Bridging the gap: What Gen Z and baby boomers may face

Given current demographic trends, most notably the increasing age at which workers enter the professional workforce, coupled with increasing retirement ages and life expectancy, there is a growing gap between the most senior and most junior members of the workforce.

Also read: The importance of educating Generation Z on employee benefits to retain top talent

Age gaps don’t have to be a source of low productivity. In fact, books and articles on the subject of negotiation are filled with examples of how value creation is rooted in differences. Different forecasts — you think it’s going to rain, I don’t — my umbrella is more valuable to you than it is to me. Different preferences — you like fruit, I like vegetables — let’s trade my apples for your pumpkins. Different skills and abilities — let’s allocate tasks based on who is better suited for the job.

As a 25-year classroom veteran (I was a tenured professor teaching dispute resolution), I have seen many wonderful collaborations between students and faculty, interns and government employees, judges and clerks. Crossing age boundaries allows experienced staff to mentor younger staff, and younger staff to bring new information and skills, keeping senior staff fresh.

Unfortunately, there are also many documented examples of mismatches in management style between senior leaders and their junior colleagues. Some of the most experienced employees naturally move up the organizational chart, while less experienced employees are closer to the bottom. As a result, we often see Baby Boomers managing Gen Z employees (and many other similar gaps). In the case of the mismatch, the Baby Boomer prefers formal emails, likes to read paper reports, and enjoys long in-person meetings—and may even wear an analog watch. In the case of this mismatch, the Gen Z employee prefers texts, digital summaries, short meetings (preferably virtual), and may use his phone as a watch.

Style doesn’t matter unless work assignments are impacted. The formal/informal dichotomy can then morph into a lack of trust. Supervisors mistake a preference for informal communication for a lack of work ethic or a lack of precision in the final work product, then assign subordinates easy, unchallenging tasks and give them a correspondingly slow path to promotion. Subordinates feel devalued and may “quit quietly” or mentally withdraw. “Task conflict” turns into “relationship conflict,” which negatively impacts the workplace and its members.

Where is the age gap likely to be most challenging? In high-pressure industries, where much of the business has moved to virtual platforms, the opportunities for mentoring relationships to form are reduced. We see this primarily in law, medicine, financial services, and technology-heavy service industries. However, we also observe generational friction in more hands-on industries, such as the construction industry.

Which professions have the smallest age gaps? While there is no avoiding generational issues, academia, the judiciary (through clerkships), and other professions that see large numbers of new entrants each year appear to have learned some important lessons about how to adapt to changing generational demands.

Here are three helpful tips for any manager facing generational challenges in the workplace:

1. Start learning

There are many books, videos, and courses dedicated to understanding the role of multigenerational workforces. But learning should not be limited to multigenerational work. Learning difficult conversations, cross-cultural communication, interest-based negotiation, and other problem-solving related skills are also very useful. Many managers advance from “entry-level” positions to management without adequate opportunities to modify and expand their skills. Managing people is a unique skill set, and “front-line” excellence is not a surefire recipe for success as a supervisor.

2. Communication

Hold a team meeting to discuss how to communicate with each other most effectively. Understand your own preferences and make sure form doesn’t overshadow substance. Set an example of how to communicate your preferences without requiring others to abandon the communication style that works best for them. Focus on psychological safety so that people with different approaches feel comfortable sharing them with colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates, even when their supervisor is not present.

3. Use external resources to discuss this issue

When faced with tough workplace issues, consider hiring an experienced professional whose job is simply to facilitate communication about tough workplace issues. If you think, “We should be able to do this ourselves,” ask yourself if a professional painter could do the job faster or better (or both). I’d guess that most leaders would hire professionals to handle tax, healthcare, and cybersecurity issues. Why not hire a conflict resolution expert, too?

The increasingly diverse age of the workforce presents many opportunities and challenges. Regardless of where you fall in the age/experience spectrum, you can make a difference by identifying and highlighting opportunities to create value and minimizing or eliminating unproductive friction.

About the Author

Richard Burke is the Chief Architect of JAMS Pathways and is experienced in resolving complex, multi-party disputes. With over 35 years of hands-on dispute resolution experience, he draws on experience from a wide range of disciplines including mediation, psychology, economics, law, communications, negotiation theory, strategic behavior, and diversity, equity, and inclusion to apply the right tools to each client’s situation.