S1 E18: Breaking Down Barriers: Navigating the Multigenerational Workplace with Confidence
The modern workplace is more diverse than ever before, with multiple generations working side-by-side. While this diversity brings many benefits, it can also create communication barriers and conflict if not managed effectively. In this podcast, we explore the challenges and opportunities of working in a multigenerational workplace.
From understanding the different generational values and work styles to building strong relationships across generations, we cover everything you need to know to navigate the complexities of the modern workplace. You'll learn practical tips and strategies for communicating effectively with colleagues of different ages, how to avoid generational stereotypes, and how to build a culture of inclusivity that benefits everyone.
We also discuss how to leverage the strengths of different generations to achieve better business outcomes and create a more collaborative and engaged workforce.
So whether you're a Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, or Gen Z, join us as we explore the multigenerational workplace and unlock the power of diversity for your organisation.
Kep topics I'll be covering in today's episode:
What are some of the common challenges that you might encounter when leading a multigenerational team?
How do we deliver against these customer needs? Who are expecting these changes?
Gen Z wants employers that embrace technology, are advanced in their use of technology, and streamline processes to improve efficiency.
Baby boomers are the generation that are looking after their grandchildren, so they want flexible work arrangements and flexible hours.
What are the biggest challenges for millennials in the workplace?
Generation X’s want more hours, not less.
How to communicate with Gen X leaders and employees.
How you can support your team to support a diverse workforce.
How can you foster open communication in your workplace?
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SUMMARY KEYWORDS
generation, baby boomers, zed, organisation, gen xers, millennials, gen, communication, younger generations, workplace, create, leaders, employers, workforce, gen x, podcast, baby boomer, work life balance, team, flexible
You're listening to Knowing me, Knowing you, the podcast that explores the art and science of creating, developing and retaining brilliant teams. I'm your host, Emma Clayton. Join me weekly for practical advice, simple steps, and inspirational ideas as we discuss topics that make a difference to leaders and their teams. I'll be sharing all the tools and having conversations that help you to build and sustain by performing. Welcome to the Knowing me Knowing you podcast.
Emma Clayton 00:47
Hello, and welcome to another podcast with me, Emma Clayton. Oh, now this week's a good one. This is one that I think everybody will learn from, even if you are not interested in multi-generational workforces. Aren't you still interested in how these new generations are coming through and changing our world? I find it fascinating. So this week, we will explore the power and potential of a multi-generational workforce. Now, the workforce is becoming increasingly diverse because we have new generations coming through new generations that are living in New different times in this volatile, uncertain, quite chaotic world; these new generations are coming through and learning so much more and bringing in so much more unique perspectives and skills to the workplace. Now, with it does come some challenges; I have leaders come and talk to make quite a lot and say, oh my goodness, me, I cannot believe how needy some of my team are, or my team just will not come into the office, I don't know how to get them in.
Or I've got somebody who is just brilliant. But I don't know how to manage them because they never want to communicate. Now, leaders are facing a variety of challenges, especially dependent on their industry or the organisation or their role. And of the common challenges you might encounter is managing people. So leading and managing a team of individuals has different personalities, skill sets, and communication styles, which can be very challenging. Leaders must be able to motivate, delegate and provide feedback effectively to ensure their multi-generational team is functioning. Now feeding back from a Gen Zed to a baby boomer, very different conversations. In decision-making, leaders often need to make important decisions that can significantly impact the organisation.
And that requires weighing up all the risks and benefits and analysing the data. And considering all the viewpoints now, if you've listened to any of my podcasts before, we've talked about how to create conflict, how to create psychological safety, all of the different disc profiles, add in multi-generational on top of that, and you have got a lot of work to do as a leader to try and harness all those different styles and perspectives. Then we have change management, we know the world is changing, and it's having a massive impact on our workplace. Organisations are constantly evolving; leaders need to navigate that change effectively, stay ahead of the change, communicate the change, manage the resistance and create a culture of adaptability.
Now if you think about change in the workplace, the change and what it means from a baby boomer to a Gen Zed are very different. And all of the generations in the middle time management leaders also have a lot on their plate, needing to balance all these competing priorities, all these different needs, and they need to organise themselves very, very well and delegate effectively. Now we'll have another podcast on the art of delegation soon enough. But imagine delegating from a Gen Zed up to a baby boomer, again, very different in terms of how you might do that, especially when we're throwing in hybrid working on top of it. Communication Wow, this is going to be. I've already done a few podcasts on this. We're going to keep doing the communication.
