A unique aspect of the modern workplace is the presence of five distinct generations working together. From Traditionalists, otherwise known as the Silent Generation (born before 1945), to Gen Z (born after 1997),  a convergence of age groups is taking place that has never been seen before, each with its own values, communication styles, and expectations.

In this article I’ll explore some of the unique challenges associated with managing and engaging a multigenerational workforce. With such a wide array of experiences and values, how can businesses and communications professionals support effective collaboration and mutual respect across generations?

The Multigenerational Workplace – 5 Generations, 5 Perspectives 

Let’s define the groups:

• Traditionalists/the Silent Generation (born before 1945): Value loyalty, experience, and stability.
• Baby Boomers (1946-1964): Driven by hard work, discipline, and a results-oriented mindset.
• Gen X (1965-1980): Independent, tech-savvy, and value work-life balance.
• Millennials (1981-1996): Collaborative, purpose-driven, and adaptable to change.
• Gen Z (born after 1997): Digital ‘natives’, entrepreneurial, and highly socially aware.

Challenges in a Multigenerational Workplace 

Understanding the different ways generations communicate helps to foster a collaborative and productive working environment. It has been reported that each generation has distinct preferences for how they communicate - whether it’s through face-to-face meetings, emails, instant messaging, or social media.

By respecting these differences, as well as similarities, organisations can enhance intergenerational collaboration, reduce misunderstandings, and leverage the unique strengths of each age group. Tailoring communication strategies to meet these varied preferences not only improves engagement and morale but also drives better business outcomes by ensuring that all employees feel heard and valued.

But it’s not just about communication, because each generation focuses to varying degrees on different aspects of their work. For example, where older generations may value job security and stability, younger employees – often cited as the generation leading the newly coined phenomenon, “The Great Detachment” – could be seen to prioritise purpose, flexibility, and rapid advancement opportunities.

Research from McKinsey found that workplace flexibility is a key factor as to why people choose to stay at a job. Employees in different age groups also value flexibility for different reasons depending on their stage of life and related responsibilities. For example, Gen Z employees may want the flexibility to travel and for a more active social life, while older millennials may desire flexibility to manage the demands of caring for loved ones.

New research from the Work Foundation uncovered an employer ‘say-do-gap’ in terms of age inclusive policies in the workplace.

A third of senior business leaders (31%) agree emphasising diversity and inclusion is important in creating a positive work culture for multi-generational workforces, but only 18% include age in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies. Only 16% have a menopause support policy, and just 13% have age champion schemes.

In many cases, however, the similarities outweigh the differences. Research from leading management consultancy and executive search firm, Egon Zehnder, found that different generations share more commonalities when it comes to work-life balance, wellbeing and desired traits from leadership.

Within the myriad of myths and misunderstandings about each generation it’s perhaps not surprising to see that discrimination exists. We partnered with Mercer to deliver the 2024 Global Talent Trends research, which found that globally, an alarming 76% of employees have observed age-related discrimination in the workplace. This issue affects both younger and older employees. Misunderstandings are common: younger employees are frequently undervalued and underestimated, while older employees are often seen as resistant to change or unwilling to acquire new skills.

How are Businesses and Communications Professionals Responding? 

Communications professionals play a critical role in understanding how to speak to different generations. Listening to colleagues and customising internal communications - whether it’s email, face-to-face meetings, or digital platforms - ensures everyone feels heard.

Some businesses, such as Google, are fostering intergenerational mentorship programmes to enhance collaboration and innovation, share knowledge and break down stereotypes between younger and older employees. This sentiment is also echoed by global organisational consulting firm Korn Ferry, with experts emphasising the value of mentorship. Communications professionals can help drive messaging around these programmes, encouraging open dialogue and shared learning.

Future leaders also need to understand generational differences to inspire and manage teams effectively. Businesses are investing in leadership programmes to build cross-generational empathy and management styles that work for everyone. For example, leading global HR firm, Randstad, introduced a mentoring programme aimed at developing leadership skills by pairing mentees with more experienced employees.

