The acceptance of workers from various age brackets at the workplace.
Conflicts between generations have long existed. Lack of trust, and
lack of mutual understanding among older & younger teammates
often leads to massive productivity losses in organizations. On the
contrary, if the organization manages to take advantage of differences
and embrace mutual learning & understanding then the organization
and employees both can simultaneously grow by yielding large profits
and sharing knowledge.
However, a majority of organizations don’t do anything to solve
generational challenges, but, recently organisations renewed their
diversity efforts and only 8% of them included age as a part of their
DEI strategy i.e, (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) this strategy is
famous for adopting the practices that implement a company’s
mission to create and sustain a diverse equitable and inclusive
working environment.
A workplace that does not prioritise age diversity creates an uneasy
and exclusive environment for some generations. Age-diverse teams
are beneficial as they bring people together with complementary
skills, networks, knowledge, and abilities. If managed effectively and
efficiently then they can offer better decision-making, more effective
teamwork, and enhanced performance overall. It’s not necessary that
older people will acquire higher positions; the younger ones can also
hold if they have desired skills and knowledge that an organisation
demands.
Having a balanced proportion of the workforce from different age
groups is necessary for achieving a high level of profits. Thus,
implying a ratio of 60:40 i.e 60% older and 40% younger workforce
can result in 5x profits. Implying age diversity alone can’t achieve the
desired results but having age diversity along with harmony and mutual understanding can do so.
Source : Harvard Business Review