While it may feel like a new issue, generational differences in the workplace have been challenging employers for decades.
“[Insert generation here] are so lazy!”
I’ve heard it said about Millennials, Gen Z, and now Gen Alpha. Previous generations always seem to have negative opinions about younger coworkers, but they’re so rarely true.
Sure, Gen Z wants different things from work than Baby Boomers do. But Boomers could afford to buy a house and support a family on a single salary. Gen Z can barely even afford to rent a place on two salaries, let alone raise a child, too.
With more generations in the workforce than ever before, and people working for longer, businesses need to find ways to manage generational differences in the workplace.
According to data from Statista, 37.5% of those 55 and over are still working. At the same time, 50.9% of 18–24-year-olds are also in the workforce. They have different goals and approaches to work and organizations need to find ways to keep both generations happy. All while supporting everyone in between as well.
There are many strengths that can come from a multi-generational workforce. You can only unlock them though if you build a culture where everyone can work together in harmony. This means acknowledging that generational differences in the workplace exist, and taking steps to mitigate them.
Share stories
Stories stick. They’re how we bond, learn, and grow as humans.
Bridging generational differences in the workplace gets easier when we understand where other people are coming from.
Stories show colleagues what life was like for someone growing up, navigating their first role, studying at university, facing discrimination, juggling work and becoming a parent for the first time, struggling with a chronic illness, etc.
They’re the most powerful tool we have, and they help to humanize the people we work with, too.
So, where and when you can, encourage your employees to share stories. Company or team-wide meetings are good for this.
Leaders can set an example by sharing their own journeys. In doing so, they encourage an open atmosphere where employees also feel comfortable sharing their challenges. They don’t have to worry because they know they’ll be welcomed into the fold, even if they aren’t perfect.
Lead by example
Tying in with the point above, leaders within your organization need to be open to listening to opinions and experiences from every background without judgment.
Assuming someone’s opinion is right because they’re older or more senior opens the door for discrimination. It’s easy for great ideas to get dismissed this way. In turn, it can exacerbate generational differences in the workplace.
You never know where your next great idea or innovation will come from. The more you welcome everyone to share their thoughts—even if they’re from a different team—the more likely you are to stay ahead of the competition.
Offer mentoring (and reverse mentoring)
Mentoring enables employees to experience different perspectives. It teaches younger generations how to navigate the workplace. It can also fill in the soft skills gaps created during the isolation of Covid.
Reverse mentoring, meanwhile, where a younger employee mentors an older one, can help soften generational differences in the workplace. Through reverse mentoring, older generations can learn about new technologies and how the working world has changed since they started. This can help them become more empathetic colleagues and stronger leaders.
Organize employee groups
Your employee groups are important tools to connect employees from different generations. They can put aside generational differences in the workplace and learn about what they have in common, such as location, race/culture, religion, gender, etc.
Using Workrowd, you can make your employee groups easier to organize, and a key part of your employee engagement strategy. Get in touch to book your free demo and find out more.
Foster collaboration between teams/ departments
Encouraging employees to collaborate between teams or departments on projects reduces silos and increases productivity.
For example, sales and marketing often work separately, but when they collaborate it leads to better business outcomes.
After all, marketing feeds the engine. Sales drives it. You can’t have one without the other.
The more you encourage teams to work together, the more employees get used to working with people from different backgrounds. They become more effective communicators and better colleagues, regardless of generational differences in the workplace.
Provide communication workshops
If you really want to tackle generational differences in the workplace, providing communication workshops can be key. They show you’re serious about your employees communicating in a healthy way.
It’s easy to slip into bad habits when you haven’t been reminded of what bad habits look like. Communication trends and word meanings change. So staying aware of these things is a key part of bridging generational differences in the workplace.
There are plenty of words my grandmother’s generation (the Silent Generation) used that have lost their original meaning and now mean something else entirely.
Older generations may not understand modern slang or internet speak. Younger generations may not understand older slang, either.
As technology becomes an even bigger part of our personal and professional lives, helping older generations stay current future-proofs their careers and can even boost their ability to stay connected after they’ve left your organization.
Send surveys
This one is more about you and your organization, but being bold and asking your employees how they feel about generational differences in the workplace can help you get a read on what it’s really like for employees every day.
Too often, leadership lives in an ivory tower where they think everything is fine. This leads to problems getting worse, being brushed under the rug, and people leaving as profits decline.
If you’re serious about getting the most from your employees, you need to know what they think. And you need to actively try to change the things that aren’t working.
Using Workrowd, you can automate your feedback surveys. This helps you gauge how employees feel about things across your employee experience, on a regular basis. It can help you quickly see what’s working and where there’s room for improvement.
Conclusion
Bridging generational differences in the workplace increases employee engagement and leads to more productive teams. It ensures that everyone can collaborate and communicate across generational divides.
If you’d like help navigating generational differences in the workplace, Workrowd has the tools you need. We make it easy to set up and organize employee initiatives that deepen relationships between team members. With tools to market, manage, and measure your events, programs, and groups, everything is always just a click away. Get in touch today to find out more.
