How to manage a five-generation workforce

Hello and welcome to Working It.

Last week’s podcast episode with Oliver Burkeman One of the most popular pieces of advice of all time is to find the things that matter to us and do more of them. One of the pieces of advice Oliver gives in his new book, Meditations for Mortals, It’s about reconnecting with the things we loved as children; sometimes we lose sight of our true selves as adults.

With that in mind, I went to see the original. Star Wars Last week, I saw a movie at the cinema. It made me as happy as when I saw it a few days after its UK release in 1977, on the big screen in Leicester Square. That moment sparked my love for sci-fi and fantasy 🧙🏽‍♂️. Happiness and purpose = better work and family life, so let’s bring back more of our childhood passions. Tell me about yours: isabel.berwick@ft.com.

Read on for fresh insight into how to keep five generations of workers happy and in harmony, and Office Therapy where I suggest that a needy colleague who also buys cakes 🍰 actually isn’t a bad thing.

How to please everyone at work: from 18 to 80 years old

Everyone I talk to in the “working world” right now is fixated on two pressing workplace challenges:

1. The impact of generative AI 🤖

2. Intergenerational tensions 🤬

I am always trying to find solutions to pass on to readers and this week I learned that a unique solution to both problems could be right under our noses.

A leadership strategy that focuses on alleviating the second problem, intergenerational tension, will create ripple effects throughout the organization. A harmonious workforce across four or five generations is more likely to accept and embrace disruption and change, including that caused by the number one challenge, AI implementation.

I, a skeptical journalist, am feeling a little excited about the possibility of everyone singing in harmony in the workplace (visions from 1971). Coca-Cola advertisement) but Rebecca Robins She has a compelling idea. She is an expert in brands and culture and has written, with Patrick Dunne, Five generations at work: how we win together, foreverIt will be released next week.

I called Rebecca and asked her to give me her magic bullet to the generational problem, in a nutshell, for Working It readers. Her idea is all about unity, not drawing attention to cohort differences between (typically) Gen Z and older staff.

Rebecca said: “We’ve been having the wrong conversation about generations, and that conversation is a divisive one, fuelled by stereotypes and headlines that only distract us from the real work that needs to be addressed – and then the other element of context is that we don’t really have time to waste.” The climate crisis, AI and automation, political divisions and geopolitical uncertainty – all of this makes it vital for leaders to create effective workplaces where staff can, as Rebecca says, “win together.”

At its core, an over-focus on differences (whether age or other identity characteristics) can distract us from the vital task of working together. Rebecca’s work feeds into some of the off-the-record conversations I’ve had with corporate leaders about diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s not that it’s not good to invest in creating and retaining a diverse workforce — it is. The problem is that organizations have been doing too many things, targeting different groups of people, and many of these initiatives are ineffective.

Rebecca believes she has the solution to initiative overload. “The most important thing we demonstrate with all the work in the book is this: do fewer things well and keep them going,” she says. This approach is very current: productivity guru Cal Newport talked to me about it in on the podcast recently.

What, I asked, might be a practical example of how to do something unifying and do it well?* Rebecca cites LVMH’s Dare project, an “intrapreneurial” platform that incubates new ideas and skills across the luxury conglomerate’s 75 brands. She said: “It’s really taken off, as one of the most successful things they’ve done, linking and bringing together people from different disciplines, from different brands and levels… it links generational dynamics with regeneration.” (My colleague Emma Jacobs wrote about Dare in 2020.)

I think we’re just beginning to try to figure out what helps us work together across generations. Send me your ideas: isabel.berwick@ft.com.

*Rebecca’s book contains many useful case studies, including the FT’s own Next Generation Board project 😇.

This week on the Working It podcast

Nate Silver is a big risk taker: he’s a poker player and founder of the political analysis website FiveThirtyEight, and his new book, On the edge: the art of risking it allIt’s a great introduction for those of us who would like to take more risks at work, but don’t know where to start. This week’s podcast episodeNate talks to me about why fear plays such a big role in our decision-making at work and how we can stay curious and risk-focused as we age.

Office therapy

The problem: I recently joined a small agency. A long-time colleague only makes a decision after extensive discussions with me or other team members. I’m talking about basic things: the tone of the email, the graphics on the slides, what information to share with clients. She also organizes all the birthday cakes, team lunches, etc. It takes the pressure off the bosses and I think that’s why no one says anything about the time wastage. Will I get over this annoyance?

Isabel’s advice: You’re right, giving endless reassurances isn’t helping your colleague improve at his job and is taking up your team’s collective time. On the other hand, we all have different anxieties and it’s not your job to fix your colleague’s problems. Apparently, he’s competent overall and plays a useful role in performing “office tasks” in a small company.

Before you all yell at me, I know that gender advancement in the workplace depends in part on women choosing not to take these so-called “decent jobs.”non-promotable tasks“But in this case it seems that his colleague is not looking for a promotion. and gets satisfaction and a sense of belonging from being the social secretary 📋.

No one may say anything about the need because it doesn’t bother them. You’re new and it takes time to get used to a work culture. Part of the joy of work life is experiencing its (often infuriating) variety. You may never get used to this person’s modus operandi, but you don’t have to be their go-to helper: you can tactically back out and you can have your (birthday) cake 🎂 and eat it too.

Five standout stories from the world of work

1. FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year 2024: The shortlist. Six books have made it to the final shortlist for this year’s business book prize, including one by Professor Andrew Scott. The imperative of longevity and The corporation in the 21st century By John Kay. The winner will be announced in December.

2. The problem with the panels: Viv Groskop pokes fun at the problem many of us have with panels: there are too many, guests are too evasive, and there are too many high stools.

3. Rejected or blank: Is finding a job harder than ever? The job market is supposedly tight, but candidates are applying for hundreds of jobs and getting no response. Bethan Staton speaks to those involved on both sides and finds a huge decline in the number of college-level jobs on offer.

4. The fury of the frequent traveler: Nothing engages FT readers more than a column on the many shortcomings of frequent flyer programs. Brooke Masters reports on efforts by US regulators to intervene, and reader comments are in 🔥.

5. What, me, am I retiring? Just because I’m 80? Pilita Clark takes on the Indeed job ad scandal that went viral on LinkedIn (which suggested that workers over 55 were “in decline”) and looks at why many people are working longer and why that’s a good thing.

One more thing…

Last year, information about ADHD was the second most searched topic on the NHS website and a BBC investigation suggests it will take eight years to test all adults on waiting lists. These startling figures from a BBC article This explains why ADHD has become such a common diagnosis. It seems that prevalence rates of ADHD have not changed in the population (it is likely to be around 3-4 per cent of adults in the UK), but rather the incidence rate is increasing – that is, the number of people receiving a diagnosis. At some point, it seems that this will level off, as the backlog in diagnoses is filled.

This week’s giveaway… 🐇

During the pandemic, Chloe Dalton, a senior government foreign policy specialist, rescued a baby hare and raised it. Their bond led her to adopt a very different relationship with her career, change her pace of life and connect with nature for the first time.

Chloe’s Memoirs, Breeding haresIt is published on September 26th. (If you, like me, loved it H is for falcon by Helen Macdonald, then this will instantly appeal to you.)

We have 10 copies of Breeding hares to give away to Working It readers, and all entries we receive before 5pm UK time on 20th September will be entered into the prize draw. Enter using This form.