Generations in the Workplace
An interesting phenomenon in the workplace during recent years is that we’re seeing incredible age diversity.
Given the 2007 recession and our more recent COVID-induced recession, many Millennials and Gen Zers have chosen to stay home and focus on school given the job shortage, making them the most educated generations ever. These individuals often enter the workforce as managers.
On the other side of the age coin, Baby Boomers are either choosing to remain employed during their retirement years or keep working out of financial necessity. The Boomers, though, are typically choosing to step down from management positions and take roles with less responsibility.
So, think about the dynamic this creates. You have a group of people with decades of experience being managed by “kids” straight out of college!
As a manager, what changes would you think about making within your company to not only make sure that your employees are happy and productive, but also to tap into the potential of all your employees regardless of age?
-In one or two sentences, describe your fictitious company.
-What is the most commonly accepted way of conducting business in the department (e.g.: an accounting department may have a 9-5 schedule or a marketing department may use print marketing)? The possibilities are endless, so feel free to look at this question from any angle.
-Give an alternative method for conducting business in the department (e.g.: an accounting department may have flex scheduling and the ability to work remotely or a marketing department may rely on a specific type of digital marketing). Get creative! What haven’t you seen that would truly improve the day-to-day or even quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year?
-If you were in charge, what changes might you enact to improve the company? Keep in mind the age diversity, but focus more so on the overall benefit of the company. Also, age discrimination is as real as any other type of discrimination, so be careful about making generalizations like “younger people can be in charge of digital marketing because they’re better at it,” or “older professionals prefer more traditional 9-5 scheduling.”
