The benefits of having a multigenerational workforce are abundant. As an employer, you have a wider variety of opinions, strengths, and ideas to help make your team successful. You create diversity, which can improve both team cohesiveness and financial performance. And workers say they enjoy these workplaces more.

Once you have age diversity in your workforce, how do you ensure you continue to reap the benefits of what you have painstakingly grown? In this story, the third installment in a three-part series on age diversity in the workforce—the first one explored myths and realities, and the second one focused on generational allies—we’ll offer practical steps on how to make the most of the multigenerational workforce for both individuals and the business. Among the recommendations we gathered from the experts:

Understand Expectations

Mary Abbajay, the CEO of Careerstone Group, an organizational and leadership development consultancy, says recognizing the differences in generations is important. “What Gen Z expects of work-life balance is very different from what Gen X will accept,” she said. While the 100-hour-a-week model of a typical, partner-track lawyer at a big firm was expected by new graduates in the 1980s and ’90s, Gen Z want more from their lives. Abbajay says many of the top-tier firms have trouble getting that new blood in the door. “One told me you can’t find younger people hungry enough to work the hours they want.” Besides putting some limits on work hours, as JPMorgan and Bank of America announced this month, Abbajay says that employers should look more widely for emerging talent. “If you want hungry people, look for those who worked hard to get where they are.” She suggests community-college transfer students, the HBCUs, and smaller state schools where first-generation college grads may have had to pay their own way.

To hear much more, tune into From Day One’s one-hour webinar, “Leveraging Generational Diversity: Moving from Ageism to Age Inclusion,” scheduled for Thurs., Oct. 3, at 2 pm ET. You can register here.

Part of understanding the differences between age groups is asking the right questions. Old canards like “old people don’t like tech” and “young people are flighty” have been rightly disproved. According to Stephane Francioli, Ph.D., a researcher at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, you shouldn’t base skills training on generations, but rather on age groupings. For example, rather than saying Gen Z or Boomers, focus on age ranges, like workers in their 40s, or the 60+ workforce. Those have proved to be more accurate.

That said, some valid research has illuminated differences in work preferences of various generations. A new report from Deloitte about Gen Z and Millennials, based on a survey of 23,000 workers in 44 countries, underscores the notion that the live-to-work philosophy won’t cut it for them. They crave meaning, sustainability, and balance in their lives. A case study by accounting firm Grant Thornton in Ireland concludes that “Gen Z will not compromise their vision to fit into a culture that does not fulfill their expectations.” Rather, “Gen Z will join companies that they feel bring their values to life and align with their own personal principles.” Key values for this generation are diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as well as job flexibility.

Consider the Caregivers 

An estimated one in every six workers is a family caregiver, defined as providing care for an elderly or disabled family member, relative or friend. Typically, this falls to the midlife, “sandwich generation,” juggling both parenthood and family caregiving, who may feel conflicted about bringing attention to their caregiving responsibilities out of fear it could harm career advancement. Many managers view employees leave early for school pick-up or those who take time off to run parents to the doctor as not being all-in at work, regardless of whether they meet their goals.

Caregivers have more stress in their life—financial, personal, and professional, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This can lead to a decline in productivity and an increase in absenteeism. But it doesn’t have to. According to a Harvard Business Review report, caregiving can provide skills that are very transferrable to work, and a Harvard Business School survey conducted for the Rutgers Center for Women in Business in 2023 listed many skills acquired through caregiving, including empathy, efficiency, tenacity, collaboration, and project management.

Even better, employers can provide support for caregivers in ways that generates a return on investment. In a report outlining Harvard Business School research on caregiving, the authors note that caring for the caregivers on your team doesn’t harm your company, in fact, it helps. Two of the easiest methods to help caregivers, flex time and telecommuting, have a return on investment of $1.70 to $4.34 and $2.46 to $4.45 for each dollar spent on them, respectively.

A simple way to help caregivers is to gather and share a list of the benefits you have related to caregiving, says Heather Tinsley-Fix, a senior advisor with AARP, the nonprofit group that advocates for people 50 and over. These may include Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), or assistance programs for finding appropriate back-up care.

Give Them What They Want and Tell Them What It Costs

Do you know what your total benefit package costs per person? If you don’t, cost it out, Abbajay says. Share it within your organization–transparency about financials is very important to Millennials and Gen Z. When you survey what they are interested in adding, tell them what it will cost and what the tradeoffs would be—maybe you want a four-day workweek, but it might be at the cost of grad-school funding. Some organizations Abbajay has worked with provide a bucket of money for each employee and a buffet of choices they can spend it on.

Don’t forget some of the non-benefit elements of work that people value. Abbajay says that younger workers want a company with a clear ethos that engages in philanthropy beyond corporate donations. Some organizations provide time off for volunteering or create team-building events centered around it.

Offer opportunities to learn and grow. While older workers are staying longer in the workforce, Abbajay says your organization can create novel paths to advancement. Not everyone wants to be a manager or a leader. Some in tech just want to be masters of coding. Not every lawyer wants the responsibility of partnership. What kind of advancement can you offer to those who prefer mastery of their craft to climbing the leadership ladder?

Frugal Fixes

Everything you do to promote multigenerational satisfaction doesn’t require leadership approval or a big budgetary investments. Some simple trick and twists:

• Consider offering ergonomic check-ups of people’s workspace. At AARP, Tinsley-Fix says the facilities team is in charge of those requests. However, there are plenty of on-line resources that can be helpful. Mayo Clinic, the National Institutes of Health, and OSHA offer tools that can help. Many consultants can evaluate your entire organization.
• Stratify data from employee surveys by age group, says Tinsley-Fix. When analyzed this way, you can spot patterns that can help update your workforce management strategies, she says.
• Leverage the networks of your existing personnel when searching for new staff. “Add a referral reward if someone they recommend for a job is hired,” Tinsley-Fix said. If you don’t know where to source older workers, your existing employees in that age group may be able to refer their peers.
• Lastly, Tinsley-Fix says all your internal and external communications should be representative of the demographics you aspire to. Whether it’s the stock pictures on your website or the people you profile in internal newsletters, keep diversity in mind. People like to feel seen, and even subtle representation matters.

Importantly, if you ask for input and opinions, do something. One Harvard Business Review article reports that one reason employees are loathe to speak up is having sense of futility–that nothing will happen with what they tell you. So find out what they want, Abbajay says. Organize it, says Tinsley-Fix. Then act on the results.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, AARP, for sponsoring this story, the third in a series on how employers can foster age inclusion in the workplace. Interested in assessing how you are doing with age inclusion? Try AARP’s new tool on Managing a Multigenerational Workforce. Just send an email to employerpledge@aarp.org, with the subject line betatest. To hear much more, tune into From Day One’s one-hour webinar, “Leveraging Generational Diversity: Moving from Ageism to Age Inclusion,” scheduled for Thurs., Oct. 3, at 2 pm ET. You can register here.

Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.

(Featured photo by Sanjeri/iStock by Getty Images)