There is so much to say. You can never get tired of talking about different communication. There will be a podcast coming up soon around digital communication and how that is now the new body language and how we need to be able to use digital communication in place of body language in these new remote and hybrid workplaces. I cannot wait to record that podcast, And then we've got to keep up with those industry trends. So we're managing people with varying needs, change, client demands, and market demands. But also, we've got to be able to keep up with all these industry trends. And that is, how do we adopt this digital technology to help us in the business? How do we deliver against these customer needs who are expecting these changes? So there is so much for leaders to start thinking about; it can be overwhelming. Here's where I think we should start today, I think we should start to understand and break down those generations and understand them a little bit more. The modern workforce now has got probably about five different generations.
You've got Baby Boomers, Gen X, millennials, Gen Zed, and then you've got some Gen alphas in there, too. And each of those generations has distinct experiences, values and perspectives that can shape their entire approach to work. And when we understand these differences, then it's so much easier for us as leaders and employers to tailor our strategies and create a cohesive and productive team. And this is what I spend a lot of time doing in my current role, looking at what each of those different generations wants, and I'm currently in an organisation where the average age of our workforce is about 30. So a huge proportion of our workforce is Gen Zed. They're also known as Zoomers, the generation born between 1997 and 2012. And as they begin to enter the workforce, here are some things that they're looking for from their employers and see if you're providing this flexibility, Gen Zed value huge flexibility in their work arrangements, whether it's the ability to work remotely or have flexible hours, they value work-life balance.
These Gen Zed look at people like me, Gen X, and the baby boomers going, why do you work so hard? Why are you still working at 10 p.m.? These guys finish at five, they're switching off, and they are going because they want the freedom to pursue their interests outside of work. But they are so much more purpose-driven. Gen Zed wants to work for companies that align with their values and positively impact society. So they are attracted to companies with a clear mission and purpose. So think about the B Corp organisations. They are where they will be looking to try and get to. They will be the ones that have got. They'll be looking for companies with strong cultures; there'll be looking on all of the employer websites to see the experience in that organisation. They're also looking for opportunities for growth and development. They value continuous learning and professional development. So have you got a professional career development plan for your Gen Z? They want you to invest in their growth and provide opportunities for training and development.
And critically, Gen Zed values diversity and inclusion and wants to work for companies prioritising this. So all of the Meet who's Black Lives, Matter? All the environmental pieces, the disabilities and all of these socially conscious policies are what matter to Gen Zed. So if you've got diverse teams and inclusive policies, you will do well. And I've even interviewed Gen Ed recently. And about 70% of them have asked me what our DNI policies are fascinating.
Emma Clayton 09:01
And then technology, these Gen Zed grew up with a mobile phone in their pocket. They were given iPads to suit them. They were given iPads in restaurants to behave. This generation has grown up with technology, which they use and need. As a soother in their personal and professional lives. I've got a Gen Zed daughter; she cannot cope without having her phone. She does everything on her phone. And it's not just about communication. It's where she banks, it's where she buys. It's where she connects. It's where she soothes; it's where she listens. She has everything on there. And that is how Gen Z adds now they want employers that embrace technology that is advanced in their use of technology and that they streamline processes to improve efficiency.
Because if you improve efficiency using technology, remember the work-life balance they can shut off at five so Jen side one employers who provide a flexible, purpose-driven, inclusive work environment, which fosters continuous learning and growth, are quite needy, they do need your time. If I even think about some of these younger generations that have grown up in the pandemic, they're also very needy for time. But they're also not very good at creating that human connection because they've always had their head and a phone. So it might seem a little absurd that you've got a generation, especially if you're not this generation, who want your time, who need your time, but don't want to be with you in person. It is quite an incongruent demand.
