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When the Old and Young Collide at Work

Forbes Magazine, 1/3/08

Abstract:

If it is hard to get people from various generations to reach any agreement, it is even harder to do so with a corporation. Cristina Simon, professor at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain, has identified and analyzed the four generations that currently make up the corporate workforce.

Her study is called "Generation Y and the Labor Market: Models for HR Management." Gayle Allard, another member of the Instituto de Empresa staff, collaborated on the project along with Adecco, a company that supplies temporary workforce services.

In an interview with Universia-Knowledge@Wharton, Simon explains the differences between groups of workers, which she identifies as "traditional workers," "baby boomers," "Generation X" and "Generation Y." She also suggests key steps for enabling a 21st-century corporation to successfully overcome the generational duel that takes place between traditional workers and more recent arrivals.

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