Accommodating a multi-generational workforce

Author and coach Alex Atherton describes how to accommodate different needs, preferences and diverse work styles in multi-generational offices

 

Age ranges within the workplace are growing in every industry. This has implications for every office with an unprecedented mix of working styles, preferences and professional needs. With employees spanning up to five generations and six decades of life experience, the challenges for leaders are considerable.

 

The answer is not to find a different solution for each generation. It is about creating an environment flexible enough to accommodate the ways people work best, without compromising on an organisation’s core needs. It is also about being sufficiently agile and astute to make the most of all you have.

 

Generations are a useful way of analysing changes over time. They are approximately 15 to 20 years’ long, which allows for sufficient social, economic, political and technological change to impact on employees’ outlooks. They are also a limiting factor. Whilst there is great value in leaders, and workforces as a whole, taking the time to understand the world through the eyes of others it is also true that differences within generations are always far bigger than those between. 

 

Treating people as individuals is always the first consideration, rather than responding to a generational stereotype.  A 28 year old first time parent returning from maternity leave may have more in common with someone twice their age juggling responsibilities for ageing parents. 

 

Beyond this the oldest and youngest generations in the workplace may have more in common than imagined. Gen Z (years of birth 1997 to 2012) and Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) are both likely to have more than one income stream, even if for different reasons.

 

There are approximately 350,000 Gen Z registered on Companies House already as a Director. In many cases these companies represent a ‘side hustle’. Some have the potential to become the main gig in time but they often exist because one source of income is not enough to meet the cost of living. It is increasingly typical for Gen Z to have a 5 to 9 after the 9 to 5 has finished. 

 

Boomers working into their 60s are more likely to want a flexible working arrangement, but also a range of earning activities whether as a consultancy or other part-time job.

 

Organisations who can ensure flexibility at both ends of their age range can make themselves a more attractive option to the best of each generation. 

 

The percentage of 65+ in the workplace has more than doubled in the last two decades, and continues to grow as retirement ages go ever higher. By the time Gen Z arrives at the same age, retirement may be considered a luxury which does not apply to them. That has increased the need for them to spread the risk and increase the range of activities they carry out in early professional life. It also means they place a great value on their work-life balance and health, not least because of the hours they put in across different income streams.

 

All of this raises an exciting opportunity for every organisation. How can they make the most of all they have available to them?

 

Many Gen Z young professionals are also CEOs in their spare time. This might be for a one or two person business but they are learning how to sell, price, scale up, create content and develop products. They are also doing so knowing that the buck stops with them. Yet many employers are blissfully unaware of the knowledge, skills and value they could be bringing to the workplace. 

 

This also increases the importance of allowing meaningful engagement and collaboration opportunities. Young staff who are CEOs in the evenings do not expect to be told that their ideas will not reach the boardroom as it is beyond their paygrade. The same applies to older staff who have experience to bring from other aspects of their portfolio career.

 

This ranges a broader aspect to diversity than is often considered - diversity of thought. Too often organisations focus on reducing tensions, or allow age related peer groups to stick to their corners in the office or social areas. It is when they are brought together that the magic happens.

 

Companies that treat age diversity, and the range of ideas and perspectives that come with it, as a major source of innovation get themselves in the best position to solve their biggest problems. Those who make do and see it as a hindrance which impacts on the bottom line will stay where they are.

 

Such diversity is not an excuse to dilute the significance of the non-negotiables. Values, policies and  working practices have to apply to everyone otherwise there is a risk of issues with coherence and alignment. The list may be small but it has to be universal.

 

In the modern workplace where the one job, one employer model is increasingly less common there is a bigger need than ever to involve the entire workforce in defining these core areas. Once established, organisations can focus on where flexibility can make the biggest difference to individual and collective performance. 

 

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Alex Atherton is an experienced educator, keynote speaker and leadership coach. His new book The Snowflake Myth: Explaining Gen Z in the workplace and beyond challenges common misconceptions about the youngest generation in the workplace and provides practical strategies for building effective multi-generational teams. More at www.alexatherton.com/snowflake-myth 

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and sanjeri