Emotional Intelligence:  Workplace Graduate Integration

What is Emotional Intelligence?

What are the aspects of Emotional Intelligence?

Where does it start?

Culture Shock

Over the last decades we have learnt how to interact with, manage and motivate our teams.  We understand the workplace and its rules.  We may not be excellent at all aspects of navigating the corporate landscape, but we mostly understand what is expected. Regardless of our role in an organisation, we can traverse and survive.  And then came the Graduates!

I have just spent the last week on the Graduate Induction Programme for one of my clients.  My client has taken on 148 graduates from various universities, who have degrees ranging from Industrial Psychology, to Actuarial Science, and Engineering in many forms.   Their highest qualification ranged from a 4 year degree up to a Doctorate.

I found myself working with the brightest young minds I could have wished for, with energy and attitudes to match.  Individuals who are self-assured, well educated and have a strong sense of entitlement.  They are high-performance and high-maintenance.  We have all at some point felt young and invincible and as if the world was our oyster to change.  But, unlike the generations that have gone before them, this new generation has been pampered, nurtured and bowed to since they were toddlers.  They were raised in an era of single parents, mixed marriages, same sex relationships, and step-siblings. They are used to the unexpected, change is an everyday occurrence, and gratification is instant.

Who is this new generation?

The Graduates entering the workplace now were born just before the first free elections, but share the ‘Born Free’ mindset.  They were practically born with a cellphone strapped to their ear and a laptop in their cot, and they totally comfortable with digital technology.  They are excellent multi-taskers. They are impatient as they have always had all the information they need at their fingertips via the Internet.

They have grown up questioning their parents, they have challenged their school teachers and university professors, and now they’re questioning their employers. They are not afraid to challenge the status quo and need to be able to express their creativity and independent thinking.

Due to the fact that a large portion (if not the majority) of their communication is electronic, at times their challenges may come across as confrontational.  This obviously brings with it a host of unpleasant reactions by those who are accustomed to a more reserved difference of opinion.

In the next couple of years, we will see the Baby Boomers retiring and the next generation, Gen X, isn’t will not be able to completely fill the gap the Boomers leave. (If you look at the table right at the end of this article, you will notice that less than 20 % of the current workforce will remain employed over the next 10 years.) We will need to replace some of our Baby Boomers with members of Gen X and some with Gen Y.  When comparing these three generations you’re bound to see significant differences.

So how do we merge these three generations?

And how do we do this very fast?

I see the answer partly in embarking on an Emotional Intelligence initiative, which will allow us to cope with and survive three distinct events:

Firstly:  We need to ensure that our outgoing Baby Boomers have the EQ to train up their successors.

Secondly:  That the Generation X are emotionally mature enough to a) for some to step into the shoes of retiring Boomers who have a very different management style, and b) for some to cope with being managed by a much younger Generation Y.

And lastly, that the Gen Y yuppie can use his or her EQ along with the best education to ensure continuity, growth and stability in the workplace.

Graduate behaviour worth preparing for:

1.     Cell Phones, Tablets and Laptops

Information is available… To all of us… At our fingertips… At all times!

This generation is more aware of this fact than most of us.  Think of this hypothetical scene:

A group of managers and analysts are discussing a problem and debating a potential solution. The tech-savvy Grad disengages from the conversation and pulls out his cell-phone.

By the time the managers get over the shock of his ‘rude’ behaviour, he has googled the problem and has four different solution options.  He impatiently gives his pick of the given solutions, and is ready to make a decision and move on. The older managers are not as naïve or trusting of the information on the internet, and will most likely not be as rushed into a final decision as the Grad.

And right there is the problem!  We have such different levels of what we think is acceptable social behaviour, that conflict is inevitable.  What one sees as an imperative to survival, the other sees as extremely rude.  What the Grad may consider solid information, the sceptical older manager will reject.  We need train the Gen Y on Social awareness, and help the Boomers (and certain Gen X’s) become more tolerant.

2.     Clock-watching

For those of us entrenched is the corporate world, we understand the sacrifices needed in terms of getting to work early, working late, or the need to go into the office over the weekend. Regardless of how we may feel about it, we do it, because it is necessary.

Part of the Gen Y value system is balance.  Not only the overused term work-life balance, but for them, you work to live. Not the other way around.  They want to develop themselves and their community, and spend their money. They have seen their parents give their lives to corporations, and lived in environments where Boomers or Gen X parents cautiously save for tomorrow rather than to live today.

Previous generations can learn a lot from this generation, if we allow ourselves to.  EQ now becomes more than ‘soft skills’… Having Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Maturity can mean the difference between success and failure in the next couple of years.

3.     Sensitive Political Issues

I was shocked to see how easily they made racial jibes.  These were given and received in good spirit, but with a casualness that really threw me off balance.  We are used to being sensitive and careful of anything which could even maybe be considered as racial discrimination.  This generation have grown up in a fully integrated racial society, and they do not bare the baggage some of the older generations still carry.  This too, can trigger some conflict in the workplace of our future.  Grads and the existing workforce both have to be sensitised to the potential issues this behaviour could illicit.

4.     Expectations from employer.

Generation Y wants to have fun, learn, grow, and explore possibilities.  They embrace change, and seek variety.

Whilst we cannot change our workplace overnight, employers need to take note of the following:

• Gen Y likes a structured, personalised and supportive team oriented workplace and do not respond well to the command and control style.
• They want to work with intelligent, creative people.
• They need their employer to understand and support their personal goals, and pay close attention to helping them navigate work and family issues.
• They expect to be treated respectfully, regardless of age, experience or seniority.
• They want to work with friends .
• Employers need to provide a variety of engaging experiences that develops transferable skills.
• Work requests will need to be justified with value it adds to the overall picture.
• Provide a work environment that rewards extra effort and excellence.