Do you remember Time Blindness Girl?
Last July, a young TikToker uploaded a video describing her experience being berated during a job interview when she asked about accommodations for ‘time blindness’ — a reference to the time management issues that some people with ADHD experience.
The video and the comments that followed were a microcosm of an intergenerational impasse that’s now a talking point in workplaces across the globe. Younger people want more freeform, flexible work environments that value and respond to individual differences, while older workers are more likely to champion established ideas of work, such as loyalty to an employer and respect for schedules and hierarchy — or so the story goes.
Time Blindness Girl might be a sensationalised version of these generational differences, but age diversity in the workplace can create real work-related challenges, particularly when it comes to keeping employees up to date with the skills and tools they need to do their jobs.
Understanding the generational mix
Today’s workforces are often a mix of four generations. Young Boomers are still working, while the oldest Gen Zs are starting to carve out their careers. Millennials and Gen Xers fall somewhere in the middle.
Workers of different generations bring different strengths, experiences and perspectives to their jobs — the inevitable result of time spent in the workforce, exposure to technology, and changes to the work landscape that impact on job security and stability. As a result, they’re also likely to bring different skills gaps, career aspirations and expectations of professional development into the workplace with them.
For organisations looking to invest in training and professional development to address these gaps, accounting for generational differences in the training design and delivery is important to do. But it’s a fine line — making assumptions about someone’s capabilities based on the generation they belong to can tread uncomfortably close to age discrimination.
Steps to better training outcomes
An inclusive approach to training — one that recognises both the individual and the stage of life they’re at — is likely to resonate with your team. Here’s some food for thought to help you get started.
Identify motivations
Take the time to figure out what each team member hopes to gain by participating in training and avoid making assumptions about career paths or plans based on stereotypes about age. Understanding why they’re there and what they want to achieve can shape how you develop and deliver your training.
Design for inclusivity
Workers from different age groups might have preferences for particular learning approaches — Gen Z employees might prefer short forms of learning, while Boomers might lean towards a more traditional focus on lectures and textbooks. Get learners on board by delivering blend of traditional, non-traditional, online and in-person training opportunities that don’t favour one learning style over another.
Encourage intergenerational skills sharing
Training is all about building employee skills and knowledge, but have you tapped into all the skills and knowledge that already exist within your team? Mentoring sessions, whether formal or informal, are a great way to get staff to share, connect and learn from one another.
Train from the bottom up
When it comes to knowledge exchanges, don’t forget to tap into the expertise of your youngest workers — reverse mentoring, in which younger employees coach their more senior peers, is a win-win situation: not only does it foster knowledge transfer, but it also signals that the expertise of all team members holds equal value in your workplace.
Take a zero-tolerance approach
As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to prevent age discrimination in the workplace — and that includes training environments. Make sure you understand your organisation’s equity and diversity policies, particularly those relating to age, and that you’ve communicated them clearly to staff.
Start your multigenerational training journey
Looking for tailored training for your multigenerational workforce? Contact Plus UTS, a leader in bespoke training solutions. Whether you’re looking to build high-performing teams or upskill workers of different ages in a particular domain, we can help you design a training solution that reflects the diversity of your workforce.
