Diversity is a popular topic in modern culture, especially when it comes to its impact on workplaces and staffing.
Generally, race and ethnicity are most likely to come to mind when we think of diversity. However, there’s a growing awareness of another type of workplace diversity that has the potential to fragment and strengthen teams: age diversity. Business organisations have significant advantages that can be accrued through effective use of age diversity as a strategic human resource principle.
What does diversity mean to you in general? You may think about gender, race, ethnicity, perhaps sexual orientation. Would you consider age? Most organisations don’t – to their detriment.
Age diversity is like any other type of diversity – employees from different generations bring different skills, experiences, and viewpoints to the table, helping to increase innovation and creative problem-solving. If you have only young people on a team, they make decisions quickly and make more mistakes, while older people take a longer time but make fewer mistakes.
If you combine the two, you will get much better results. This is because younger and older brains work quite differently. The question of whether young employees or older employees are “better” depends on various factors, including the specific job requirements, the work environment, and the individual attributes of the employees in question.
Differences
Every generation grows up in a specific context influenced by several factors: contemporary events, political attitudes, social values, preferences, and behaviour. These factors give each generation a unique yet collective outlook on the world, as well as distinct work styles and professional preferences. It makes sense, then, that employers should recognise and capitalise on these differences rather than pretend they don’t exist. And yet, employers have some catching up to do when it comes to embracing age diversity.
There’s no denying that generational diversity will impact teams, staffing and productivity for the foreseeable future. Forward-thinking employers that embrace this diversity have a substantial opportunity to differentiate themselves in terms of performance and company culture.
In light of increasingly age-diverse workforces, organisations face the challenge of fostering job satisfaction among younger and older employees. Age diversity, like any other form of diversity, can lead to increased innovation and problem-solving. Combining the different strengths of younger and older employees, such as quick decision-making and holistic thinking, can yield better results. Young employees are more adaptable.
More comfortable with new technologies and trends, making them quick to adapt to changes. They are more energetic and enthusiastic and may bring a fresh perspective and high energy levels to the workplace. However, they may lack the experience needed for certain roles, which can be a disadvantage in complex or specialised tasks.
Whereas the older employees have extensive experience, which can be invaluable in decision-making and problem-solving. Older employees may bring a sense of stability and reliability to the team. They can serve as mentors to younger employees, sharing their knowledge and helping to develop the next generation of workers
However, some older employees may be less adaptable to new technologies or methods. They may command higher salaries due to their experience, which could be a consideration for some organisations.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of employees, regardless of age, largely depends on their individual skills, work ethic, and how well they fit into the company culture. A balanced team that includes both young and older employees can often leverage the strengths of both groups, fostering innovation while benefiting from experience.
Be willing to see the world through the younger employee’s eyes. If you are a baby boomer you learned from your supervisors’ decades ago that work was conducted with formal agendas and meetings.
Now think of your younger colleagues who have grown up believing that productive interactions are online, on text and on video. Informal and brief interactions are the norm for younger employees. Just because there is not a rectangular table with you sitting at the head does not mean that work isn’t being done.
Brief, frequent and efficient interactions are becoming the communications norm in today’s workplace. Offering too little feedback or too much criticism can cause younger workers to up and leave. Set expectations about when and how you will provide feedback, including performance check-ins, meetings, emails or other methods. And anytime you notice a job well done, provide positive feedback.
Reverse mentoring
Many companies now promote reverse mentoring to make age diversity most effective. It’s an opportunity for younger workers to advise senior ones on the technology their generation prefers and how they like to engage. Topics can include technology, social media, AI and flexibility.
It’s not fair to expect young people to be — or act — like older people, even at work. And yet it’s common, and perhaps expected, for older generations to complain about their juniors’ lack of dedication, appropriateness, and understanding. But organisations need these younger workers, perhaps today more than ever. So how can they balance the need to attract and keep younger employees?
Having several generations in the workplace teaches everyone to be more open and foster understanding. It unites varying perspectives, experiences, and skill sets, enriching all team members’ potential for learning and growth.
But getting past the differences requires work. Implicit bias, differing communication styles, and work preferences can crash into one another when you don’t acknowledge them. Developing transparent communication and empathy bridges the gap.
Taking time to consider the potential implications of generational gaps in the workplace can ensure that the right systems, processes, and tools are in place to support all workers regardless of age.
