Managing Generation X Employees

Around 1990, I started noticing a different work attitude among the employees entering the EMS profession. Some of the characteristics were good, and some were bad. One good attribute I saw was that the new EMTs and paramedics seemed to be much more technically competent. One characteristic flaw I saw was that they showed little dedication to the organization—it was more about, “What’s in it for me?” Reality never truly hit me that what we were dealing with was a new generation until I interviewed a potential hire one day and looked at the birthdate on his driver’s license. I was shocked to see he was born on the same day I graduated from high school. Talk about a reality check!

Other EMS managers also admit that they are experiencing a “disconnect” with their younger employees. The reason may be as simple as we are from the Baby Boom Generation and they are from Generation X.

Certainly, you are familiar with the term Generation X. It comes from a 1991 novel of that name, written by Douglas Coupland, about three strangers who distance themselves from society to get a better sense of who they are. The characters in the book are underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable.

Generation X is the generation that followed the Baby Boomers, loosely defined as those born between 1965 and 1980. Also known as “baby busters,” “the me generation” and “the nowhere generation,” Gen-Xers were raised on television, Atari 2600s and personal computers.

A great number of frontline EMTs, paramedics and EMS field supervisors are in their 20s and 30s—Generation X. Typically, their managers are slightly older and were born during the Baby Boom. Since both were raised on different values and standards, opportunities for clashing viewpoints frequently occur.

Baby Boomer managers often claim their Gen-X employees are unwilling to work long hours, think in terms of “job” and not “career” and have unrealistic expectations about raises and promotions. Whether or not you can brand an entire, diverse group of people with a singular, definitive set of characteristics, one thing is certain: EMS managers face a huge challenge in managing someone from a different generation.

In general, there are some significant differences between the frame of mind and attitudes of Generation X and those of Baby Boomers. For example: The Gen-X employee grew up watching major institutions in society such as schools, governments, churches and big business fail and become discredited. Many spent a lot of time on their own because both parents—or a single parent—worked outside the home. They grew up in the information/computer revolution where information of any type was readily available at their fingertips. They also saw the downsizing of businesses and other unforeseen events that radically changed the careers of hard-working parents or siblings. These experiences have led Generation X employees to think differently about work and the world.

Baby Boom managers say that Generation X employees are disloyal. In reality, they are cautious about devoting themselves to one employer since experience has shown them that organizations in general do not tend to be loyal to their workers. This makes Generation X employees more loyal to themselves and their own development than to any organization.

Many EMS Generation X employees grew up as latchkey kids at the same time that communities became less unified. As a result, they were forced to be independent and creative in solving their problems. This approach carries over to their adult approach to EMS work, where they value being independent, having clear goals and managing their own time and problems, rather than having them managed by a supervisor or manager.

Generation X employees have always used computers and have always dealt with an overflow of information. These employees tend to be much more comfortable with information and technology. I still have fond memories of introducing computer-aided dispatching into the EMS communications center. The older dispatchers were in a panic and wanted to stay with the old system, where they wrote on the card and stuck it into a time-stamp machine; the Gen-X employees could not wait for the new CAD system to be installed.

Younger employees are also adept at sorting through massive amounts of information and selectively picking out what is useful to them. How many times have you heard a Baby Boomer complain about information overload?

Generation X employees grew up in an uncertain world where anything could change at a moment’s notice. On the other hand, feedback was easily and readily available, if not instant. As a result, they monitor results carefully and aggressively, so they can adjust their approach in order to be more successful.

As a result of their experiences growing up, Generation X employees are very flexible and adaptable workers, who can adjust to new people, employees and situations faster and with more ease. They are also eager to see results more frequently. So, what’s a Baby Boomer boss to do? In my next column: Practical applications for managing the Generation X EMS employee.