Coping with
Career
"The Organization Man is dead . . .
but ambition is alive and well."
Whether we work at home or in an office, most of our waking hours are spent in labor. I suppose we have Adam and Eve to blame. Because of their disobedience, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden — a true workers' paradise — and pushed into the world where all of us now survive by "the sweat of the brow."
Today, in the fmal years of the twentieth century, we are seeing perhaps the greatest changes in the nature of work since that revolution from tending the Garden to toiling in the fields.
For a long time our view of work in America was: the husband goes off to work and the wife stays at home with the family. The reality of the matter today might be: man and his wife go off to work, dropping the children at a day care center on the way. Or consider these variations: man dials up his office over the modem and works until evening, or man gets home to feed the kids, and his wife goes off to work.
Page 52
The Boomer Bulge in the Work Force
Not only is the nature of work changing drastically today, as we will explore in this chapter, but baby boomers are becoming the major players in that changing climate. According to the authors of Re-Inventing the Corporation, "Baby boomers are now populating the ranks of top management. By 1990, they will comprise 54% of the labor force in America" (Naisbitt and Aburdene 1985:7). As our generation grows to greater dominance, our values will be strongly expressed and felt throughout the organizations in which we work.
Theory Y and the Boomers
Before we look at boomer values in the workplace, we must look at two underlying currents that have shaped the values of this generation. One began back in the 1960s, the other in the 1980s. The first was a movement popularized by a man of the older generation, Douglas McGregor; the other by the futurist, Alvin Toffler.
Until his death in 1964, Douglas McGregor was the Sloan Professor of Management at MIT — a very prestigious post. His book The Human Side of Enterprise, considered a classic in business schools, popularized his Theory Y approach to management. Today, 30 years later, his book is still a bestseller and has an enormous impact on management thought in America.
In McGregor's book, he contrasts two ways of looking at leadership: Theory X, the old idea of control and dominance over the worker; and Theory Y, a more cooperative partnership with the worker.
Based on a new look at human nature and also on motivational theory, Theory Y encompasses the beliefs that work can be enjoyable and that management should respect and trust workers enough to let them direct and control their own tasks. Theory Y is best understood when contrasted to Theory X because it was developed as a reaction to
Page 53
the tight structure, control, and accountability of the old traditional Theory X. The following chart sums up both viewpoints (Hersey and Blanchard 1982:49).
Although most baby boomers may not know it, they have been influenced by Theory Y. The focus on the nature of human relationships and the integration of personal goals with the success of enterprise makes sense to the value
Page 54
system of this generation. Boomers want their work to have meaning and emphasize relationships instead of authority. Most boomers are not willing to work at a job that they dislike year in and year out, just to live for the weekends and holidays and retirement. Instead, they speak up and speak out.
Third Wave
In the 1980s, Alvin Toffler popularized the second current that is shaping the values of baby boomers, the idea of The Third Wave, in his book by that name. Like Theory Y, this concept has also shaped boomer values in the workplace.
Toffler suggests that our society has shifted from an industrial focus to an information/technology emphasis. The first wave of our society was the agricultural era, the second was the industrial revolution, and today the third wave is our focus on technology and information. This latest shift in society has forced a dramatic change in management styles, part of which Toffler calls the Third Wave. Again, to simplify the concepts, a chart is worth a dozen pages. The following chart (Sculley 1987:95) was developed by James E. Cook, president of Computervision Corporation, and compares the management characteristics of second- and third-wave companies.
As we will see in the following section, many boomers have bought into the Third-Wave way of looking at things.
Changing the Way America Works
There's no doubt about it. We are working differently than our parents did. Some of the change is because of the times in which we live, and some is because of who we are as a generation. An article in Businessweek explained:
The emerging conflicts (between the older generation and
Page 56
the newer) are not just a matter of numbers. The baby boomers have different attitudes toward work. Those values are reshaping corporate cultures — what many see as a "greening" of management. The shift to participatory decision making, teamwork, flexibility, and autonomy is often attributed to adopting the apparently successful Japanese style of management. But it may be a direct outgrowth of dealing with the 60s generation of workers (1984:53).
Whatever the reason, many baby boomers are changing the way America works.
