Analysis: Workers of different ages have different experiences, skills and knowledge and we should learn to take advantage of this
A great deal has been written about the conflict between generations in the workplace, and much of it is downright silly. If we are to believe the business press, Millennials (typically, workers born in the 1980s and 1990s) are narcissistic, entitled, and impossible to manage. Gen Z workers (those born after the late 1990s) are described as unmotivated and unprofessional, while Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) are portrayed as stubborn, and unwilling or unable to learn.
None of these stereotypes hold up well to scrutiny. First, the whole idea of generations in the workplace is an over-simplification. Even if there are slight differences in the average responses of Baby Boomers, Millennials, Generation X, Gen Z, etc., there is substantial variability in attitudes, behaviours, and life experience within each group. It is often the case that two members of different generations will be more similar than two members of the same generation.
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, Generation Z's views on work, careers and the companies they work for
Second, age does not seem to have much to do with key outcomes in the workplace, especially job performance or productivity. Older workers perform slightly better than younger ones but are rated as slightly less productive because of higher levels of absenteeism. Similarly, there are some differences in the work attitudes of older vs. younger workers, but the idea that different generations have substantially different values, motivations, or productivity is not consistent with the data.
There are two ways older workers do differ significantly from their younger counterparts. The first difference is obvious. Older and younger workers use technology differently and often react quite differently to changes in technology. Older workers are often portrayed as helpless in the face of newer technologies; there is an endless supply of "ok, Boomer" memes that play on older folks struggling to open a pdf or update their browser.
It's not that older workers lack technological skills, but rather that the technology skills they learned while growing up are now in limited demand. Several years ago, the US Federal Aviation Authority brought older electricians out of retirement because so much of the technology being used in air traffic control still relied on vacuum tubes, which mystified younger electricians.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, Aifric O'Connell on how cliches which portray millennials as narcissistic snowflakes and baby boomers as hapless technophobes is fuelling generational hostilities in the workplace
But there are few jobs that still require technological skills that were cutting edge when Boomers were learning their jobs. While there is an occasional need for a programmer fluent in FORTRAN or COBOL (computer languages that were at the cutting edge 50 years ago), the technologies Boomers know best are not always in high demand.
Still, the difference between older and younger workers is not that younger ones know technology and older ones do not, but rather that they have mastered different technologies. Millennials and Gen Zs who thought they had drawn a golden ticket when they learned to write software code may soon find themselves replaces by ChatGPT and other AI technologies that can write code better and faster.
The second difference is more subtle, and it suggests that older workers should be less critical of and more compassionate to their younger colleagues. As Olive Keogh notes in a recent Irish Times column, the social contract that their parents and grandparents worked under no longer applies to younger workers. The idea that someone who gets a good education, gets a good job, works hard and shows dedication to their work will get promotions, will be able to afford a decent house, and will be able to afford to support his or her family now seems laughable.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, are pranks still a part of office life?
If younger workers now seem less willing to sacrifice their well-being and their families to pour as many waking hours as possible into the workplace, this is in part a recognition that the sacrifice is unlikely to be rewarded. The Elon Musks of the world tell us that workers should keep their noses to the grindstone, but there is growing recognition that an intense workplace is bad for workers, and ultimately bad for organisations. If the likely result of sacrificing your health and your family life to make your billionaire boss just that much richer, while doing little or nothing to improve your own life, the Millennials and Gen Zs are probably right – it's just not worth it.
It is time for a truce in the generational war. Workers of different ages bring different knowledge, experience and skills to the workplace. Rather than dismissing older workers as unwilling to learn or younger workers as unmotivated and entitled, we should learn to take maximum advantage of what each cohort brings to the table.
Older workers bring both social skills and experience to the workplace, while younger workers are more likely to be familiar and comfortable with the most current technology. But instead of dismissing younger workers as unmotivated and uninvolved, we might take a lesson from those who are increasingly likely to reject calls to make sacrifices for organisations that do too little to care for them.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
