Understanding the world around us through the prism of age can be a useful tool. Breaking society down into generations helps us explore social change over time, making it easier to explain differences in values, attitudes, and behaviors across age groups.
Many of us will have heard how Millennials embrace digital tools and platforms for communication, for example, while older generations might focus more on face-to-face conversation. Things that are important to one group of people are often less so to others.
This stratification can have practical implications. People of different ages may well see the world in significantly different ways – and understanding these nuances can help us build a more collaborative workplace. Indeed, there is the potential for friction if this process is mismanaged.
There are of course many positives to an intergenerational experience. We have a chance to learn from more experienced colleagues, sharing contacts and knowledge, while diversity in perspectives and the blending of different strengths, can benefit all involved. Many older employees actively want to help younger colleagues in later years, seeing this as an opportunity to give back to the company.
Creating a workplace friendly to people from different generations will also increase talent pool and diversity of workers. Research suggests older colleagues can help younger workers by demonstrating empathy and asking whether there is certain support they need – they can reduce stress. With greater experience and a longer-term perspective, older coworkers can be an asset to the young.
With as many as four distinct generations – Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z - all together in the workforce for the first time, making a success of the generation gap is more important than ever. How can we ensure the opportunities are seized and the pitfalls avoided?
How can we use training to ease intergenerational friction?
Appropriate training sessions can help team members navigate different communication styles as well as overcome biases they may have of people from different generations.
Stereotypes can subtly perpetuate age-based divisions, even when they seem trivial. For example, characterizing Boomers as resistant to technology or describing all Gen Zers as social media obsessed doesn't reflect the diversity within these groups. Such oversimplified labels not only misrepresent individuals but can also fuel deeper societal biases, affecting intergenerational relations and ultimately reinforcing barriers rather than fostering understanding.
Sensitivity training can be great at helping employees overcome these biases and learn more about their colleagues of different ages. After all, the perception of generational differences is usually greater than the reality, and being aware of these perceptions can help cut down on friction across the workforce.
Creating an environment that celebrates our different strengths
Two-way mentoring programs are another interesting way to help employees from different generations better understand colleagues and help them to benefit from differing strengths.
This is one of our most successful tools at Amadeus, allowing us to deliver specific training sessions to upskill the participants. Mentors share their insights, knowledge and experience with the mentees, focusing on supporting both their professional and personal growth, especially across generations.
This can work both ways, with older colleagues sharing experiences with younger generations, but also with younger employees having an opportunity to mentor older employees. As Forbes notes, “a reverse mentorship program can be a great tool for recruiting and retention”. This can be a great way to break down hierarchies, creating a more cohesive and collaborative work environment.
We consider the background, current development needs and role challenges of our colleagues to pair them with a mentor that has been through similar experiences and has the knowledge and skills to effectively support them in their development. We match employees across different sites, regions, business units and generations to increase global understanding and visibility as well as enhance cooperation.
Driving two-way curiosity in this way helps younger generations to learn from experienced colleagues – and vice versa.
When it comes to working together across the organization, understanding how colleagues at different life stages can collaborate effectively is a tremendous benefit. Having a mix of more and less experienced employees in a team can be useful for achieving company goals.
Creating a flexible environment that accommodates generational needs
Understanding the differing needs of colleagues at different stages of their lives can also reap benefits for an organization. For example, flexibility means different things to different generations.
While enhanced flexibility is vital across the board in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic shakeup, this can manifest in different ways. For some older generations, flexibility might mean coming into the office later to accommodate the school-run or leaving early and working from home in order to fit around childcare.
However, Gen Z workers might prefer more in-office time and face-to-face contact, both of which can often be critical in the early stages of a career.
As an organization, we must consider how best to accommodate both preferences, creating a policy suitable for all generations. A sensitive and flexible workplace is able to adjust its policies and listen to employee feedback to accommodate their needs, which might not be obvious and can differ significantly.
Across the generational divide
At Amadeus, we foster a sense of stewardship, building a long-term vision for our organization and the travel ecosystem as a whole.
Our company was founded to support the industry as it modernizes, to embrace the future. From one generation to the next, we have evolved from a global distribution provider to a travel technology leader, to now orchestrating a global travel ecosystem – and we will be ready for the next iteration of our sector when it arrives.
This seeps into every corner of our work, starting with our people. Whatever their age, we want to empower them to positively impact the lives of friends, family, colleagues, and customers, now and into the future.
By Robert Ortiz, Senior Vice President, People & Culture, Americas, Amadeus. Collaborative and high performing bi-lingual Human Resources Executive experienced in diverse and complex representative of global companies. Specialize in strategy and implementation of spectrum of innovative and leading Human Resources initiatives, with full accountability for leadership, growth and profitability while increasing employee engagement in alignment with long-term business objectives.
