The Generation Grenade: From Grievances to Growth

"Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." — George Orwell

So often, I find myself in spaces dominated by older people talking about the problem with the younger generation and their fragility.

• 'lazy'
• 'fragile'
• 'no sense of loyalty'
• and the persistent irritation of 'work-life balance' requests

In spaces where young people gather I hear similar frustration with their older counter parts.

• 'rigid'
• 'old-fashioned'
• 'toxic'

The more these conversations continue, the wider and deeper the so called generational gap becomes. The more negativity and complaints, the stronger the 'othering' and polarisation. Human beings evolve biologically at a much slower pace than the rate at which technology and economies are innovating. We are existing in a transitional period where there are competing agendas, demands and approaches on how to doing things.

Deloitte's Millenial's survey found that "40% of Millennials expect to leave their jobs within two years.". According to a Gallup report, 21% of millennials have changed jobs within the past year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials who report the same. There is high expectations and huge financial investment put into recruitment processes, learning and development initiatives and increases rewards and benefits by organisations to combat their high employee turnover. However to no avail. How do we increase retention?

We are products of our experience and our environments and for a moment, I invite everyone to consider the factors that might be leading to this 'crisis of fragility' and unreliability in the younger generation. Consider this:

• Social media - We are living in a digital global world. Before social media existed, you compared yourself with your immediate neighborhood maybe town/city. Now you are comparing yourself with the world. There is a constant fear of missing out and of not being good enough.
• Burnout - In an age of information overload, young people are leaving the spaces of work from being overly engaged and overstimulated. 41% of people leave their job to improve their wellbeing (Intoo, 2024).
• Success - An unintended consequence of increasing employee engagement and motivation through promotions and climbing the corporate ladder resulted in the value added to upward mobility. If you are not moving up, you are moving out.
• The cost-of-living crisis - My research in many spaces has showed over and over again that young people are buckling under the constant constraints of the cost of living. A key driver for young people to leave their job is needing a higher salary.
• Intergenerational friction - Your relationship with your line manager is one of the most important factors impacting your wellbeing at work. The intergenerational conflicts cause big tensions between managers and their subordinates. Ultimately impacting their decision to leave.

The Great Resignation is a pattern that is being seen, not only in our younger workforce. It is a result of our changing world of work. The nature and relationship people have with work is evolving and so the old models and structures are in tension.

"Companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation." according to the Harvard Business Review and this diversity should also include age. We live in a complex, ever-changing world filled with polarisation. I invite both sides of the generational divide to implore a sense of curiosity and openness. What wisdom and knowledge might these different approaches bring? How can we co-create a better working world together rather than be at war?

So what can we do?

• Embed a culture of flexible person-centred working while maintaining fairness and equality
• Redefine success so that it incorporates other career advancements like lateral movement
• Co-mentorship - create more spaces for mentorship that goes both ways. Enhancing collaboration and intergenerational sharing to increase psychological safety and innovation in the workplace.

*The image was generated by ChatGPT 4.0.