Five generations are working together in one workplace for the first time. We have the opportunity to hire the most diverse group of employees in history, but do employers understand their needs?
Recent data showed that Gen Z found it difficult to focus at work. 27% of Gen Z said it was because the offices were too noisy. It was found that noise levels in offices were more distracting for younger employees and harder to block. Everyone would benefit from improved sound levels at work. Understanding this insight allows for solutions to be found that will benefit all employees. For example, acoustic designs in the workplace can allow every age group to function effectively.
Acoustic design is the process of managing sound in a room. It involves determining how it is produced, transmitted and received. This ensures that an office has distinct areas for collaborative or focused work, as well as private spaces. The design has been shown to improve wellbeing at work. Esther Sternberg, director of the UArizona Institute on Place, Wellbeing & Performance, discovered that a noise level less than 50 decibels, or roughly equivalent to the sound of birdsong, is ideal for healthy employees in offices.
What are the key actions that employers can take right now?
First, you need to know and understand the specific needs of your multigenerational employees. Second, and more importantly, find a way to create unity, as Rebecca Robins’ and Patrick Dunne’s recent book “Five Generations At Work: How we Win Together, For Good” explains. This book describes how having generational diversity can lead to empowering intergenerational cooperation, innovation, and productivity.
Employers still apply stereotypes and broad assumptions to each generation about what keeps them away from work and what makes them different, instead of finding common ground that brings them together. From Restrictions to Resilience a global study of workplace trends in 2024 revealed that flexibility is key to employee satisfaction across all age groups. The most popular option was a “happy hybrid balance” of working in three different ways at the office. This was due to a variety of reasons, which varied across genders and generations. However, the ‘unifying factor’ was the need for flexibility.
I have found that when creating workplaces for different generations, industries and tasks, three areas are important: role clusters; core values requirements and business road map.
Role clusters
Know the roles that your employees play? Do you know what their daily activities are and how much time they spend on them? You can understand the ‘role groups’ in a company by looking at it from a macro level. Do people spend most of their time at their desks, on video calls or email, or do teams collaborate to plan and discuss strategies, and have team discussions? Knowing the type of work that people perform in various roles will help you to create working environments which are suitable for the purpose and suit the needs of everyone, regardless of age. You’ll find that there are many similarities between people, which will help to support them rather than divide.
Core Value Requirements
Knowing what employees’ ‘core values requirements’ are is crucial. These are the factors that make people happy, comfortable and capable of doing their jobs effectively. Don’t focus on the differences between cohorts, but instead look for common themes. McKinsey research on Debunking myths about age-based work preferences revealed that people’s expectations at work and their needs are similar across generations.
Business Roadmap
To future-proof your business and understand what the workplace will look and feel like in 5-10 years, you need to plan and map out a road map. If several members of the c-suite are approaching retirement in a company, it’s likely that new employees with senior positions will join the business within the next two to five years. Consider the impact of this. What kind of roles and who will perform them in the workplace? Determine if certain areas of the workplace require more space for collaboration or concentration. By planning ahead, you will be able to meet the needs and requirements of your business as they change.
As people continue to work well into their 70s, the age of office employees continues to rise. It is important to focus on unity, rather than differences. To ensure workplace harmony, it is important to create workplaces that work for everyone. This requires understanding the needs of employees, their role clusters, and core values requirements.
Recent data by Unispace
