Closing the Generation Gap: Strategies for a Cohesive Workplace

The years are moving fast, and top management is now more than ever working with an increasingly diverse and multigenerational workforce. According to a report entitled The Rise of Generation Z from Paychex, Gen Z has constantly increased its employment share by 2 percent yearly since 2018. In 2022, Gen Zs have officially surpassed Baby Boomers in the workforce. 

With most employers getting a huge chunk of the Millenial and Gen Z workforce, managers face a rising dilemma about effectively bridging the gap between Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Zs. This diverse generational gap is causing disparity and disagreements in work methods, ethics, priorities, beliefs, and abilities, challenging employers to help connect the many disconnections between these generation gaps. 

This article will discuss the common problems in a multigenerational workforce, why they exist, and what effective management leadership can do to close the gap and create a cohesive workplace environment. 

 

The Generation Gaps In The Workplace

Is the generation gap real, or is it all in our heads?

Surprisingly, no “real” metric determines which generation someone belongs to. The concept of the generation gap stems from the fact that each person is born into a set of years in which beliefs and practices clearly differ from those of another set of generations. 

Popularly recognized, however, are the following generations and the set of years that are divided for each:

 

👉 Baby Boomers (1946-1964)

Baby Boomers are profession-driven individuals who are highly committed to their workplace, value workplace visibility, pride themselves on their role in the organization, and tend to be self-sufficient in achieving their goals.

Among all generations, the Baby Boomers are the generation that constantly seeks work even beyond retirement age – a testament to their constant search for self-improvement.

 

👉 Gen X (1965-1980)

As a workforce, Gen X are value-driven and focused individuals ready to commit to their roles while maintaining adequate work-life balance. They value education and further learning to improve themselves, contribute to their organization, and advance their careers. 

 

👉 Millennials (1981-1996)

Millennials, popularly termed the Job Hopping Generation, have surpassed Baby Boomers and Gen X in the workforce. 

According to a report from Gallup, 21% of Millennials say they have changed jobs within a year. They are also the generation most likely to move freely from one company to another, seeking better job opportunities, titles, and pay raises with the least attachment to the company they are employed in. 

 

👉 Gen Z (1997-2012)

Gen Zs have already entered the workforce, and as a generation that has experienced the most technical advancements and tech-driven abilities, they also carry a different set of beliefs and work ethics.

 

Benefits And Challenges Of A Multigenerational Workforce

Challenges management may face with a multigenerational workforce include:

• Communication problems
• Different employee expectations
• Difference in work ethics
• A gap in tech abilities
• Values
• Negative stereotypes and discrimination 

Despite the challenges, effective leadership with a multigenerational workforce can help management through:

• Learning opportunities across different generations
• Multiple perspectives on the table
• Mentorship opportunities
• Diverse problem-solving abilities
• Planning successions

Pierce Hogan, Owner of Varied Lands, says, “Working with a multigenerational workforce is both a curse and a blessing for top management. However, this is unavoidable because the working class is becoming younger and younger year by year, and fresh blood is needed to help propel the organization toward a more progressive and tech-driven working environment.”

 

Why Is Workplace Cohesiveness Important?

Workplace cohesiveness is detrimental to any organization, big or small. Whether you’re a team of 5 or 500, an effective organization only thrives when rank and file to top management can work cohesively as a team, work towards the same goal, and have a clear view of work responsibilities despite varying differences in age, race, nationality, or gender. 

Effective leadership allows employees to thrive in a cohesive workplace where each individual knows their worth and contributes to organizational goals, focusing less on self but the overall impact on the company. 

According to Logan Mallory, Vice President of Marketing at Motivosity, “A cohesive workplace thrives on effective and clear communication between and among the workforce, no matter the level, and where outcomes are achieved through unity and collaboration more than what one could achieve as a singular unit.”

 

Strategies For A Multigenerational Cohesive Workplace 

Here are some strategies on how an organization can foster a cohesive workplace among a multigenerational workforce:

 

👉 Open Communication At All Levels

A key player in achieving cohesiveness in the workplace, especially with a multigenerational workforce, is teaching the value and importance of open communication and channels across all levels of the organization. This not only involves an employer’s method of communication with their employees but also gives their employees avenues to communicate with one another and improve their relationship with coworkers – even beyond work papers and PPTs.

Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, says, “Each generation is characterized by a different set of work ethics, beliefs, and abilities, and the only way to close the generation gap is by allowing a platform and opportunity to understand each other’s differences and preferences.”

