What are the generations in the current workforce?

Right now, there are 4 generations within a majority of workforces. Those are:

• The Baby Boomers – born roughly between 1946-1964. Boomers are now between the ages of 59-77.
• Gen X – born roughly between 1965-1980. Gen Xers are now between the ages of 44-59.
• The Millennials – born roughly between 1981-2000. Millennials are now between the ages of 24-43.
• Gen Z – born roughly between 1996-2012. Gen Zers are now between the ages of 12-28.

While you’re bound to have a mix of age groups in your workforce, you might find your team leaning more towards one generation. If that’s the case, it could be even more important to ensure you’re not alienating any of your team.

Why is it important to learn about managing multigenerational teams?

There is a danger that generational stereotypes become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts, especially if the needs of your team are not addressed. A simple Google search will reveal the predetermined thoughts towards certain generations:

It’s important these discriminatory stereotypes don’t come into play within your team. Multigenerational workforce management is all about celebrating the experience and expertise you have across all your people and supporting them equally.

How generational differences are impacting the workplace

To understand workplace impact better, let’s dive into commonly held beliefs and some of the research on this topic.

Baby Boomers in the workplace

Boomers are likely the oldest generation in your workforce. Those who are still working will be getting towards retirement age, or will be thinking about retirement – some will now have over 50 years of work experience.

They were the generation that keyed the term “workaholic” as they’re considered hard workers by nature. Highly competitive and valuing workplace visibility – they traditionally prefer office-based work. Fiercely loyal, it’s not uncommon for Boomers to have only had one or two jobs their entire working career.

It’s more challenging to find data on what attracts Boomers to their desired place of work, but we do know that they’re working a lot later in their lives than their parents did.

Generation X in the workplace

Gen X, otherwise deemed the “lost generation” or “latchkey generation” have witnessed some of the world’s greatest technological advancements. They’re also considered to be the first generation to start the conversation around work-life balance (a quality often associated with both Millennials and Gen Z).

According to DDI’s 2023 Global Leadership Forecast, Gen Xers hold over 55% of all leadership roles, and they keep expanding their footprint as managers. They’re deemed naturally autonomous and independent. However, there is also a belief that Gen X are quite cynical.

Studies have also found that when looking for an ideal role:

• 28% look for a strong work-life balance
• 26% want an open and honest work environment
• 23% are interested in professional development and collaboration

These are all characteristics we see resonate over every generational group. The same study also found that 71% of Gen X respondents wanted their work to be meaningful while 84% wanted job satisfaction from their day to day. This puts to rest the commonly held perception that they work for money and come home to switch off.

Millennials in the workplace

Millennials got a lot of flak until Gen Z came along for being the narcissistic and entitled “everybody wins” generation. However, they’re also considered pragmatic, determined and perhaps a bit idealistic. They are early adopters of technology and look for the same adoption in their places of work.

Right now, Millennials account for the largest section of the global workforce, with projections using a Deloitte study showing that in 2014, they were projected to comprise 75% of employees by 2025.

Another Deloitte study tells us that when Millennials are searching for a job:

• 39% look for a good work-life balance offering
• 29% look for learning and development opportunities
• 27% are interested in high salaries and benefits
• 26% want their work to be meaningful

Millennials’ largest impact on their workplaces have been finding new ways to openly communicate with their teams, emphasising and getting behind company culture and redesigning the way workplaces operate efficiently.

Gen Z in the workplace

Generation Z are the youngest, most diverse and most well-educated workers to ever enter the talent pool.

They’re currently quite fickle in their approach to work, with the older amongst them finding more job satisfaction. In 2020, 30% of Gen Zers were looking for new work.

Their main drivers are work-life balance, a positive culture and convenience. Issues can arise with their employers when they are misaligned on expectations around money, job flexibility or support.

They’re incredibly entrepreneurial and often opt to start their own business, or freelance in order to have their needs met. Being the most well-educated generation, they’re a savvy bunch looking for investment within a strong culture that promotes self-care, health and wellbeing.

Some other statistics to consider are that 68% of Gen Z (at the time of our survey) were living at home, with only 16% of them in full-time work and 19% of them having never worked previously.

We also found that 75% of the generation were planning to leave their job within the next two years, and that 49% wanted out within a year, the main reason for the move being to develop their growth and learning.

So unlike previous generations, they aren’t feeling as though loyalty to one company is going to take them to their career goals. They’re looking for a future where the world of work is more relaxed, creative and technology-embracing.

Within the Malaysian context, the latest graduate statistics from DOSM note a mismatch between the number of graduates absorbed by local industries and the surplus of graduates entering the workforce. Of 4.57 million employed graduates, 2.9% were time-related underemployed and 33.9% were skill-related underemployed.

This could signal a shift in Malaysian Gen Z work options from the traditional default of full-time, local and skilled work to alternatives like remote work, gig work or semi-skilled work as they may provide greener pastures outside the local job industry.

What are the benefits of multigenerational teams?

We go into a little more detail about these teams in the guide, but the main benefits are:

• Innovation
• Talent pipeline
• Different perspectives

What are some common challenges of managing a multigenerational workforce?

Ageism alongside different working and communication styles are the most common issues you’ll encounter when working with a multigenerational team. In our guide, we point you towards the correct handling of difficult conversations and communications charters.

How can you promote generational diversity in the workplace?

Breaking down barriers and misconceptions is the best way to promote generational diversity in your workplace. Try to utilise teams with varying team members and age groups, or incentivise socials where generations mix.

Outside of promoting being one team and taking advantage of the different levels of experience your team have, in our guide, we point you to the following:

• Leveraging the strengths of different generations
• Addressing conflict and generational stereotypes in the workplace
• Don’t forget to hire older workers

How can HR software help you manage multigenerational teams?

Employee engagement & surveys

Employee engagement software can be a great tool when it comes to managing a multigenerational team. Not only can you see how your staff are feeling, but you can also collect specific feedback around how they engage with their peers, management and beyond.

Getting real insight into your workforce allows you to make the right interventions where needed, and reward and recognise great collaboration.

1:1s

You can create and manage 1:1s with your staff, sending them questions ahead of time to make sure that you make the most of your time together. Having software also holds you accountable for booking time with your staff, getting genuine feedback and working towards goals, which takes us to our next point.

Objectives & key results (OKRs)

Every generation we’ve covered in this piece has a form of intrinsic motivation. Whether they’re deemed competitive, entrepreneurial or just want work that has real impact, setting up and monitoring their OKRs showcases their capability, and the impact they’re having on key business objectives.

Shoutouts

No matter what age group your team falls into, recognition and praise across the team are essential in building a strong work culture. Keep all of your team praise in a central location, and broadcast across all of your people – so whether you’re a hybrid team, or fully remote, your team can achieve together.