen Y. While seven in 10 Gen Y workers have problems working with baby boomers - those aged 46 to 64 - only 6 per cent have difficulties with those aged 65 and above.

Hmmm... seems to be, even in this forum.