Working in a multi-generational office
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Narrator: The next time you are thinking about how little the respect the younger generation pays, or how slow members of the older generation are, stop and take a look around your office. Recent human resources studies have found that Canadian workplaces now employ up to four generations. That’s the potential for more than a 40 year age gap.
Annemarie Shrouder, Founder and President of Toronto’s Building Equitable Environments spoke to ILSTV about this trend and how big of an issue it is in today’s workplaces.
Annemarie Shrouder: Yeah, it’s becoming a bigger issue since they changed the retirement age and with the economy the way it is, more people will have to stay in the workplace longer. It’s one of those … not so much a hidden diversity but a not-as-visible diversity, I think in some ways, because people do still think of culture usually first and gender to some extent. But age, we don’t talk about as much but it’s big.
Any of the differences that we see in any type of diversity, and in age diversity, can be a bonus for the company or it can really create friction and miscommunication. It’s how you handle it.
I think that the biggest benefit that I see is that you have different perspectives. Depending on how old we are, we have different ways of working, different priorities, and we see the world differently, we experience the world differently. That’s going to translate into what’s important for me, how I do my work and in a business that has face-to-face interaction with clients, that’s huge because you’re going to be able to connect with clients that are in your same generation in a different way than you might connect with clients of a different generation. Those different perspectives can translate into moving the company forward, into new directions. It can translate into how we market, who we reach, how we provide customer service to our clients, how we do our work. It can translate into more efficiency but again, it’s how you use those differences. How you use those different perspectives. If they’re acknowledged in the workplace, then you reap the benefits. If they’re not acknowledged in the workplace, then those benefits become negatives.
Narrator: Annemarie says working in a multi-generational workplace has its upsides, but has it’s challenges as well. In terms of dealing with the different generations all at once, sometimes a bit of reflection is needed.
Annemarie Shrouder: I think the most important thing from my perspective and the way that we do our work here is just awareness. If you are aware of those differences, if you’re aware of the different perspectives and the different ways of working and the ways of looking at work and the ways of looking at the world of those different ages, that’s the first step. I’m a Generation X, so I’m aware of what’s important to me in the workplace and how I like to work, the ways I want to communicate and all those types of subtle nuances that create the worker that I am. Then I need to, especially as a manager, be aware of who else is working for me. Do I have any Gen Ys or Millennial Generations? Do I have any Baby Boomers? Do I have any of the Traditionalists which are older than Baby Boomers but are still around in some companies.
Once we’re aware of who’s working with us and aware of the similarities and differences between me and my teams, then we can start having those conversations and explore different ways of doing things. I think we have to remember that if we’re managing a diverse group, older and younger in this case, it’s not just our job as managers to know everything. I think it’s our job as managers to create an environment where people can talk and share what’s important to them so we can understand each other better. Not just manager-to-employee, but employee-to-employee. Once that context is created, then we all have a responsibility to support learning about each other and finding ways to make it work. It’s not just a manager’s job to do that but it’s definitely the manager’s responsibility to set the tone and create that environment where that can happen.
I think the biggest stumbling block for any type of diversity is the rigidness of an organizational culture: this is the way we’ve always done it, this is the way we’ll continue to do it, and there’s no discussion about it. There’s no shining a light on it and examining why are we doing it this way, is it still working, are there other ways we can do it, maybe not all the time, but can we be flexible? That’s the biggest stumbling block. In order to be able to have those conversations, you need to develop that awareness. Self-awareness and awareness of others so that you can acknowledge the difference and then start to talk about it and work with it.
Narrator: When it comes to hiring, should companies be actively looking to create a multi-generational office? A lot depends on your workplace.
Annemarie Shrouder: Well, here’s the tricky part – you can be actively looking for anybody, but if your environment isn’t going to support that diversity, you’re no better off. In fact, you could be worse off. So my recommendation is always that in addition to trying to be more diverse, companies need to become more inclusive.
