How to combat generational disparities in the workplace
DEI initiatives need to embrace our most senior workers.
When organizations develop and implement their DEI initiatives, many include policies or protocols around race, gender, and whether an individual identifies as LGBTQ+. Often what is missing is dialogue around age—especially in the tech industry. DEI initiatives need to embrace our most senior workers, who are often not considered as valuable to the organization as younger generations.
A recent McKinsey report on ageism acknowledges a consistent pattern of bias against workers aged 45 and older. In our own recent third-party survey on generational disparities, we uncovered some troubling data. The survey, which polled 1,000 adults working across industries and geographies, confirmed the prevalence of ageism in the workplace. People over the age of 45 reported that they are more likely to have an employer who doesn’t provide any professional development resources: 47.1% acknowledged they aren’t given these resources, compared to 27.3% of those under the age of 45.
Related: 9 signs ageism has infiltrated your organization
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Employers are also not making talent and strengths assessments equally available. Well over half (68.5%) of respondents 55 to 64 years old reported their employer doesn’t provide them with assessments to determine their talents and strengths, compared to 34.8% of those between 25 and 39 years old. Close to half (45.2%) of those between the ages of 55 to 64 say their employer doesn’t make it easy to identify how their strengths match the requirements of open roles, compared to 15.6% of those under the age of 45.
When I hear about generational disparities, I often think of Chip Conley, an early advisor to Airbnb and an active thought leader in the hospitality industry. Chip created the hotel empire Joie de Vivre. He also founded Modern Elder Academy for seasoned workers looking to harness their expertise and experience.
A few years ago at a Wisdom 2.0 conference, I heard Chip talk about his experience at Airbnb. He was significantly older than the company’s founders, who were three years out of college prior to starting the hospitality giant. Chip was hired because of his industry expertise. Interestingly, a symbiotic relationship evolved; while the Airbnb founders relied on Chip for his subject matter expertise in the hospitality industry, Chip learned from the founders about technology and working in the digital world.
We all have the opportunity to create a more collaborative, symbiotic environment, one where the generations feel that they’ll benefit and learn from each other, instead of one generation feeling superior over the other(s).
We believe people should be allowed to work as long as they wish, with all the accompanying privileges and advancement opportunities as those who are beginning their careers.
As we work toward building an environment that ensures that privileges and opportunities are available to and enjoyed by all team members, including those 45 and older, here are some best practices we’ve learned along the way.
Employ managerial training
This is a baseline prerequisite to help erase generational disparities. Our managers are expected to create an inclusive team environment that fosters collaboration and a sense of psychological safety and belonging. To foster this mindset, throughout the year managers are given unconscious bias training. We also have various training sessions around how to be an ally and an accomplice in the workplace. What does it truly mean to be an ally? What does it mean to have privilege? What does microaggression mean? The training covers the vocabulary around equity and inclusion, as we look to ensure that our managers feel equipped to really understand some of the behaviors that may have a negative impact across the organization.
Encourage relationship-building across the company
We try to create opportunities for cross-functional, casual meet-ups, similar to a coffee chat. We encourage everyone at 15Five to join our Donut Slack channel, which automatically sets you up with a “coffee chat” with another person in the company. It could be someone who lives across the world, in a different department or someone who works just across the aisle.
Minimize biases in the hiring process
An immediate ageism bias can be triggered during the hiring process when a resume has “old formatting,” or the applicant uses a Yahoo email address rather than a Gmail account. With something like the Yahoo email, the bias is often registering subconsciously, and the interviewer doesn’t even realize that they are already forming a bias against that person.
Use an engagement measurement tool
We find that measurement is critical to promoting inclusivity of all generations and all people. Three times a year we send out an engagement survey that we encourage all employees to take. We slice the data using different attributes, including age, to get a baseline of the engagement by generation and see if there are differences between different generations. This helps us adjust, if necessary, if we need to pay more attention to a certain group.
Develop a more thoughtful approach to career pathing
This ensures all of your employees are able to weave their strengths, motivations and sense of purpose into their career paths. We encourage all team members to invest in their own growth and their managers to guide them and talk about this with them. All team members have access to resources to develop whatever skills and competencies they choose as they navigate their career journeys.
When one group in your organization doesn’t feel supported—whether that’s due to age, gender, race, gender identification or sexual orientation—that feeling permeates throughout the organization. To combat ageism, make sure that there are commitments around talent acquisition and retention that apply to seasoned workers. Ensure that your leaders are equipped with the training and language to be inclusive leaders, and then have that cascade down into the organization.
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