If I return to the other end of the generation, we've got baby boomers in the workplace. Now, this is the generation that was born between 1946 and 1964. And they're now in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Now, they want a wealth of knowledge they can share. So they want to be valuable mentors to the younger employees. It's a bit like the grandmother-grandfather relationship, where parents don't do a great job disciplining, but the grandparents do. And so you've got this beautiful relationship that you can form between your Gen Xers, ads, and your baby boomers because the baby boomers have a wealth of knowledge and experience. And they would do well to be able to use mentorship programmes, where they compare with the younger employees who can benefit because, remember, the Gen says want development want the knowledge. But baby boomers also, don't forget about them, wanting training and development. And it might not necessarily be job training. Still, they need to be able to keep up with technology, the changes in industry standards, and all of these new advancements in policies and legislation.
They need to have these training programmes to help them to stay up to date because they still want to work this desperately want to work. They are graphed, as they're the generation that if you didn't work hard, you didn't move on in your career, and there was no fast-tracking. In the baby boomer days, you went to work, started at the bottom, worked hard, and went up to the top. However, baby boomers still probably have got some caregiving responsibilities. When we come on to millennials, you'll see that millennials are still either at home or can't afford child care, ridiculous costs that are ongoing in the UK. And so baby boomers tend to be the generation looking after their grandchildren.
So they want flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting, flexible hours, Fridays, or four days a week, so they can look after their grandchildren on Friday. And as leaders and employees, we should provide these options to support Baby Boomers and help them balance their work and responsibilities. And I think more than ever, we need to also recognise them, we need to recognise their contributions, we recognise their knowledge, we need to recognise their loyalty because they've been in the workforce for several decades. And whilst the Gen Zed generation probably will stay in a job for no more than two years, the baby boomers will likely have been the lifers. They've been there for a very long time. 1015 20 years, they, well, they're just very loyal. And we need to be able to reward that loyalty. Employers should recognise their contributions through awards, public acknowledgement, and other forms of recognition. So if you're not doing that and overlooking what you see, that's just a regular contribution.
You'll do well to create more loyalty from your baby boomers still with you if you can still recognise them and then help their succession plan. Baby boomers will eventually retire if they've not already semi-retired, and employers should have a plan for their succession. So that could be potential replacements. It could be creating the knowledge transfer and ensuring a smooth transition for those baby boomers to head off and leave their employers and colleagues behind. So baby boomers need to recognise the value their training and development provide in current technologies and advancements. Legislations offer flexible work and plan for their eventual retirement. Now, we've also got millennials in the workplace. So they started as Generation Y and are now millennials because they were born between 81 and 96. And they were the generation at the forefront of their turn into the 21st century. They probably face more challenges than anybody because they were there during the 2008 economic crash. They were the ones that were penalised because they entered the workforce during this very challenging economic period and faced competition for job opportunities. And that led to a lot of high levels of stress and uncertainty. And even now, they are placing a real value on career growth and development and can be disengaged if they aren't provided with this. They are the ones who, after the economic crash, couldn't afford to buy their own homes; they can't afford to put their children in childcare.
These are the ones that have been pushed where the baby boomers benefited after the second world war with this big boom, which is why they're called Baby Boomers in the economy. And Gen Xers are now starting to see a real boom in technology. And they're finding their way through this new working world. The millennials have sort of been the ones that have borne the brunt of all of this economic downturn and shift and change and volatility. So you would do well as an employer to provide opportunities to mentor, coach, train, and put them on leadership programmes. But aside from that, they are also the ones that prioritise work-life balance the most, especially the females, because they are the ones that are still struggling to maintain work-life balance.
Still, they're the ones that have the children; the Gen Zed are prioritising work-life balance because they want to go and have a life. Millennials want to go into care for their children; they want to be there watching their kids grow up. Well, they've also got this very pressing value in their career. And often, you'll find many women who are millennials placing their value on whether they can balance both, but it is a tall order. And you might start to see burnout occurring in these millennials in your workforce because they've juggled multiple priorities, work, family personal pursuits. And so try and address this challenge for the millennials by providing resources and support such as Employee Assistance programmes, wellness programmes, and anything that helps with child care. There is one company that I know that I have worked with that provides urgent childcare assistance so that anybody working doesn't have to worry about childcare.
