Is age just a number?

This month, we’ve been marking birthdays among the Do Good Jobs team and our wider whanau. In one case, the birthday marks another year older and wiser and a step closer to the chapter of “middle age”, with new priorities and perhaps even the need to (whispers)“start planning for retirement”. Among our whanau, the milestone is at the other end of the continuum and marks the early stages of young adulthood, with planning for future school subjects and looking forward to university courses or entering the workforce.

It got us thinking about age and the workforce, something that’s become a hot topic in recent years.?

2024 is tipped as the year that in the USA there will be more Gen Z (those born roughly between 1997 and 2012) in the workforce than Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). That, especially when you combine them with Millennials (the group that comes just before Gen Z) suggests workforces around the world are trending younger.

But on the flip side, many countries also are looking at raising the retirement age. Late last month China’s ruling Communist Party resolved to gradually raise the statutory retirement age over the next five years . It currently has one of the lowest retirement ages in the world at 60 years old for men and 55 for women (lower if they are in blue-collar jobs), but, an ageing population putting increased pressure on pension funds has prompted a change. Earlier this year, a Samoan MP called for a rise in the retirement age there, in particular, to deal with a shortage of doctors and teachers.

New Zealand has had plenty of its own debates too, most recently with National and ACT talking about raising the Superannuation age in their election campaigning. That hasn’t come to fruition, but, even so, Kiwis and people around the world are working for longer . For some, it’s a financial decision, but others keep working because they want to keep mentally and physically active or because they want to continue giving back to their community.

So what does that mean? Well, as an employer, it probably means that if you don’t already have one, you could end up with a very diverse team over the next few years. And that’s not a bad thing. Diversity in your organisation brings plenty of benefits (and some challenges) with each age group contributing their own skills.

20-somethings

Gen Z has had a bad rap recently with scare stories about them being lazy, having no work ethic and generally being demanding divas. But young workers can also bring you:

• The enthusiasm that can come with a new career
• Confidence
• New ways of thinking that others in your team might not?
• The latest skills and up-to-date tech knowledge
• Flexibility due to fewer outside commitments

Employees in their middle years

Employees in the Gen X demographic and older Millennials are often in a phase of life where they have other commitments such as bringing up children or caring for parents that demand attention alongside work. But they can also bring you:

• Experience
• Motivation
• Extra soft skills like time management and communication that come from juggling a lot of work and life balls
• A balance between experience and new thinking

Older candidates

Older employees can be set in their ways and may need extra support with learning new skills, especially when it comes to technology. But they also bring you:

• Even more experience
• A wise head which can balance the naivety of younger team members
• Stability and a good work ethic
• Potentially more flexibility due to fewer outside commitments

Mixing a team from a diverse age range with a team that’s also from diverse backgrounds, gives your organisation a wealth of skills and experience to use.

So how do you recruit a diverse team?

Here are some tips.

1. Create a non-discriminatory job ad and be careful of using language that might exclude certain candidates. If you have some nice-to-haves but not must-haves in your job description, encourage people to apply even if they don’t tick all those boxes.
2. Make your organisation attractive. Gen Zs know what they want and aren’t usually afraid to ask. Plenty of studies show they want an employer who shares their values (which should be an easy win for impact and for-purpose organisations!) and they want to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing. So ensure your organisation allows them to do that.
3. Be as flexible as possible in your work criteria and benefits. For people in their 30s and 40s juggling work with family or other commitments, benefits such as four-day weeks or nine-day fortnights, extra annual or sick leave, hybrid working arrangements and flexible start/finish times can be an attractive part of a job offer. Older candidates looking to combine work with a partly-retired lifestyle would also welcome flexibility.
4. Be conscious of bias. When humans are involved in the recruitment process, unconscious bias is a real issue. We tend to think more favourably of people who look like ourselves and are prone to thinking that someone who doesn’t fit neatly in the box is a problem. You can counteract this by carefully using technology to help with your initial candidate sift to reduce bias. For example, you could use an applicant tracking system that simply matches CVs to specific skills and keywords without considering other factors. You should always try, wherever possible, to have a diverse interview panel.
5. Use the cover letter and interview to tease out answers to perceived issues. For some candidates, CVs alone may not tell the whole story. Young candidates and those returning to work after a break for family might lack experience or have gaps in their CVs, but a cover letter or interview may explain them and offer other areas that compensate.
6. Be prepared to hire for attitude and fit rather than skills. How someone might fit within your organisation is as important as their skills and experience, especially when it comes to younger applicants. A candidate with the right attitude can be taught the skills they need. But doing the opposite is harder.
7. Don’t be put off if an older candidate is applying for a job you might consider them overqualified for. There might be a great reason for their application, such as wanting to reduce hours, responsibilities or stress levels.

And here are some tips on how to run your team successfully

Ensure your onboarding process follows through on the agreed contract. If you agreed on any special terms with your new employee during the recruitment process, ensure they are put in place early and both the employee and their team and manager understand them.

Be prepared for change. Bringing new people onto a team always brings some change, but bringing in people who might not be an exact match for your current team could present more challenges, both from the new recruit to your status quo and from existing staff. Ensure you have processes in place to deal with this and that you develop a culture of openness and a willingness to listen.

Give your team a chance to learn about each other’s interests, cultures and values. Team events that give employees the chance to explain more about their interests, culture or values can help to build connections and encourage good communication.

Consider booking diversity or cultural awareness training. If your organisation is just beginning to create more diversity in your workforce, then it can be a good idea to implement diversity training to help your employees run by an expert.

And for jobseekers?

Well, each stage of the career path brings similar challenges and also new ones. We’ve put together some tips for each age group on our blog.

Starting your career

In your middle years

Extending your career

And just for fun, here are some jobs you could be applying for in the next few years .

Do you work with a diverse team? What are the benefits you’ve seen? What challenges have you had to overcome? Let us know in the comments.