Managing Diversity in the Multi-Generational Workplace

If you think age diversity doesn’t affect your workplace, think again.

Whether you’re grappling with younger workers who view your company as a stop gap arrangement, baby boomers, seasoned workers who still live in the ‘our days’ syndrome, Gen X’ers or young managers grappling to gain the respect of older subordinates, the Indian workplace is replete with intergenerational diversity.

If you think these issues will go away, retire away or mature for the better, you might be a little too optimistic – a society rooted in tradition will continue to grapple with the effects of change and needs planned interventions. Older workers are deferring retirement, baby boomers are still climbing the corporate ladder, and younger employees are holding middle and senior management roles.

Organisations need to understand the complexities of this issue to tap the opportunities associated with an intergenerational workforce and stay competitive. As more companies address the issues associated with these challenges, those not leveraging generational diversity will be left scrambling.

The first step to creating a harmonious workforce is building a corporate culture where generational differences are understood and appreciated. Then organisations must understand the needs and expectations of different generations to provide them with the right kind of opportunities. For example, mentor programmes that allow mature workers to pass along their experiences to younger workers, are a great way to build intergenerational rapport. And finally, help your managers and HR team by empowering them through suitable training.

At Interweave, we advise you to create a multigenerational diversity strategy for your organisation, covering measurement of impact, motivating differing generations, seamlessly bringing together differing working styles and pace, managing expectations, and inter-generational communication along with managing conflicts.

Turn your challenges into an opportunity to grow and succeed. Get in touch with us to strategise and build a cohesive and productive inter-generational workplace, today!