Communications professionals must take the lead in understanding the needs and preferences of a multigenerational workforce. This involves gathering feedback, conducting surveys, and staying attuned to generational shifts.

Just as we tailor external messages for different audience segments, internal messaging should be crafted to maximise engagement.

For the best results, consider targeted communication plans that leverage various channels, such as social media, email, and in-person meetings, ensuring messages resonate across the board. Create inclusive content that highlights the value of diversity and promotes a culture of mutual respect and understanding.  

The Benefits of a Multigenerational Workforce 

The benefits of a multigenerational workforce are widely reported. For example, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cites that age-diverse firms have lower turnover and higher productivity rates than their benchmark peers. Many companies, including American Express, are increasingly recognising the value of older workers and retirees, especially in light of talent shortages and the need for experienced professionals globally.

Encouraging mutual respect and open dialogue between generations fosters a collaborative environment. Communications teams can help create campaigns that promote these values internally.

When teams consist of multiple generations, the blend of experience and fresh ideas leads to more creative problem-solving. A multigenerational workforce also brings a deeper understanding of the needs and expectations of a diverse customer base, which can improve marketing strategies and product development.

Ultimately, crafting clear, inclusive, and engaging communications can significantly improve employee satisfaction and productivity across an organisation.

Conclusion: The Importance of Embracing a Multigenerational Workforce

With the right strategies, a multigenerational workforce can be transformed from a thorny challenge into a major asset for your business. Communications professionals play a crucial role in bridging generational gaps by fostering collaboration and helping underpin a culture of respect and understanding.

This can pull through into a compelling Employer Value Proposition (EVP), which is vital for attracting and retaining talent across all age groups. By articulating the company’s purpose and aligning it with employees’ personal experiences, businesses can enhance engagement and loyalty.

If managed strategically, age diversity is a powerful driver of innovation, productivity, and talent retention. By embracing the strengths of each generation and leveraging a strong EVP, businesses can create a more dynamic, inclusive, and successful workplace.

Much attention has been paid recently to “the great resignation” – the pandemic-inspired talent exodus. It’s a phenomenon causing headaches for companies across the business spectrum – companies that aren’t sophisticated enough when it comes to delivering the new working models employees demand.

This sudden talent shift has eroded value from otherwise commercially-sound businesses, for no reason other than their failure to fully recognise that people want to work in different ways than they did three years ago.

You might say, “this stemmed from a global pandemic, it’s a unique situation”. But there’s a far-reaching lesson here: employees have become powerful activists within their businesses – underestimate them at your peril.

Green ultimatum

Nowhere is this employee activism more apparent than when it comes to companies’ sustainability strategies. Man Bites Dog conducted research among 10,000 employees across the globe and found that close to half (43%) of employees would leave their job if the company they worked for was not obviously working to reduce its carbon emissions.

At a time when talent scarcity is already on the boardroom agenda, those numbers are certainly a concern, but they’re also an opportunity.

For progressive businesses struggling to recruit, it underlines the importance of sustainability to an employer brand. Meanwhile, businesses who’ve put sustainability on the backburner in favour of near-term growth need to know that the grass is greener on the other side, and their employees will be tempted away. Much of the value they add will depart with them, putting that near-term growth back under threat.

Go green or go home

Perhaps most importantly of all, these statistics starkly illustrate that any business lacking a defined, well-communicated sustainability strategy is acting against its own interests. With pressure from investors pushing down on organisations, and pressure from employees pushing up, there’s no longer any space for laggards.

Those of us with the task of communicating our firm’s sustainability strategy and wider environmental influence within the asset management industry find ourselves right at the centre of a Venn diagram. We are directly beholden to these two activist groups at the same time: employees and investors. But through that central position, we also have an unmatched opportunity to influence the fate of not only our own businesses but the wide range of businesses that we channel investment into.

The option to sit on the sidelines and see what happens no longer remains. Sustainability is here to stay, but the opportunity to differentiate is becoming elusive as the bandwagon gets crowded. Firms must go further than ever before, they must take a stand and truly mean it, backing up their intentions with evidence of progress and commitment. They need to find increasingly creative ways to communicate their unique strengths in a way that stands out.

