Age Diversity in the Workplace

Introduction

When I first started my career, I remember looking at my older, more experienced colleagues, and thinking how wise and knowledgeable they were. They made important decisions and knew how to navigate the company and industry. Twenty years later, I’m at that stage of my career that I then looked up to. Some days I feel wise. Some days I feel like I’m still scrambling. Every day I’m still learning something new.

When I worked in consumer goods - a more traditional industry - I always had managers that were older than me, with many more years experience. When I made the leap into tech, my managers were, more often than not, younger than me. Some by several years. Incredibly smart, but also taking the right calculated risk to get into the industry in the early days of uncertainty. 

Everyone has a different perspective, and if you’re open-minded, you can learn from anyone, no matter their background or age. Workforces are multigenerational by design, and as we’ve talked about in previous articles, embracing different perspectives adds value to companies in many ways. 

The Benefits of Age Diversity

PwC found that age diversity on boards creates value for companies in terms of financial performance. They found that age diversity led to achieving the same levels of profitability with less risky balance sheets. Similarly, Harvard Business Review found that age diverse teams complement each other in terms of abilities, skills and information, leading to better decision-making, productivity, and overall performance. 

Younger workers often bring fresh ideas, technological savvy, and are connected with emerging trends. Conversely, older employees possess deep institutional knowledge, problem-solving experience, and established professional networks. Age diversity also fosters a more inclusive and collaborative work environment. Multigenerational teams are more likely to engage in constructive debates, challenge each other's assumptions, and ultimately arrive at better solutions.

Challenges and Strategies for Overcoming Them

With five generations now in the workforce - Silent Generation (born 1925 to 1945), Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964), Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millennials (1981 to 2000), and Gen Z (2001 to 2020) - this presents a new challenge in our recent history. Each group has their assumptions about the other and often across differing ends of the spectrum, for example, the older generations being loyal but traditional, and the younger generations being progressive but fickle. These stereotypes will lead to communication breakdowns, differing work styles, and unconscious biases and expectations.

Fostering a culture of mutual respect and understanding will help overcome these challenges. Some approaches to consider:

- Unconscious Bias and Inclusive Training: targeted training and development programs that promote cross-generational mentoring and collaborative problem-solving. 

- Reverse mentoring: where younger employees share their expertise with older colleagues, can be an effective method in bridging the digital divide and promoting knowledge sharing. 

- Flexible work arrangements: such as phased retirement or job sharing, can help accommodate the needs of employees at different life stages.

- Invest in Technology Training: opportunities for older employees to enhance their digital skills and adapt to new technologies.

Case Studies

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics has a senior talent program that taps into the expertise of retired employees by offering them part-time consultancy roles. This strategy has helped retain valuable institutional knowledge and also fosters a more inclusive and collaborative work culture. 

In Singapore, TAFEP Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) has published guidelines to help companies create age-inclusive workplaces. This has helped companies have a more structured approach to recruiting, engaging and retaining talent across all ages.

In Japan, Panasonic has the New Next Stage Program, where employees can continue to work beyond retirement at 60, up until 65, under new working conditions. This is accompanied by training seminars on career design and life design for various stages of employee’s lives across the company.

Across Southeast Asia, Mastercard has a reverse mentoring program that aims to help senior employees understand customer behaviour, social media and the latest cultural phenomena; and provide the younger mentors an opportunity to engage and influence more senior colleagues, which helps build their confidence and trust.

Uber has an age diversity Employee Resource Group and community named ‘Sage’ focused on inclusivity across all ages. It was founded to help raise awareness about ageism in the tech industry as a whole.

Call-to-Action

As life expectancy expands, workforces will continue to span several generations, requiring new ways of thinking about inclusion. Evolving and embracing age diversity will be crucial for organisations to remain competitive. Explore age with your leaders and DEI colleagues. Discuss how to ensure age diversity is also on the DEI agenda. Consider establishing an age diversity ERG. The unique strengths of a multigenerational workforce can drive innovation, enhance customer experiences, and cultivate a more inclusive and engaged workforce. 

References

• PwC, “The Value of Age Diversity”, Jan 2023.
• Harvard Business Review, “Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity”, Mar 2022.
• Harvard Business Review, “How to Manage a Multigenerational Team”, Aug 2021.
• BBC, “'Reverse mentorship': How young workers are teaching bosses”, Nov 2022.
• AARP, “Issue Brief: Global Insights on the Multigenerational Workforce”, Aug 2020.
• Samsung, “Samsung launches new policy to retain experienced senior workers”, May 2022.
• TAFEP, “Creating an Age-Friendly Workplace (Employers)”, last accessed Aug 2024.
• Panasonic, “Support for Every Individual: Employing Workers Post Retirement”, last accessed Aug 2024.
• Uber, “Sage at Uber”, last accessed Aug 2024.