CAREER CHANGES. We are a very energetic and vigorous generation; largely due to our physical fitness. As a result, we will have a different middle age than our parents had. Because of our expanded adult prime, one career expert says, "People will have two, three, or four sequential careers, instead of just one. They'll work at something for 20 years, then feel it's time to get out, go back to school, and start again. It's happening now, but the baby-boom generation will be doing it even more" (Ingrassia 1986:8).
As baby boomers age, we will reshape many views about retirement. We will work longer and be a greater influence in the workplace than any previous generation.
THE DEATH OF THE ORGANIZATION MAN. In his famous book The Organization Man, (1956), William H. Whyte wrote that a corporation is the place to stay the rest of our lives. But boomers see the corporation largely as a place where they want to achieve certain personal satisfaction within a certain amount of time. They are committed to professions but often not to a particular company.
In a Newsday article, Michelle Ingrassia explains:
Unlike their fathers, they [baby boomers] have resisted
Page 57
being molded by the all-seeing, all-knowing corporations; instead, they are molding corporate America in their own image. Better educated, they're more inquisitive and more eager to have a say in their jobs. Competitive, they are writing their own definitions of success. Impatient, they are unwilling to spend 40 years climbing through the corporate ranks. They are the generation trained to want it all — and they want it all now (1986:8).
THE DEATH OF THE INFALLIBLE COMPANY. Baby boomers have not only developed a new way of looking at their roles at work but also a new view of companies themselves. Individuals, not institutions, are the focus of Third-Wave thinkers. And networks, not hierarchies, are the glue that holds organizations together.
My dad worked for NASA most of his later career, and he got upset with people inside the organization from time to time. But he generally held the organization in high esteem and felt that it was not the organization's fault itself when things went wrong. Many companies are realizing today that baby boomers have a completely different view of the organization. If these younger workers are not respected and appreciated for their contribution (Theory Y), then they leave. Robert Foster, Grummund Corporation's deputy director of personnel and administration, explains this greater demand for meaning and dwindling respect for corporations that he sees in the boomer work force:
It used to be that when a foreman or supervisor said to do something, a person did it and didn't ask why. And they looked at the company as being somebody, some entity, that would pretty much be right in the way it approached things, especially if it was a good company. In the last 20 years, people are not as willing to be directed to do things. They will do what you tell them to do, but they want to know why and they ask, "Is there another
Page 58
way we can do it better?" and "Do I really have the visibility of knowing what is going on in my company to satisfy myself that I should be doing what I'm doing?" It's a feeling that the corporation is not necessarily the all-seeing, all-knowing entity that it used to be, that it gives you an opportunity to use your talents, but you have to look out for yourself, too (Ingrassia 1986:10).
THE MYTH OF THE SOLE BREADWINNER. Without a doubt, the greatest change that baby boomers have brought to the workplace is the employment of women outside the home. Today 53 percent of the work force is female. And in 66 percent of young married couples from age 25 to 34, both husband and wife work. In 1973 the figure was only 47 percent (Thomas 1986:26).
Most married baby boomers have kept up with the standard of life their parents enjoyed only by depending on two incomes. According to a report released by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in May of 1986, if it were not for the 50 percent increase in working women that joined the work force between 1973 and 1984, the drop in average family income during that period would have been three times greater than it actually was (Ingrassia 1986:9). These working women make middle-class suburbia possible for baby-boomer families.
Of course this change for women has not come without cost. It has created a whole new problem in the clash of children and career. Time magazine calls these working women "Super Moms," and speaks of a psychic guilt tax that is deducted from their paycheck (Thomas 1986:35). In chapter 8, we will take a closer look at the issue of working mothers. It is not an issue we can ignore.
The Truth about Our Work
Now, as Christians inside America's largest generation, how do we respond to all these changes and pressures? I draw
Page 59
several conclusions from my present understanding of baby boomers and their world of work:
1. If you are in a position of leadership, respect your followers. If there is one good trend that our generation has brought into the workplace, it is respect for the dignity of the individual. Life is full of work, but that doesn't mean that it has to be miserable and demeaning. McGregor's Theory Y has helped elevate all of us who work for a living to a place of dignity, regardless of where we are in an organization. McGregor's management style emphasizes giving employees utmost respect and treating them with the dignity they deserve, not as some mere machines of productivity. Sound familiar? Here is what Jesus had to say about it:
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:25-28).
