Understanding Generational Diversity: Why It's Important To The Future Workplace

The article "Understanding Generational Diversity: Why It's Important To The Future Workplace" written by Mary Cooney, who is a Generational Diversity Consultant, explains why generational diversity is important for companies and what challenges it presents.

Diversity in the workplace is an important issue today. Racial or gender diversity is already a managed issue in companies, but generational diversity is often overlooked, and it is important to point out that according to a 2018 Ranstad Wormonitor study it was evident that 86% of workers prefer to work in multigenerational teams.

Generational diversity refers to having a wide range of generations in the workforce. In today's world, companies have up to five generations in the workforce, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Traditionalists. Each generation has been shaped by the era in which they grew up, which determines their distinct way of viewing the world. For example, Traditionalists (born between 1925 and 1942) remember the effects of World War II, so they are more conservative and disciplined citizens. Then the Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) grew up in a time of economic growth and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) grew up in divorced households or with both parents working and were part of the advent of the Internet, so they are tech-savvy.

Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) grew up surrounded by optimistic and entrepreneurial parents and Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2013) are the most recent population who grew up in the middle of economic insecurity during the Great Recession and violence in schools.

Having a generationally diverse workforce is beneficial for companies as it decreases turnover costs and improves retirement succession planning. One aspect to highlight here is the opportunity for knowledge sharing, where initiatives like Kimberly Clark's instituted a mentoring program where Millennials were paired with senior executives to understand how to attract younger employees, or initiatives like those where Baby Boomers mentor younger generations, or where Generation X leaders who have not yet retired take on the role of mentors.

However fostering generational diversity presents challenges, as age discrimination does exist. In a survey conducted by Glassdoor 45% of employees claimed to have experienced or witnessed age discrimination. In addition, there is a communication gap between the different generations as older and younger generations have different ways of communicating due to their different historical reference points and lived experiences.

These challenges can be overcome by aligning the values that matter most to all employees of all ages, which are feeling respected, being listened to, having opportunities for mentoring, understanding the big picture, receiving effective communication, receiving positive feedback, and experiencing the exchange of ideas. Companies should encourage the creation of a culture based on generational diversity, where differences are accepted and stereotypes or any misinformation about the generations are rejected. By creating multi-generational teams where interaction between members of different generations is sought, and by creating mentoring teams, the unique skills that each generation has can be leveraged to improve communication between the different generations.

This article has personal relevance for me because I remember that in the jobs in which I worked back in my country, the experience of older workers was highly valued because many of them had started their professional careers even when the company had been created, so they were an important source about the culture and values that the company wanted to transmit from its origins, and how it evolved over time, always maintaining its essence and improving to keep pace with the changing world of business. I had a mentor who guided me in the company and helped me understand and accept all my colleagues' points of view, without discriminating them by their age.

Today, living in Canada and being an international student who is in her second career, and who has previous work experience, I would like that when I get a job here I will be able to belong to a company where generational diversity is valued, and where there is no discrimination based on age. I believe that the experiences of each of the generations are valuable, and passing on knowledge can help future generations to be more prepared to assume their professional challenges and to communicate more effectively with the different generations that interact in the workplace.

What was your impression of the review? Do you agree with generational diversity in the workplace? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Cooney, M., PhD. (n.d.). Understanding Generational Diversity: Why It’s Important To The Future Workplace. www.linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understanding-generational-diversity-why-its-future-mary-cooney-phd/