Special Two-part Feature: Understanding and Dealing with Generational Differences:
Two Esteemed Chiefs Speak Out . . . 

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CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG
A Look At Work Relationships And Generation Gaps

Part 1

By Paul Stein

Workplace tension, due to the different generations in today’s workplace, is a topic getting a lot of discussion. The combination of several generations working together along with the influx of women, minorities, people with different sexual orientations have made things interesting for today’s supervisors. This thought especially applies to the historically conservative culture in fire departments.

You’ve heard these terms: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials, X-Boxers. However you want to label them, the wave in the population born between 1940 and 2000 have more names than a typical phone book, and they don’t always get along.

I once heard a very experienced fire captain talking about the new breed of firefighters. His comments went like this: “I don’t understand them.... How can they think that way... They have no work ethic.... I just don’t like them.”

It appears that today’s fire service work force can be made up of four generations. Each generation has its own values, beliefs and priorities. This is the reason that when a person of one generation is relating an experience to a person of another generation, it usually results in some misconceptions and a lot of eye rolling.

For the most part, many older supervisors don’t buy into the values and work ethic of today’s employees. Some even feel that the younger generation’s commitment and work ethic are seriously lacking. They don’t understand the need for the semi-military rank and structure concept employed by the fire service. Many of the new team members have more formal education than their supervisors, which sometimes manifests itself as a lack of respect for the boss. Another challenge for today’s supervisor is dealing with the simple and non-threatening behaviors such as tattoos, earrings, body piercings, different hair styles and facial hair.

On the other side of the coin, many new workers believe the boss is stuck in the Great Depression mentality they learned from their parents. Stubborn, inflexible, a obstacle to change, and “It’s my way or the highway” are words often used to describe these older supervisors

It does appear that from generation to generation there are different perceptions of the appropriate levels of work ethic, loyalty, and “what works best.”

People from one generation develop their values and life’s orientation from their environment. It has been said that a person’s value system is in place by the teenage years, while other experts believe that value systems are in place by age 10. Regardless of age, the fact is that people are influenced by their environment.

The value system and life’s orientation environmental components are the political system, socio-economic climate, parental influence, home life and peers.  Whether it’s listening to the news, or “Huey Lewis and the News,” our environment helps to shape who we are.

My parents were impacted by the Depression of the 1930’s. I was a child growing up in a single-parent home. We were on welfare and often didn’t know if dinner was going to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a TV frozen dinner (do you know what a “frozen dinner” is?). During the day, we watched a “test pattern” on a round black-and-white TV screen because they did not broadcast 24 hours a day. Today you can watch TV while checking out at the local super market! TV local and world news only lasted fifteen minutes! Today there are entire channels devoted to 24-hour news.

My generation witnessed the tragedy of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and most of us can remember exactly what we were doing when we received the news of our president being murdered. We also lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis (what was that?), that seemed to put us on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. We watched neighbors build fallout shelters to prepare for the nuclear war with the USSR (a country no longer on the map!) that seemed inevitable. We listened to LP records, AM radio and 45’s. We became eligible for the draft at 18 years of age, and a MP was not something you listened to music with, but was a Military Policeman. Was it harder than today? Not really … it was just very, very different, hence the gap in understanding different generational values — not a whole lot different than the gap in understanding between my generation and our parents.

We had Dwight Eisenhower, who led the Allies to victory in WWII; John Kennedy, a naval war hero who became president; and in the movies, the bad guy always lost in the end. Think about what the thirty-something’s have seen as some of their role models: O.J. Simpson, Jerry Springer, Tonya Harding, John Wayne Bobbitt.

To be fair, the thirty-something’s have also seen positive role models like Mr. Rogers, Princess Diana, and Big Bird.

Whether you feel it or not, these cultural figures had some impact on your life. We had Sheriff John and Superman; the younger generations had Barney and video games.

The work ethic of the “Traditionalist” (1935-1945) and the “Baby Boomers” (1945-1965) drives them to spend more time at the job, socializing at the fire station and getting involved through volunteering.

Here are some thoughts from Dave Hubert. Dave is a good friend of mine. He and his CSFA Steamer Team are recognized throughout California and the Western States and his great cartoons about the Fire Service appear monthly in the CSFA magazine. 

“I am a 'Traditionalist' and proud of it.... My generation built the standard and character of the Fire Service. Most real men (and women too, I guess) want to be part of it because it offers: community, family, discipline, team, action, excitement and a performance standard that can be found nowhere else. We face the realities of the fire ground that are true — life and death issues that are real.... We, as practical people understand what makes a good firefighter. When an HR manager requires fire departments to hire only those with academic degrees, this is, in my opinion, just wrong. The fire service of our day and the fire service of today still need the practical persons with a good work ethic. We want to start with a firefighter-type person (not fire chiefs as new hires) and allow that person to progress up through the ranks, based on their abilities. That's the 'truth' of the fire service.

"I know there are limitations to all of us. That's also why we have an issue with the city managers who manage our fire departments. They keep us to a standard, yet allow such standards to be diluted with new hiring practices. 

“I am glad I am retired now — I really don't have to face these issues anymore. Also, I am not naive enough to know things don't change! Things can change, but not the standard of performance, work ethics, or devotion to the cause — they shouldn't change. In my opinion one has to be in 100 percent ... or you’re not in! Show up on time, in uniform, ready to devote yourself to the profession and the folks you are sworn to serve. If you present yourself in a professional, neat manner and do the best you can, you will never have questions about yourself and you can rest assured that no one else will.

“My wife says I'm a hard liner, but where does one draw the line when it comes to a standard? What would you say to a Marine?”

Do you think the new generation of firefighter will agree with Dave? It appears that the newer generations of firefighters believe that family and life style has a higher priority than spending additional time at work.Their saying is: “Happiness is seeing the fire station in my rear view mirror.”

What are your thoughts about Dave’s comments? Let us know.

In Part II of this article, we will discuss the characteristics of the different generations. These observations are broad and general and certainly not scientifically validated. Additionally, it would be certainly valid that some of us will believe that these generational characteristics do not apply to them.

Also in our next article we will give the opportunity of people from different generations give their perspective on life and other generations.