One clear way we can be salt in our workplace is to follow Christ's example and treat those who work for us with respect and dignity.
2. If you are in a position of followership, respect your leaders. I must admit, on behalf of my generation, that at times we have allowed the pendulum to swing too far away from respect for authority. Events like Vietnam and Watergate have undermined our respect for authority. Maybe our problem with authority comes from being let down and wanting now to take our destiny into our own hands. Whatever the reason, most authority figures are experiencing great difficulty gaining a following, and that is a problem in our generation.
The Scriptures are clear that God uses authority to mold
Page 60
us and discipline us, and that we are to respect those whom God has placed above us in authority. Some of the best and yet most painful lessons I've learned in my adult life have come through learning to respect and submit to authority over me. I have streaks of rebellion all through me, left over from the '60s, that still want to get in the way of my growth to maturity in Christ.
Not long ago I was discussing with a good friend an authority problem that I had at my work. I told him that I had contemplated resigning and going elsewhere where I would be wanted and respected for who I am. With cutting love, my friend said, "Hans, if God wants to make you a diamond, then He is going to chisel away your rough spots, using His authority over you. If you throw away this hammer [present authorities over me], don't you think He'll pick up another one in the next place you go?" Powerful words that we boomers don't like to hear! God teaches clearly from Scripture that He expects us to respect and submit to both sacred (1 Thes. 5:12) and secular leaders (Rom. 13: 1) as those whom He has placed over us for our own good.
3. Have you considered settling for less? The older we boomers get, the more the pressure of ambition is on us. If I let off in the drive to keep up with my peers, the gap between us widens to a great gulf. Could it be that God might demand that we live on the down side of such a gulf in order to pursue His priorities for our lives? It is a radical, painful choice that I believe He wants many of us to make.
It is interesting to see the kind of men that Jesus chose as His apostles. He did not seem concerned about what they did for a living, but He did care about what they were like on the inside. His board of directors was not stacked with bankers, lawyers, and wealthy businessmen. He Himself was content — that is a key word in this discussion — to be a carpenter and continue His trade. As He once told His followers, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and
Page 61
to finish His work" (John 4:34).
In God's eyes, wealth doesn't matter: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very se1f?" (Luke 9:25)
I have been encouraged to see a number of my peers turn down promotions or transfers because they didn't want to hurt their family life. I believe that God smiles on such decisions and blesses such commitments. At times, we must count the cost to our spiritual and family life — it might be better to quit or settle for a lesser position to maintain our priorities.
Just a short time ago I lost one of my best friends to his career. It was devastating for all of us. His career became such an obsession that he lost everything else on his climb to success — his wife, two little children, and his faith. And by the way, he didn't reach success either. He went from being a godly husband, caring father, and responsible church lay leader to a life of misery in adultery. It all began by working more and more hours to climb the career ladder in his company. He would leave for work before anyone was awake and get back to the house when the kids were already in bed, too exhausted to pay any attention to his wife. His supervisor made him work Saturdays; it was expected of him if he was to get ahead.
During the middle of this crisis, after he had moved out of his home and in with his girlfriend, he sought my help. He wanted to come back and get things right. I went directly to what I saw as the cause of the cancer that drove a wedge between him and everything that really mattered. "Bill," I said (I've changed his name), "the best thing you could do to save your life and your marriage is quit your job. I would rather see you sweeping streets and living in an apartment — back with your family and back in the church — than in the job you now have with all its perks." That was too much for him to consider, and he is now divorced from his family and gone from all our lives.
Page 62
Thinking It Through
1. How has the workplace changed from when your parents started their first jobs?
2. Describe the differences between the X and Y theories of management as discussed in this chapter. How might biblical values be blended together with these theories as you perform your duties in your career, whether it be in or out of the home?
3. While people around you derive their sense of worth from pouring their lives into their jobs, how do you balance work, family, friends, and God in your own search for a sense of worth?
