Odds are, your company is investing in a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative. Whether you’ve had one for years that consistently evolves based on current best practices, or you’re just launching one, a DEI program is a clear commitment to a company’s employees, customers, the communities in which they operate, and innovation.
Dozens of studies and decades of research have found that diverse teams tend to be smarter than homogeneous teams: they often think more logically, are more creative, and are more adept at identifying errors in thinking.
Psychology Today
Even as DEI is embraced as a top priority for many human resource departments in 2022, it’s important to note that only 8% of organizations include age diversity as part of their DEI initiatives. This presents an overlooked – and potentially impactful – opportunity for many companies.
How age diverse are your teams?
There are five generations currently employed in the global workforce, according to Pew Research:
- Traditionalists (also known as the Silent Generation) (born between 1922 – 1945)
- Baby boomers (born 1946 – 1964)
- Gen X (born 1965 – 1980)
- Gen Y (aka Millennials) ( born 1981 – 1996)
- Gen Z (born 1997 – 2012)
Each of these generations experienced events that influenced their formative values and attitudes. For example, Traditionalists were impacted as children and young adults by the Great Depression and remember the effects of World War II. Gen Z was impacted by 9/11, financial insecurity during the Great Recession, and a rise in school shootings.
Even if your team spans only three of these generations, you probably have an idea of how diverse their experiences and attitudes might be, and you might see it as a formidable challenge. But nurturing generational diversity can be extremely rewarding to an organization and its employees.
When age-diverse teams are managed well, members share more knowledge, skills, and networks with each other.
Harvard Business Review
Beyond stereotypes and into true connection
While it’s true that, for the sake of sociology, profound events affect entire generations, there are a multitude of experiences that influence each individual within a generation. Because of this, relationships are often built across generations through commonalities based on background, culture, gender, family structures, and interests.
How can leaders support age-diverse teams?
Reject stereotypes
Assumptions that a Baby Boomer isn’t tech savvy or that a Millennial is are minimizing and reinforcing generational stereotypes.
Flag ageism and reverse ageism
Ageism goes both ways, and depending on the culture of your company, there may be a tendency to discount very young employees as well as more seasoned professionals. This kind of age discrimination often goes hand-in-hand with race and gender bias.
Watch your language
Generation wars aren’t new, but social media platforms have given them new weaponry with hashtags and memes that negatively reinforce stereotypes. Sometimes, they’re funny. But most of the time, they’re just not.
Consider taking a stand
More than ever, the shared values of a company and its employees create deep ties. Previous generations were advised to avoid acknowledgment of politics, religion, and personal challenges, but employees of all ages are now appreciating authentic dialog that helps them feel connected to their company and each other.
Collect data
Use short surveys – as short as 15 seconds – to ask your employees a couple of specific questions about age diversity at your company.
Customize incentives and benefits
One size doesn’t fit all when providing meaningful benefits to your multi-generational employees. While one employee may be burdened with student loan debt or childcare, another might be paying college tuition for an adult child or caring for an elderly parent.
Celebrate the outcomes of age diversity
What happens when multi-generational teams thrive?
Connection through common values.
A perfect example of this is the flexibility employees of all ages have come to appreciate. Whether they are able to spend more time with school-age children or travel, a flexible work schedule is a common value for multi-generational teams.
A mentorship highway.
Understanding that mentorship is a two-way, open channel between everyone on a team demystifies and expands the idea of shared knowledge. Everyone has something to learn and share.
Stronger connections with customers.
Having an age-diverse team helps your company connect with multi-generational teams you serve at the customer level.
Reduced employee turnover.
Employees of all ages report improved job satisfaction when they engage with multi-generational teams. Making contributions and feeling gratitude are proven to help with overall contentment.
A wider pool of candidates.
Check your job postings for filtering language that discourages candidates from applying as well as requiring identifying information like graduation dates.