b'FROMindividuals. Because of the increase in population, boomers faced more competition for jobs when they reached working age. This resulted in a generation of hardworking employees who are proud of their jobs. They value visibility in their work, and this makes remote work environments difficult for them.BOOMERS Unlike some other generations, boomers were not born into technology, and theyve had to adjust to new technology. When commercial internet access was first offered to customers in 1995, boomers were well into adulthood, with the youngest being 31 and the oldest being 49. And because of improved life expectancy and the baby boomers strong work ethic, most of TO ZOOMERS them are retiring later than previous generations.What to do for baby boomers at your workplace:Baby boomers value the seed company or organization they work for, the positions they hold, and the length of time they have been with the organization. Recognizing their accomplish-ments will increase your chances of keeping them. And be sure Social Generations and how to dealto make time for in-person interactions. with them in a seed company. Create a culture that welcomes an aging workforce. Ageism Compiled by Marcel Bruins can be subtle or overt, and regardless of their age, employees should be provided with opportunities for advancement, access to training, recognition of their performance, and regular feed-SOCIAL GENERATIONS AREgroups of people (alsoback and coaching.called cohorts) who were born in the same date range and who share similar cultural experiences. And although thisCharacteristics of Gen Xers:approach to social generations has been gaining a lot of tractionAs the children of two working parents, Gen Xers learned to be in the past few years, it is an idea that has a long history and canindependent and solve problems on their own early in life. And be found in ancient literature as far back as mid-19th century.they often have a good education. The decline of manufactur-Our sister publication, European Seed, thought it could being jobs while Gen Xers were leaving for college resulted in a interesting to provide you with a simple guide to each agegeneration that saw education as a means of advancing profes-group. Such a division into social generation cohortssionally. Gen Xers are very comfortable with technology such as can be helpful for HR leaders and managers, but it iscomputers and smartphones, as well as learning new software important not to make any assumptions about anor programs. In addition, they prefer to keep their professional individuals preferences based on their genera- and personal lives separate. Gen Xers value work-life balance tion.more than their predecessors.Characteristics of babyWhat to do for Gen Xers at your workplace:boomers: As baby boomers retire, Gen Xers are poised to take on leader-Baby boomers are com- ship roles, and their direct communication style and hands-off petitive and drivenapproach to getting things done make them excellent manag-ers. You should find ways to use Gen Xers leadership skills in your workforce, whether through formal positions or mentor-ship programs.Allow them to continue learning because Gen Xers value edu-cation. And you should provide work flexibility. Many employees between the ages of 46 and 55 indicated that working remotely improved their work-life balance. Furthermore, 47% believe that working remotely improves job satisfaction. Characteristics of MillennialsA large majority of millennial workers say collabo-ration across multiple teams is critical to their job retention. Millennials, as a generation, would rather approach their work with consideration for different points of view than take top-down direc-10/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2023'