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Know Your Demographics 69

The Organizational Culture
As we’ve already seen, Boomers are much more likely than
Gen-Xers to develop a commitment to the organization and its
goals. Consequently, Boomers respond best in environments
where the organizational culture is clearly expressed and where
that culture is regularly and consistently reinforced.
Senior managers will most inspire Boomer top performers
by “walking the talk” and standing shoulder to shoulder with
each other and with the organizational ethos.
“Maverick” cultures or a poorly communicated set of values
make Boomers uneasy and unresponsive. Similarly, Boomers
view internal carping or cynicism on an organizational level as
disloyal and disruptive. (But on a personal level, Boomers can
be just as carping or cynical as anyone else.)
Work Relationship with Manager
Boomers grew up with a more pronounced sense of community
than today’s generation. Boomers were less likely to be part of
a two-earner household than Gen-Xers and experienced less
enforced mobility as a result of frequent parental job changes.
Consequently, their roots in the community are stronger and
their sense of communal interaction is more pronounced. (As
an aside, since Boomers on average stayed longer in one place
as children, they developed a stronger awareness of local
authority figures.)

The Organization Man
To fully understand the interaction between Boomers and
organizational culture,the best resource is The Organization
Man by William Hollingsworth Whyte. Published in 1956,this book
explains how organizational culture was shaped by the post-WW II
environment and how this in turn shaped the attitudes of the
“Organization Man” of the 1950s,who shaped the workplace that
Boomers began to enter in the 1960s.
Similarly prophetic in 1970 (and still so today) is Up the Organization:
How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits by
Robert Townsend (ex-CEO of Avis Rent-A-Car).This slim but incisive
book shows how corporate culture shaped the Boomer generation.