As most of the diversity programs are focussed on race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, generational diversity is not much talked about. In the modern age of booming startups, many organizations prefer hiring young and dynamic employees. However, much research has shown that working with multi-generational teams can be highly beneficial to both the employees and the organization. A study conducted by Randstad Workmonitor in 2018 highlighted the following:- Over 86% of the employees prefer working in multi-generational teams
- 83% of employees believe that manager’s age is irrelevant as long as they are inspirational
- 83% employees felt that different communication styles are of prime importance in a multi-generational workplace.
There are multiple benefits to having different generations in the workplace. Innovation, creativity, higher productivity and engagement, better problem solving, and higher revenue growth are some of the benefits observed by organizations favoring a multi-generational workforce.
What Is Generational Diversity In The Workplace?
Generational diversity refers to people belonging to different generations working together in the same workplace. In the current scenario, there are five generations in the workforce. These generations are: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Traditionalists. As people of these generations were born and raised under different circumstances, they have their own unique perspective on the world. To understand the complexities of generational diversity, it is crucial to mull over the differences between generations.
Traditionalists: Also known as the “silent generation,” they were born between 1927 and 1946. In 2020, they will be 75 to 82 years old on average.These people are highly patriotic and disciplined owing to having been raised in a period of great depression, tough survival, and WWII.
Baby Boomers: People from this generation were born between 1946 and 1964, after the Second World War had ended. The birth rate at this time was surging, and humans were exploring technology, space, and great economic opportunities.
Gen X: Born between 1965 and 1980, people in this generation saw technological advancement and were therefore tech-savvy and more independent. This generation had first-hand experience with computers and the internet and were more oriented towards technology.
Millennials: Born between 1981 and 1996, millennials form the biggest segment of any workforce today. They were born to parents of decent means and were socially conscious, technologically advanced, ambitious, independent, and risk takers.
Gen Z: This generation, born between 1995 and 2010, has had the most exposure to technology and social networking. They are true digital natives and have an overarching ability to collect and cross-reference information from multiple sources.
Non-diverse workplaces often lack people from different generations and are therefore unable to make use of knowledge, experience, exposure, and technology appropriately. On the other hand, diverse organizations that embrace generational diversity are leveraging skills from different generations to become highly successful.
Issues With Generational Diversity In The Workplace
People from different generations have different perceptions of work, and their methodologies might not match with each other. Due to the unique characteristics of every generation, managing generational differences in the workplace can be challenging for employers. Therefore, to balance out the different expectations and priorities of people, employers need to employ multiple resources in the workplace. Let’s delve deeper into the issues that surround generational diversity.
Age Discrimination (Ageism in the workplace)
Ageism constitutes discrimination and stereotyping of individuals or groups in the workplace based on their age. It has existed in multiple industries for decades, and to combat such issues, the US government created the ADEA act (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) that forbids employment discrimination against employees who are of 40 years or above in age.
As per the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data, the following statistics state a grim picture of age discrimination in the US.
- Between 1997 and 2020, over 453,000 age discrimination cases were filed with the EEOC.
- In 2020, over 14,183 cases related to ageism were reported to the EEOC. These cases amount to 21% of the total cases filed in the same year.
- One in five employees over the age of 40 and one in four over 60 years of age have faced age discrimination in the workplace.
Age discrimination is one of the leading causes of lower productivity and engagement in the workplace.
Different Communication Styles
Employees in a multi-generational workforce prefer different modes of communication in the workplace. This is majorly dependent on the reliance of technology for communication. While baby boomers and Gen X embrace technology for work, they prefer face-to-face communication among employees. On the other hand, Gen Y and Gen z are more reliant on digital communication and use email, text messaging, and instant messaging apps for sharing information and communicating with each other.
Different Working Styles
The working styles of people from different generations vary abruptly. While baby boomers are comfortable working for long hours from an office or on-site location, employees from Gen Z and Gen Y (Millennials) prefer working from home and want a good work-life balance.
Because of the difference in perspective and working styles, collaboration in a multi-generational workplace becomes a challenge. Differences in preferences also lead to how employees handle feedback and work priorities.
How To Manage Generational Differences In The Workplace?
So how should companies maximize and manage the generational diversity in the workplace? One of the methods used by various leading organizations is “Reverse Mentoring”.
The skill sets and experiences that each generation offers a company can actually help to create a harmonious work environment as long as each generation is able to understand and appreciate the other. Reverse mentoring is a tool that many companies use today to develop talent between generations and to develop unity as well. There is a huge amount of knowledge transfer that can take place across generations such as the utilization of social media (Millenials) and business best practices (Boomers).
Reverse mentoring will allow pairs to meet in a non-hostile, common-ground environment. Lisa Quast of Forbes.com says the keys to a successful reverse mentoring relationship are:
- Defined Expectations: Each party needs to be very clear on their expectations.
- Agreed-upon Rules: Each party must be fully committed to the mentoring relationship and agree upon the rules that will be followed.
- Willingness to Learn: In a reverse mentoring relationship, both parties act in the capacity of a mentor as well as a mentee; so they must both “genuinely want to learn from and share with the other.”
- Trust: Reverse mentoring requires the trust of each party. The goal is to “push one another outside of their comfort zones and try new ways of thinking, working and being.”
- Transparency: Both parties must be open with their feelings and with what they are thinking. They must be able to overcome differences in communication style (since different generations communicate differently) and be open to seeing situations from different angles.
Quast also says a reverse mentoring program:
- Closes the knowledge gap for both parties: For example, older employees learn social media from the younger person and the younger person learns business terminology and industry practices from the older employee.
- Empowers emerging and established leaders.
Managing generational diversity in the workplace using a reverse mentoring program is a solution that many companies are already using including GE, Hewlett Packard, and Cisco Systems. Reverse mentoring can be introduced to an organization as a stand-alone mentoring program, or it can be introduced as part of a mentoring program that is already in place.
Are there other problems that companies face today due to generational discord? What issues have you and your company encountered that you think could be solved by a reverse mentoring program? Is this a change your company is ready to consider?