Managing an Age-Diverse Work Force

Managers today are faced with expanding diversity in their work force, and one of the most overlooked challenges concerns the widening age range of their employees who, despite their vast experiential and attitudinal differences, must come together to form a coherent and viable corporate culture.

In a 2006 working paper, Working With Veterans, Boomers, Xers, Ys: It’s About Their Age, Not When They Were Born, Janet Polach of Leadership Solutions Inc. identifies four distinct generations that make up the working population. Each generational cohort has unique descriptors that help “explain” why its members act the way they do in today’s work force. Veterans, for example, comprise senior Americans who were born prior to World War II. They are generally seen as civic minded due to their military service and upbringing during the Great Depression. Baby Boomers were raised in overcrowded public schools in the late 1950s and 1960s, and television provided them graphic depictions of every event ranging from Cambodian death camps to the lunar landing. They questioned all that had previously mattered as they entered college and young adulthood. Generation X, raised in the ’70s and ’80s, saw the national debt soar and their families experience record-breaking divorce rates. Because so many American systems crumbled in their youth, they dislike taking orders and are comfortable challenging authority. Generation Y is not simply an extension of Generation X, yet with only a few years in the workplace, it is too early to capture their collective persona. In a survey conducted in the late ’90s, they listed as very important having a well-paying job, respect from others, good relationships with their parents, home ownership and the freedom to do what they want.

However, it is not simply when a person was born that governs their behavior at work, argues Polach. It is also their age. Some behavior transcends generational values and can better be explained when thought of in terms of life stages. For instance, it is not unusual for people of any generation to think of their 20s as the time to establish independence, a career and family. The author provides five common life stages for managers to bear in mind, particularly when considering the pressures an employee might be facing: (1) Youth (age 0–21): a period of learning and growth; (2) Rising Adulthood (22–35): priority is placed on establishing career and family, and there is significant pressure to balance a burgeoning career with family needs; (3) Midlife (35–50): when most desire more leadership opportunities, a fuller desire to parent and mentor, and there is pressure to “have it all”; (4) Legacy (50–70): a period of reaffirming values, and layoffs and buyouts create strong pressures to keep what has been earned; (5) Elderhood (70+): priority is placed on “giving back” and passing on values and methods, but many who work into this age feel financial pressure to continue working.

Combining this understanding of life stages with a generational approach provides a significantly better understanding of how to leverage age diversity in an increasingly complicated work force. The author provides four pieces of advice for managers facing this challenge.

Make time to understand individual needs. Begin by understanding the stressors and satisfiers of each staff member to appreciate differing preferences, but identify specific times when all team members must be available, and exercise discipline to maintain these time frames. Help individuals understand where they fit into the team and its expected outcomes.

Stop using generational labels to describe individual behaviors. Many have argued that “they” act in certain ways and demand certain aspects from their work-place. While a generation does possess certain commonalities, individuals possess many more intragroup differences. A 55-year-old boomer who is suddenly faced with raising her husband’s grandchildren as her own, for example, has entirely different workplace needs than does her counterpart who is considering upcoming retirement.

Exercise leadership flexibility. In the hectic work environment of the U.S. economy, it is easy to fall into a standard set of management practices, yet the reality of diversity requires a significantly different course of action. Exercise management sophistication: Supervisory style must be situation based, being thoughtful with regard to matching individuals to assignments.

Orient to the outcomes of the team. The team itself, as well as the work of the team, needs attention. Building skills and knowledge, helping others understand what each team member does, and actively reflecting on team accomplishments and challenges ahead is time well spent. The key to leveraging age diversity, the author argues, is not simply to understand someone in terms of Boomer or Xer but to understand the concept of generational evolution. All employees’ needs and desires change and evolve as they move through life stages, and a successful manager will understand and respond to the changes. By successfully navigating these changes, managers can build a cohesive and effective organizational culture out of increasing diversity.

For more information contact Janet L. Polach at jpolach@att.net.