The power of age diversity: hiring and nurturing multigenerational teams

For all the benefits of five generations sharing one desk, these are generations who have lived through vast and accelerated societal change, and working side-by-side means bringing together conflicting world experiences, priorities and approaches. The rapid change of the last 100 years – such as advancing tech, remote working opportunities, rising awareness of themes like Diversity & Inclusion (DEI) and mental health – they have all had a massive impact on workplace cultures. Although positive, these advancements prompt a natural disparity in experience and expectation across age groups, and some have proven divisive.   

In 2023, Law.com wrote “The generational differences in law firms—and how lawyers of different ages view such basic topics as how the work should get done and when—have been laid bare by the pandemic and have created the potential for conflict, something firm leaders are still wrestling with.” Though this manifests in various ways, there are a couple of common sticking points.

Communication 

Harvard Business Review reported that 65% of managers say communication differences is the biggest challenge*. Digital natives (Gen Z, Millennial) who are perhaps accustomed to internal chat and project management tools, are working alongside older employees who are more likely to resist these, more comfortable with traditional modes of networking. While there is no set rule for the behaviours and preferences of an individual, it’s observed that there’s even a distinction between which digital channels adopters prefer e.g. Baby Boomers typically use platforms like LinkedIn and email, while Generation Z are more prolific on newer platforms like TikTok. 

It's not surprising that a recent ALM Law survey found more than half of legal professionals say “different generational communication styles hinder their firm’s ability to operate effectively or achieve desired outcomes.”

Approach and values  

The 90s saw the rise of the overworking culture, with employees boasting long hours and weekend work. Now, the trend is towards working smarter not harder, with younger candidates valuing purpose and wellbeing over gruelling hours and competitive cultures. Gen Z have been at the helm of “quiet quitting” (taking your job less seriously) and, as LinkedIn wrote, “putting up boundaries to guard their work-life balance. Because if young professionals have learned anything from older generations, it’s that hustle culture is a path to burnout.” 

It’s also reported that although older generations are most likely to remain loyal to one employer, younger candidates are expected to have several jobs and multi-hyphen titles. The World Economic Forum reported that having multiple careers is becoming the norm*, and young people are expected to career hop 50% more than their parents' generation. This creates a disconnect between the ideals of employees who need to collaborate – a common theme at our roundtable discussion, where many said they were navigating this conflict. 

This change in career line also poses a new recruitment challenge. In that some hirers screen based on longevity, quick to discount a candidate who they consider to be a job hopper. I know, however, there are often many stories behind a busy CV. From where someone is at in their personal life (health, family, relationships, relocation), to lack of progression/other issues with the previous employers, or simple ambition and self-worth. Anything could prompt a job change and a varied work history doesn’t mean a candidate is unreliable. If anything, it can reflect an even richer pool of experience. I’m well trained to spot the difference – but not all hiring managers are!

Social standards  

Although we can’t commit a mindset to an age group, there are natural generational trends that mean older vs younger employees have very different social standards, and this is leading to friction and frustration in some instances. For example, employee wellbeing is a relatively new business priority and it’s only in the last decade that teams have been empowered to speak openly about mental health. Where some staff are confident in setting their boundaries in what they need for their own wellbeing, others are more accustomed to ploughing on through poor health – and this disparity can create conflict. 

There’s work to do in aligning each employees' expectations of their employer, and this is true for a host of other social standards including DEI and remote working. 

So how can employers harness age diversity positively? 

I’ve written before about the moral and business benefits of diverse teams, and I see the generation gap as another opportunity for employers to put this to practise. If we can channel the collective experience and skills from 60+ years (and a team who have lived through a century between them!), we can create a more diverse skillset, a broader spectrum of knowledge and a more agile service to clients. It’s also good for revenue, as a 2022 Gartner study explained with its eye-opening statistic: “companies which nurture multigenerational teams are 288% more likely to exceed financial targets”.  

Really there’s never been a better time to nurture age diversity across departments and up and down the pay ladder. This is a prompt for businesses to shake out of old stereotypes when building their teams, especially the idea that certain age groups are better suited to certain roles – that's simply not true. People of any age can turn their hand to any skill or task if they have the potential and are empowered to do so. 

Age diversity helps with learning and development too, facilitating greater knowledge-sharing than ever before. For firms housing a wide expanse of years and experience amongst their people, they’re in a good position to nurture the mentee-mentor relationship, and we encourage our clients to maximise this when supporting them to onboard and integrate new personnel. In Legal, a sector which has traditionally leant on mentorship, this is potential gold. For example, Junior lawyers and apprentices can absorb the experience of far more senior colleagues, and vice versa - which is great for upskilling and empowering future talent! 

Thinking about service to customers and clients, the natural mix of communication preferences across generations empowers legal minds to access a broader and more nuanced market. For example, where older employees are more accustomed to in-person meetings and phone calls, Gen Z candidates tend to be technologically intuitive and to opt for digital comms. There are clear advantages for businesses who can turn conflicting comms preferences on their head, not least the fact it can help you speak your clients’ language, when considering the niche references and generational short-hand that go a long way in relationship-building. 

Under the right leadership, multigenerational teams put law firms in a powerful position to benefit from a broad scope of perspectives, channel the ideas and insights of diverse age groups, and access new realms of agile working. And this is something we work with our clients to embrace!