How to inspire your multigenerational team in today’s hybrid work environment

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Do you feel like the members of your team are all speaking a different language with opposing expectations about work? Well, in some ways, you’re right! Workplaces have always been multigenerational, but the changes and pressure of the last few years, coupled with a shift to remote and hybrid work, have made our differences feel more pronounced than ever before. Incongruous communication styles, familiarity with technology, and values can easily lead to friction between leaders, teams, and coworkers.?

How we experience the world is personal; there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Yet by making an effort to understand each generation’s needs, preferences, and values, leaders are better equipped to tailor their approach. Doing this work is worth the effort; companies with mixed-age teams see higher levels of both performance and productivity, as well as increased innovation.

Here are three of the most common generational challenges - and what you can do about them.?

Offering opportunities for soft skills learnings?

Recently, a client (let’s call him Scott) told me that he’d created a 20-point list to help establish guidelines for his organization for how to behave properly at a client dinner. Why? At a recent meal with a top client, a Gen Z employee behaved “inappropriately,” which Scott described as exhibiting bad table manners and frequently interrupting others - including the key decision maker. While this situation is specific, it is emblematic of a larger issue that many leaders forget: your younger employees’ life experience has been very different from any other generation’s.?

Gen Z and younger Millennials entered the workforce either slightly before or during the pandemic, meaning that they spent much of their young adult years on a screen. Many early-career workers don’t have in-person professional experience, putting them at a disadvantage, especially when it comes to “soft skills,” like conflict resolution, adaptability, and teamwork. This can affect their professional relationships, as well as their ability to navigate unexpected or challenging work conditions. Because they haven’t had the life experiences needed to change the situation, making them more likely to jump ship than to problem-solve; 77% of Gen Z Is currently looking for a new role.

The good news is that, as a generation, your youngest workers are extremely eager to learn. 76% of Gen Z want to gain new skills and to develop professionally, and they expect those opportunities from their organization. Many companies offer technical skill training, yet far fewer give equal emphasis to skills like networking, non-verbal communication, negotiation, or other interpersonal abilities. To improve the performance of your Gen Z employees organization-wide, take advice from the movie Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will come (though you’d have to be at least a Millennial or older to get that reference).?

Ask yourself:

• What processes do I have in place to help my Gen Z team to develop professionally?
• What does “success look like” to ensure the experiences I’m offering are having the desired impact??

Shifting the perspective on remote work

The remote/hybrid work debate rages on, and many leaders are struggling to motivate their teams to come back in. With 98% of workers expressing the desire to work remotely, at least part of the time, it’s an uphill battle. Some leaders are even torn due to their own reluctance to come into the office. This is especially true of Millennial and Gen X leaders, who value remote work more than other generations; 56% of millennials and 75% of Gen X said remote work was important to them, compared to 40% of Gen Z.?

This topic was recently raised by a middle manager, we’ll call her Tara, who shared that she no longer wanted to come into the office more than two days a week. In fact, she was willing to forgo her annual performance bonus that her company recently tied to working in the office three days a week. She believed she could perform her job just as well remotely, perhaps even more efficiently. From Tara’s perspective, she didn’t see the point of going into the office.??

Tara struggled to see past her own personal experience, and was frustrated with the perceived “rigidity” of her company’s policy. But there were benefits to the company that she was overlooking. She was better able to see them once I pointed out the gaps that organizations are facing with their more junior employees, and the role that mid-level leaders play in their training. Casual conversations around the water cooler are extremely beneficial when it comes to collaboration, mentorship, and relationship building. A leader like Tara, with over 20 years in the workforce, isn’t as in need of those experiences, yet her Gen Z and younger Millennial employees are. Just listening in on Tara’s conversations or casually walking by her desk to ask her a question - instead of sending a Slack or setting up a meeting - can make a big difference. Younger workers may need more encouragement to take this deliberate, face-to-face action at first. If in-office work is less about making sure people are doing their work and more about learning from each other, then the opportunity is to make good use of the time they are together. That shift allowed Tara to create a plan that maximizes the value of in-person work, while still advocating for the flexibility she and others need.?

To make hybrid environments effective, everyone needs to change their perspective. Gen Z benefits from coming in to learn and receive training they can't remotely, and Millennials and Gen X need to be in the office so Gen Z can learn from them. It should be part of the job description, and employees should be compensated for it. Research has shown that mentorship programs can be extremely beneficial, but only when they are mandatory.

Ask yourself:

• How can you be more transparent about the need for in-person work?
• What can you do to encourage your mid-level employees to mentor your more junior staff??

Celebrating experience and new perspectives?

It’s easy to focus on the friction that comes from generational differences, but we shouldn’t ignore the benefits of intergenerational workplaces. Those at the top and bottom of the age spectrum, Boomers and Gen Z, are most likely to be underestimated - especially by each other - but their contributions are undeniable.?

Experience is always relevant in the workplace, and research shows knowledge and expertise continue to develop beyond the age of 80. Boomers have been through multiple economic cycles, technological changes, and cultural shifts, which allows them to bring a level-headed approach to problem-solving that is invaluable to the workplace. I use a framework in my work called the Before Action Review, and part of the exercise examines what we learned individually and collectively about overcoming challenges based on our past experiences. During times of uncertainty, it's the more seasoned employee who can help define reality and give hope.

On the other end of the spectrum, Gen Z is positively impacting the workplace in a variety of ways. I’ve had many clients speak up in admiration of their younger colleagues, appreciating their desire to lead the way in evolving how we work. Issues like inclusivity, work-life balance, and pay equity are especially important to this generation, and their work benefits everyone at the organization. Their “digital native” upbringing also makes them highly skilled at understanding and using new technologies, a valuable resource for those of us who didn’t grow up with a computer in our bedrooms.

Exercises like “reverse mentoring,” where employees exchange skills and knowledge, can help to break down the harmful stereotypes people often hold against each other. Age brings both wisdom and security to teams, while youth brings diversity of thought and innovation. When generations appreciate each other's strengths, it improves workplace culture for everyone; researchers have found that age-diverse teams feel more psychologically safe than age-biased ones.?

Ask yourself:

• What am I doing to bring different generations together?
• What can my younger employees teach me??

There’s a quote from George Orwell’s 1984 that comes to mind, “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” But we can’t all be right. While our differences may feel pronounced, the truth is that we are more alike than we think. When you make the effort to learn about and respect unique generational needs and values, your teams will do the same, helping to create a more cohesive, innovative, positive workplaces.?

What kind of leader do you want to be? Let’s talk about it.?

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