Managing An Age Diverse Workforce

Unique in the multiple approaches that it encompasses, this book includes discussions of both older and younger workers, employer and employee perspectives, generational and age diversity and international comparisons. It includes both conceptual argument and empirical research in order to provide insights into this important area.

The volume is divided into two parts. Contributions in the first section raise questions about the meanings of age and age diversity, as well as how and when age matters in organisations. The second part of the book examines the role and contribution of HR practices in forging an age-inclusive workplace.

All OECD economies are undergoing rapid population ageing, leading to more age diversity in workplaces than ever before as people are not only living longer but working longer. This report presents a business case for embracing greater age diversity at the workplace and debunks several myths about generational differences in work performance, attitudes and motivations towards work.

"Vital for any organization with multigenerational staffs, and for marketers, public relations professionals, HRD managers, or executives." Library Journal, Starred Review Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce presents a transformative way to end the generational wars once and for all. This book first introduces Gentelligence as a powerful business strategy and shows why it is critical for the future of work. It then presents a practical guide and a call to action for leaders of all ages to unlock the potential strengths of each generation. Readers will learn how an intergenerational workforce can be reframed as a profound business opportunity and discover how Gentelligence can help them win the talent war, create strong, diverse teams, and build adaptable cultures that will flourish in an era of rapid change. Gentelligence shares groundbreaking evidence that will have readers thinking about their generationally diverse workforce in an entirely different way. Readers will discover: Where generational conflict originates, and how it results in both dangerous ageism and reverse ageism in today’s workplaces. Why the generation gap stems from a misunderstanding of shared core values across all generations. How to find essential common ground with colleagues, both older and younger, and recognize the unique needs that come with different generational identities. How generational shaming leads us to view those from other generations as competitors rather than collaborators, further damaging employee engagement, team dynamics, innovation, and organizational culture. How leveraging the unique strengths of each generation at work can lead to a win-win outcome for all. How traditional views on leadership have been turned upside down as a result of new generational dynamics, with many employees currently being led by managers that are younger than themselves, and older leaders struggling to make sense of changing norms around authority and power. Gentelligence reveals the opportunities within an intergenerational workforce and provides actionable tools to help leaders build Gentelligent organizations. Unlike other books on generational leadership, this book rejects common stereotypes assigned to different generations, replacing them with a deep understanding of why those who grew up in different times may behave in unique and valuable, ways. We challenge leaders to go beyond simply accepting generational differences to leverage them proactively to increase engagement, innovation, and organizational success.

Ageless Talent: Enhancing the Performance and Well-Being of Your Age-Diverse Workforce provides organizational leaders, managers, and supervisors with clear, evidence-based tactics by which to develop and manage an aging and age-diverse talent pool. This volume provides an easy-to-implement set of tools for addressing the difficult problems related to employee performance and well-being amid ongoing technological and social change. Ageless Talent introduces a straightforward framework (PIERA) that translates scientific advances into actionable steps and strategies. Using this framework, this book provides practical illustrations to help readers design their own small-scale interventions to achieve desirable goals under diverse organizational constraints. Furthermore, the book addresses modern management challenges arising across the globe, and offers suggestions for leaders interested in short-term and long-term change. These suggestions, grounded in time-tested and leading-edge research evidence, include specific step-by-step guidelines, customizable to different types of organizations and industries. With economic, cultural, technological, and demographic shifts making the changing nature of work a pressing concern for organizations around the globe, Ageless Talent is an essential text for practitioners – HR professionals, organizational leaders, and managers – as well as management education programs and professional training and leadership programs. It will also appeal to instructors and students in the field of industrial/organizational psychology.

As the topic of age diversity in the workplace becomes increasingly important, this book is the first to show how organizations can provide learning and development opportunities and activities for a mixed generational workforce, and how to deal with the issues arising from such a strategy. Going beyond the theory, the book uncovers how learning and development for a multigenerational workforce works in practice and provides case studies throughout. Key themes include: • how organizations can determine the learning and development needs of a multigenerational workforce, and the psychology of learning for different groups; • how a strategy for learning and development for a mixed generation workforce can be established and delivered; • the resource implications of this provision and how organisations dealing with them to ensure flexibility; and • how the outcomes and impact of such provision can be measured. With both research-based and practical content, the book is suitable for both Master’s level programmes in HRM and HRD, and for learning and development professionals.