Leveraging Generational Diversity: Moving from Ageism to Age Inclusion

BY Katie Chambers | November 04, 2024

In a recent survey from Resume Now, 90% of workers age 40+ said they experienced ageism in the workplace. And a study from AARP found that 64% of the same age group experienced age discrimination, meaning tangible impact on one’s ability to advance, stay in the workforce, and get paid fairly. “The data shows that ageism is still with us, unfortunately, in the workforce, and that it’s actually quite prevalent,” said Heather Tinsley-Fix, senior advisor, financial resilience, AARP, at a From Day One webinar.

The five-generation workforce is a well-known phenomenon—in fact, 83% of executives believe that creating a more multigenerational workforce would drive their organization’s success and growth. But how should companies begin to build cultures that shift away from unconscious ageism toward age inclusion?

Dr. Megan Gerhardt, founder & director of thought leadership at Gentelligence, has spent the last 15 years speaking and consulting with top organizations worldwide on leveraging generational diversity in the workplace. Gerhardt spoke with Tinsley-Fix and Heather Ainsworth, CEO of Workable Concept, on creating cultures in which all ages thrive, psychological safety enables fruitful interaction, and intergenerational collaboration drives bottom-line value. They also shared a sneak peek of a new suite of resources AARP designed specifically to help HR leaders address this opportunity. It translates research into specific actions and creates custom plans that takes into account your own areas of personal power and influence.

Turning From Ageism to Age Inclusion

The World Health Organization defines ageism as “the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel), and discrimination (how we act) toward others or oneself based on age.” The workplace can be rife with generational stereotypes, with headlines constantly decrying both Gen Z and Millennials as “the worst colleagues” (and also sometimes, puzzlingly, “the best”), while also insisting that Baby Boomers retire to free up jobs for those younger folks. And while many, Tinsley-Fix says, wrongly peg those 45-55 at “late career” and 55-65 in “decline,” in fact, “people 65 plus are the fastest growing segment of the workforce.”

Conversely, age inclusion is “when a team or organization creates policies, tools, and culture that enable people of all ages to thrive without needing to navigate age-based stereotypes, prejudice, or discrimination.”

An effective leadership team will build a complex, inclusive culture where workers of all ages and stages can thrive. It’s not only a kind choice, it’s what Tinsley-Fix calls “a value creation strategy hiding in plain sight.” The depth of experience and skill sets in an age-diverse workforce, whether technical, professional, or durable human skills, creates major opportunities for employers who can unleash those synergies. The best results occur when people from different life and career stages work together to define problems and create solutions. Having workers of different ages allows you to connect with a wider customer base and gives you a more nuanced knowledge base to call on.

“Having workers of different ages is also a talent management necessity,” Tinsley-Fix said. In the near-term, workers 65+ are the fastest-growing portion of the talent market, but over the coming decades, more people will exit the workforce than will enter it. AARP posits that “declining population or labor force participation rates among younger workers may lead to talent shortage. Retaining older workers (considered age 40+) can help employers address this challenge.”

Learning to Work Together

Contrary to popular belief, the five generations in the workforce work well together. “Data shows that multi-generational teams perform better when they’re managed well than teams which are more age-siloed. In companies that utilize mixed age work teams, the productivity of both older workers and the younger workers is higher than in companies that do not use mixed age teams,” Tinsley-Fix said. “That myth that productivity declines as we age is based on measuring individual productivity rather than team productivity. Mixed age teams outperform teams on things like decision-making, creative tasks, and complex problem solving.”

With this in mind, it’s important for leaders to encourage generativity, which is defined as “a person’s interest in and dedication to establishing and guiding the next generation.” Gerhardt encourages cultivating “gentelligence,” the idea of helping people have smarter intergenerational conversations. This shows up at work through co-creation, providing expertise freely, setting up organizations for success, consulting, coaching, and mentoring.

The panelist spoke about "Leveraging Generational Diversity: Moving from Ageism to Age Inclusion" during the webinar (photo by From Day One)

“This can also show up just in how people approach conversations,” said Ainsworth. “Is a conversation between people of different generations seen as transactional, or do they approach it with a sense of curiosity in order to co-create value and the culture that they want to be working in?”

Creating an Organization That Supports Generativity

“An age-diverse workforce left to its own devices is not necessarily going to be more productive,” Gerhardt said. “It has the potential to be, but like almost all forms of diversity, that rests solely on how well it's managed and led. And that includes the cultures and climates we're creating.”

It’s important to encourage intergenerational interaction since it may not occur naturally, Gerhardt says, as employees often work their way up through the ranks alongside colleagues similar in age who become their friends. This lack of relationship-building can lead to age polarization. And without regular proactive exposure to other generations, stereotypes can flourish. Encourage employees to “see the value that every generation brings,” Gerhardt says, and build out a benefits package that offers perks specific to every stage of life, from student loan repayment to childcare, elder care, retirement, and more. And determine the level of psychological safety for each age group and career stage, noting that low levels of safety can result in disinterest or even concern about sharing knowledge.

Much of this comes down to helping different generations understand each other better in order to strengthen trust and collaborate effectively. “I think it’s a myth that our younger generations aren’t interested in listening or learning from people who are older. I think it’s that how they want to communicate, learn, and listen has changed,” Gerhardt said. One example she shares is that Gen Z grew up having all the answers at their fingertips, so if they don’t immediately receive the “why” behind  something—like why it might take 18 months to get promoted—it can impact their psychological safety. That doesn’t mean a workplace needs to cater exclusively to the young, but it should be extra mindful to have inclusive communications that account for all learning and work styles.

Gerhardt suggests proactively creating opportunities for those significantly older and younger to collaborate on meaningful work where diverse expertise is needed for success. “Generativity comes from being curious,” Gerhardt said. Smarter intergenerational conversations can be sparked by “Gentelligent” power questions like: “How would you approach this? Can you help me understand that perspective? What barriers can I help remove for you to reach this goal?”

Generations at Work

An age-inclusive organization should:

  • Welcome workers of all ages and value their experience
  • Live by the mantra that everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn
  • Be flexible, recognizing that longer lives mean loopier career paths
  • Support caregivers with leave, resources, and other benefits
  • Manage differences and celebrate similarities across multiple generations
  • Not put people in buckets or make assumptions about them based on age

AARP just launched Generations at Work, a new tool packed with resources to help you take action to build and leverage a multigenerational workforce. It guides you through a self-assessment to help you create a customized plan based on your existing strategies and future priorities; provides free resources to help you executive each of three key actions; and ensures you distill your learnings and bring them back to the team.

AARP believes setting a handful of targeted goals to improve age inclusion makes us more likely to achieve the changes we seek. Leveraging a multigenerational workforce requires us to consider actions across HR, both with teams and individual employees. Learn more and create your customized plan at https://employerportal.aarp.org/generations.

Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, AARP, for sponsoring this webinar.

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

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