 

👉 Be A Flexible Employer

Needless to say, a millennial and Gen Z workforce is different from that of Baby Boomers or several Gen Xers when it comes to technology, beliefs, and work practices. Baby Boomers or Gen Xs may prefer to stay and work in the office to be productive, while Millenials or Gen Zs thrive more in hybrid work or flexible work schedules.

As effective leaders, management must create a plan for managing employee schedules to accommodate these different work ethics and pacing, either through a flexi-time work arrangement or allowing hybrid work for those who may prefer it – all while maintaining the right balance between flexibility and productivity.

“Many companies find it challenging to create flexible arrangements or allow hybrid work. However, keeping up with the modern workforce means that companies must adapt to these methods as much as possible to attract younger and promising talents who may prefer this work setting,” says Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers.

 

👉 Understand Your Team 

The start to creating a cohesive workplace is through effective leaders who try to understand the varying needs, behaviors, and work ethics of each of their employees – and this doesn’t only mean looking at their bio-data, resume, or social media. 

Truly understanding your team means creating avenues to know their thoughts, express their opinions, engage in conversations and healthy arguments, or give feedback to the company or the management. 

For an effective management to understand its employees better, it needs to:

1. Allow for feedback, either through face-to-face sessions or anonymous feedback forms.
2. Engage in discussion and catch-up sessions, which can include personal matters or professional work.
3. Give polls or surveys on work of management-related matters.
4. Spend time with your employees by joining them for dinner or lunch – be an easy person to talk to.
5. Openly discuss workplace opportunities like promotions, rate increases, further studies, or workplace benefits like retirement benefits, 401(k), or work cover claims.

“While employees work for the company to achieve its goals, employers should also work to understand its employees in return – not just its external stakeholders. Your employees are just as important as your customers because they keep your company running, even without your customers,” says Phil Strazzulla, Founder at SelectSoftware Reviews.

 

👉 Create opportunities to learn from each other

One of the best advantages of a multigenerational workforce is the opportunity for each generation to learn from the other, whether in values, work ethics, or technical abilities. 

According to Axel Lavergne, Founder at ReviewFlowz, “Each generation has positive traits to bring to the table to achieve organizational goals. When management creates opportunities to gather the team for learning sessions or discussions, you’ll be surprised to find just how much synergy a Baby Boomer and a Gen Z can have to help the company thrive.”

Aside from learning sessions, you can also mix up your teams by having Baby Boomers or Gen Xs work with Millenials and Gen Z. Creating a diverse team will not only allow for open communication between different generations and help them understand each other better, but it will also help the company generate innovative and creative solutions from teams with multiple perspectives.

 

👉 Adopting Technology That Helps Teams Collaborate

With the modern workplace keeping up with technology, most companies that thrive in remote work or hybrid work setups face challenges in getting team members to collaborate, even before creating a cohesive workplace.

To address this, it is detrimental for management to adopt technology that helps teams collaborate no matter where they are in the world and the generation they are in.

Jesse Galanis, Customer Experience Officer (CXO) at AllCrystal, says, “Communication, project management, and work platforms play a crucial role in closing the generation gap between employees working together but may be on opposite sides of the globe.”

 

👉 Embrace Inclusivity

A cohesive workplace only works and thrives when all its members, from top management to rank-and-file employees, practice and embrace inclusivity whenever and wherever possible.

Inclusivity isn’t limited to race, gender, or culture but also how every member of the organization treats their colleagues regardless of their beliefs, age, or abilities. In an inclusive workplace:

• All individuals are given opportunities, regardless of age.
• Healthy, open communication is encouraged. 
• Each person has strengths to bring to the table, regardless of age.
• Everyone is accepted for their individualities, values, and beliefs.
• Age stereotypes are eliminated (i.e., someone younger can’t lead a pack because they are ‘too young’ or an older person can’t handle a task because they are bad at technology).

According to Jonathan Feniak, General Counsel at LLC Attorney, “When the organization embraces inclusivity, its employees will also channel it. Organizations must also be careful of ageism practices (where employees are discriminated against based on age), as they foster a culture of disrespect and demotivate employees from performing better or staying with the company.”

 

Conclusion

A cohesive workplace can only be achieved when management recognizes its members’ critical role in achieving organizational goals. However, management can’t do this alone. 

To close the generational gap in the workplace, each individual should make an extra effort to communicate, understand, teach, and learn from different sets of generations with different beliefs, values, and abilities to become an innovative team that contributes a diverse set of talents and perspectives to organizational goals.