Tapping into the wisdom of the generations
We hear a lot about the ageing of the workforce but the discussion is generally more a passive, slightly ill-informed set of observations than a robust description of how employers are getting ready to take advantage of these changes. Yes I do mean advantage because you see New Zealand has quite a different demographic profile from most other countries and we need to navigate this challenge our way.
Yes we have an ageing workforce. In fact New Zealand has the second largest percentage of older workers in the OECD. This means that about 20% of the workforce is already over the age of 55 and they are contemplating, if not actively preparing to leave work as they have known it. Some are of course ignoring the ticking of time but we will experience an unprecedented shift in the workforce in the next ten years and yet most employers have no idea what their people are thinking or how they are making the decisions that will impact their organisation.
So what is the opportunity? Well what isn’t talked about so much is that the bulge formed by the Baby Boomers across the world doesn’t go away in New Zealand. Yes there is a dip associated with Gen X but the Millennials match the Baby Boomers and are likely to come to dominate the workforce as the Baby Boomers exit. That’s right those annoying, opinionated, uncommitted Millennials are soon going to be the dominant voice in the workplace.
In order to plan for this transition we need to tap into what each of these generations is thinking and valuing as their priorities shift and change. What concerns me is that there is a lot divisive talk about the generations often driven by difficult matters like access to home ownership, student debt and, what is perceived as, young people not being prepared to do the hard yard to earn their stripes. What is encouraging is when you get the generations together and start exploring their formative stories. These are not only really interesting but slowly we start to understand each other and our world expands to the possibilities of great workplaces that work for all of us with our different ages and stages and often common values. We are at the edge of significant change. Employers who understand the challenges and tap into the wisdom of the generations in their workforce will have the advantage.
Veronica is a Principal of the Sage-ing Institute For more information about Sage-ing Institute