And so they can get in and nanny or get them into a nursery should the need arise. Communication is also something to be mindful of because Millennials have very different communication styles and preferences than the older generations, the Gen Xers and the baby boomers; they may struggle to communicate effectively with their colleagues or managers because of this different communication style. And again, I'm going to run some more podcasts around this. Otherwise, we'll still be here in two hours. But employers should look to understand what these are. So listen to my future podcasts, and address them by providing any communication training or fostering a culture of open communication could even be worth running some disk or other personality assessments. And again, if you go to my website, brilliant teams.org, you can see the assessments available to put in place if that interests you. So overall, the biggest challenges for millennials are in the workplace, where they involve competition for job opportunities, career growth, development, work-life balance, and multiple competing priorities.
Emma Clayton 18:41
Then you've got the Gen Xers, so my generation's Gen Xers were born between 65 and 80. And what do they want from the workplace? Well, again, they want work-life balance. After all, they want to prioritise their personal life now because they've worked so hard to get where they've got to, put all the hours in, and have grafted. And now these people want to retire at 55 to 60. Because they are feeling exhausted. They're tempted by flexible working and love remote working and flexible hours.
They don't want that horrible commute anymore. They'd rather give you more hours. So whereas it used to be a 10-hour day with an eight-hour day and a two-hour commute, they'd rather give you 10 hours of work. This generation, Gen X, has value and career development and is probably already in leadership roles. And they will manage the millennial's and the Gen Xer's ads. So there is this real frustration growing in Gen Xers where they're not quite as on top of all of these advancements in technology and digital and communication and ways of working and hybrid working and the adaptability needed there. So again, they could do with a little bit of support around upskilling around what the generations and new ways of working are and keeping their leadership fresh.
And you'll hear many people talking about 21st-century leadership, servant leadership, and where hierarchical leadership has gone. It's moved through as an archaic way of leading, but you still see a lot of Gen X's, leading with this hierarchical, very dragging the team along, do as I say, here's what you must do dictatorial. You know, bossing people around, do as I say, I'm the boss we've moved through that is no longer a leadership style that works. And so we've got to be able to put through the servant leadership, supporting your teams, nurturing your teams, bringing a lot more of the softer skills, the powerful skills, as I call them, into the workplace and your leadership style. Now, Gen X also value autonomy; they prefer to work independently. And I think, you know, provide opportunities where they can self-direct and make decisions for themselves, do not micromanage the Gen X's, they're just going to leave and walk out.
Because Gen X's are still very employable. They're the ones that have the work ethic, graft, and knowledge they know. And they've seen the advancements and the transformations come through, they've worked on change for a long time, these guys know how to deliver the change they've been through enough. So they are highly employable. So don't overlook your Gen X leaders and employees. But I think more than anything, you've got to give them stability; they value job security and stability, especially after all of the economic turbulence that they will have had throughout their careers, not only the recent economic crisis, if you like, but also, as I say that 2008 And they also were born and will remember the 70s economic downturn, so they know. And they're sensitive to know that these things come and go and peaks and troughs, but they also are looking for stability as they are getting older children, more family commitments, and possibly even some grandparenting roles. So try and support them by offering competitive benefits and compensation packages where they won't leave you a bit like baby boomers look after them, and they will stay. So just a little bit on communication for these generations, I think it's important to give you a little advice, and we'll do a fuller podcast on it.
But traditionalists, the baby boomers, will tend to prefer face-to-face connections, personal connections; they grew up in letter writing and the telephone. They are the ones who had to go and sit down and meet somebody face-to-face. They didn't, do you know, zooms, Google Hangouts, texts, video calls, or FaceTime. They value the professionalism of clear face-to-face communication. The GeneXus may prefer email or messaging apps because they value the efficiency of quick informal communication, they will do face-to-face communication, but that tends to be for something a bit more serious. So when they've got a message to land, a change to run, or a communication that affects the other person, keep it to email. Millennials will prefer messaging apps, so they'll prefer to team you to chat with you to text to FaceTime, and they value convenience. Still, they also prefer communication that's quick and easy. Get it in, get it done, gone. Because I've got to go back and I've got to look after my kids. And Gen Zed may prefer social media for communication.
