Mind the Gap: Why Age Shouldn’t Be a Factor
In 2020, workplaces have become more multigenerational than ever before. Since each age group can contribute unique skills, perspectives, and modes of working, employers today are looking for talent across the entire spectrum of age. While the diversity in age can provide tremendous boons to the modern workplace, it can also occasionally cause problems for employers. In particular, excessively broad age gaps can lead to communication issues and a general feeling of disunity in the workplace.
Age should not matter. If your office has experienced negative consequences as a result of your workforce’s age gap, it’s not too late to begin solving the problem.
Here are some tips for creating a friendlier and more productive place for all of your employees, regardless of generation.
Focus on communication. The most important factor for a cohesive multigenerational workplace will be open and robust communication. Each age group will be familiar with and rely on different technologies, approaches to work, and definitions of what “success” looks like in the workplace. As such, it’s crucially important for employers to regularly gather employees of all ages into a single room so that everyone can voice concerns, collaborate to find strategies, and work as a single and harmonious team effectively.
Leverage each generation’s unique talents. Your older, more experienced employees have a firmer grasp on the subtleties of their roles and the industry. However, they may struggle to integrate new technologies into their day-to-day workflow. Conversely, your younger employees may lack experience, but they will tend to be fairly technologically and digitally savvy. You can maximize productivity in your workplace by taking the unique skillsets of each generation into account and delegating job responsibilities accordingly.
Encourage mentor/mentee relationships. Recent research suggests that younger employees tend to thrive and remain in roles that can provide them with some form of mentorship. This is a perfect example of how an age gap in a workforce can be leveraged to an employer’s benefit: by encouraging your more experienced employees to mentor younger team members, you’ll encourage cross-generational communication while simultaneously providing young employees with an opportunity to learn more about the company and the industry.