It’s a vast and complex challenge that each firm must face up to with its own bespoke, carefully crafted communications strategy. For those who succeed, there will be spoils – and a planet on which to enjoy them. For those who don’t try, the cost will be astronomical.

Employee experience has been steadily moving up the agenda for the C-Suite. Gartner cited it as a top priority for HR leaders in 2023, and with phenomena such as ‘The Great Resignation’, ‘quiet quitting’, 'bare minimum Monday' and 'resenteeism' on the rise, it stands to reason that this should be a core strategic focus for leaders as they battle to overcome these challenges.

There are so many reports highlighting the enormous negative impact the pandemic had on the global job market, resulting in instability for organisations. However, it also created an opportunity for people to reflect on their careers and consider their options – hello, ‘Great Resignation’. Data released by the UK’s Labour Force Survey in November 2021 showed that, of the 1.02 million people who moved jobs between July and September 2021, 391,000 of them had resigned – the highest spike ever recorded. While in the USA, according to the federal JOLTS report, about 50.5 million people quit their jobs in 2022, surpassing the previous record-breaking figure of 47.8 million in 2021.

In a similar vein, while some were considering resignation, there are those that started to fall into the ‘quiet quitting’ bucket – referring to employees who put no more effort into their jobs than absolutely necessary. This push-back against hustle culture has also seen the rise of ‘bare minimum Monday’. Taking this one step further, many employees started to fall into the ‘resenteeism’ pot, meaning they are not concealing their dissatisfaction with their role or their place of work. Reports suggest these behavioural trends have emerged in the wake of the pandemic, driven largely by social media, perhaps with most targeting efforts towards Gen Z in a new era of hybrid work.

When considering the ways in which leaders can attract and retain talent, focusing on employee experience has to be a top strategic priority. But what does it really mean? Wind back only a few years and a positive employee experience might have meant a pool table in the corner of the office, some colourful bean bags to relax on and a few beers with the team on dress-down Friday. We’ve come a long way.

Employee experience now has to be embedded within a much more sophisticated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy, with initiatives encompassing race, gender identity, neurodiversity, age and disability to name just a few.

The role businesses can play in progressing DEI was a key topic on this year’s Davos agenda. The Global Parity Alliance (GPA) – a cross-industry group committed to advancing DEI around the world – released a new report to help companies identify initiatives that have resulted in significant, quantifiable, scalable and sustainable impact. The aim was to support leaders with these insights and contribute to faster DEI impact across the global business community.

Many organisations are recognising that focusing on DEI is the right thing to do, and prioritising it is good for business. A recent McKinsey article pointed to DEI being a strategic imperative to win the battle for talent amid the ‘Great Resignation’, better serve clients and stay ahead of the competition. To do this, leaders need to mobilise their people to roll out and externalise their DEI initiatives.

And marketing and communications professionals have a key role to play in externalising their initiatives through inclusive campaigns that empower diverse groups. There are global brands doing wonderfully creative things; in 2019, Gillette took a stance on transgender inclusion with a campaign that showed the experience of shaving for the first time from the perspective of a trans male teen and his father. This highlighted a part of its audience that many other brands might not have considered and showed solidarity with the trans community. In another example, Microsoft’s “WeAllWin” campaign showcased its Xbox Adaptive Controller for children with physical disabilities, highlighting the company’s dedication to equal opportunities.

As the Global Parity Alliance report reveals, despite increased commitment towards – and investment in – advancing DEI globally, progress is slow. But progress is key, and by having a strategic focus on the right DEI initiatives for their business, leaders will be enhancing the employee experience, increasing engagement, better serving customers and staying on track for success in 2023 and beyond.

Brands need to stand out in a crowded market. Customers, employees and suppliers want to see both vision and action from leaders when it comes to DEI progress. At Man Bites Dog, we’re working with some amazing organisations to help amplify their initiatives. Drop us a line at [email protected] if you’d like to know more.