That doesn't pose a problem in some of these larger global organisations that aren't set up for social media and still use old-school, old-fashioned communication methods. So if you've got a social media channel that you can use for your Gen Zed team, by all means, bring it in. But make it informal, conversational communication because that is how Gen Zed. I mean, I've seen the text that, you know, kids send, and it does not read anyway, like what we were taught in school. But that's because they love this informal. They prefer to have 1000 messages where it's only one word and then have long, drawn-out text. It's got everything in it. They're happy with a beep, beep, beep, beep of their phone going off constantly. Whereas Gen Xers like myself want one message, please. It is essential to note that these preferences do vary. This is very stereotypical. I don't mean it to be. And just like any personality, you can't judge somebody by age or generation. Everybody has a different job, communication style, personal preferences, values, beliefs, and motivators. Still, we start heartened to see a trend in generations because of our world, whether it be the economics, the digital advancements, whatever it might be politics, social, all of those different things. And employees need to address this quickly and create a culture that embraces all those differences.
So think about how you can put things in place to support your teams to support that diverse workforce; it'll be helpful for you to also look at your customers, your clients, you know, if you're getting more of the younger generations, as customers or clients, you've got to start thinking about your strategy is there, how do you communicate? How do you promote? What channels are you using? How can you harness all of these rich differences in your organisation? And the one thing I love about multi-generational workforces is that every generation brings unique perspectives and experiences, which can only help generate new ideas, approaches, problem-solving, and decision-making.
Older generations have that valuable experience and knowledge they can share with younger generations. But equally, younger generations can bring fresh insights and technological expertise. So who have you got around your decision-making tables from the younger generation to help you with that increased creativity which can come from combining all those experiences and perspectives? It's so rich. And then again, with that collaboration, you can master those different communication needs and skills. And you can learn to navigate those different working styles and preferences. And, again, in terms of learning and development, you don't even need to go outside and pay all of the money for external training providers; get your internal teams training each other. Why can we not have internal training from generation to generation? You don't need people like me to come in and help you with this; you've got it all in your team. But of course, it isn't. Without challenges, I recognise that you know, it can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. And my dad, God loved him when
Emma Clayton 27:21
he was alive. He always used to be moaning about, you know, this new generation; I don't understand they've got it. So good, typical baby boomer, moaning and complaining about the new generation. But, if we look at how we can build bridges and mentorship programmes, and create harmony in the workplace and positive conflict in the workplace, then indeed, that's a win for each generation, but also for you as a leader in your company.
So how can you foster that open communication? So encouraging your different generations to work together, communicate openly and honestly, and share their needs and preferences? How are you creating an environment that allows people to do that? How are you promoting diversity and inclusion in your workplace, celebrating the differences, and promoting equity and fairness to each generation? And you're not just saying, Well, I've got a Genex leader, I'm going to prioritise them; how are you going to make a bottom-up approach as well? How will you create a culture of respect, cooperation, and understanding?
And then again, with that training and development, why goodness me, I would be getting out and getting those younger generations trained in the old days, and the old days training the younger generations. And then, last but not least, everybody now wants flexibility.
So start to look at your remote working, your flexible hours, your hybrid working; I have a course on my website that you can download, all about how you set remote teams so that it is a powerful team instead of just the team that everybody forgets it's in the background and works on on Zoom calls, still focus on your results, still look at the results you want to achieve. Everybody still needs a strategy. Everybody still needs goals, but how you're going to get there, looking at different personalities and working styles is essential, as looking at the other preferences and making sure you cater for all. And when you're catering for all, it's crucial to wrap that around with clear communication about why you are doing that and creating these cross-generational teams.
So I only know what else I can say to you other than it's a circuit and see, you've got to understand each of your generations. It's worth always asking. If you've got an engagement partner in your business, ask them to, you know, constantly be asking the questions from all of your different generations, making sure that you're listening, active listening, from all of your employees. Embrace flexible working, provide redevelopment opportunities, and ensure that you're creating your culture of diversity and inclusion with all of these things. And also, prioritise meaningful and fulfilling work because that will get your younger generation's juices flowing. So it's obvious the multi-generational workforce is a huge opportunity. It's a powerful asset for any organisation.
And understanding and embracing that, instead of seeing it as a challenge, is the first step in creating even greater, more brilliant, stronger, resilient teams. So let me know how you get on. I'm always fascinated by multi-generation stories, so please follow me on LinkedIn comm or find me on LinkedIn.
And let's have that conversation. You can email me, Emma@brilliant teams.org, and I will look forward to seeing you in the next episode. I hope you've learned something new today. And as ever, Stay Brilliant.
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