Insights

Dr Eliza Filby, is an academic, lecturer, renowned author, podcaster, and speaker who specialises in ‘generational intelligence’ helping companies, governments, and services understand generational shifts within politics, society, and the workplace. Eliza has spoken at the EU’s Human Rights Forum on Teenagers and Technology; the Financial Time CEO Forum on the Future of Work, and to the UK’s House of Lord’s Select Committee on Intergenerational Unfairness.

I had the great pleasure of spending some time with Eliza discussing the increasing gap between generations, the multi-generational workplace, and the practical things companies can do to support a multi-generational workforce. Here’s some of the highlights from our discussion.

You can read more about Eliza’s work and her insights at www.elizafilby.com

Q: Eliza, you describe yourself as someone who specialises in ‘generational intelligence’, can you tell us a bit more about what it is you do?

I study society through the prism of age and generations – from Baby Boomers to Generation Alpha – examining how the traditional lifecycle is being reordered and remade in the 21st Century. I think this itself is quite a restrictive analysis and way of viewing society, but it’s a starting point that I use to analyse the different ways in which society is changing in terms of its consumers, its citizens, and its workers.

I’m interested in looking at the way in which the different generations are evolving because we’re not static as human beings. So, what their narratives are, what events, trends, and values have shaped them, and then really how that’s playing out in the workplace, education, politics, the economy, and society as a whole.

Q: It feels like the division between generations has got greater in a way I haven’t felt before. Is this true? If it is, how we begin to the bridge that gap?

It certainly does feel like the gap between generations is greater than it’s ever been and at times that can feel very divisive. However, we are predisposed as human beings to be ageist and if you could create a thread throughout history, the one constant would be that the old have always criticised the young as being lazy, privileged, and entitled.

You bridge the gap by building understanding and empathy across the generations. One of the things that I spend a lot of my time doing is helping companies understand that we are all a product of our time. Different values, technologies, and experiences have really shaped generations and explain why they are the way they are, for example what it’s like for a Gen Z to have grown up with a smartphone in their pocket since they were 13, or for a Gen X woman to have entered the workplace as the only woman in the office, or what it’s like for a Millennial to be the first generation to go to university and then graduate extensive debt and a declining level of opportunity.

Being able to acknowledge that we are all a product of our time and understanding the impact of that is a great place to start.

Q: We are now in a world where we have four, and in some cases, five generations in the workplace, so how should companies be thinking about their workforce?

Research has found that within the workplace you are more likely to make friends with people of a different gender, sexuality, or race than you are of a different generation or age. This statistic is key to recognising not only the importance of age diversity within an organisation, but also the challenge it brings.

Ageism can be a really corrosive force, so it’s important to think about the practical things you can do to bring the generations together, particularly in a hybrid working environment where we are seeing less of each other. The absence of this can fuel greater levels of misunderstanding and prejudice because we’re just not colliding as much.

We really need to think about ways in which the different generations are heard in the workplace and by this, I mean all generations. I’m not a massive advocate for Gen Z boards because you’re giving a voice to yes, the generation that expects it the most, but you’re actually alienating others – particularly older workers who already feel a sense of dislocation and displacement.

You need to consider and encourage not just cross-generational dialogue, but dialogue that gives everyone a voice and enables everyone to listen including multi-generational boards, reverse mentoring, skills swaps, and effective communication.

Q. You mention that hybrid working means we are seeing each other less, what impact is that having on a multi-generational workforce?

One of the challenges with hybrid working is that all the learning through osmosis that used to happen naturally when people are in the same place is just not happening through Zoom/Teams calls anymore.

So much of the older generations’ experience is not being transported down the generations. Therefore, it’s really important not only for companies to bridge the generational gap, but also help up-skill the young by forcing different generations to be in the same room together, so that informal learning to take place.

Whether it’s talking to a client, dealing with a problem, or having an uncomfortable conversation – those things need to be observed if you’re young because that’s how you learn.

But equally, it’s really important that we recognise that you have a generation coming in who for the first time in history, have higher technological skills than the people that are managing them. That knowledge also needs to be passed upwards through the generational chain in the workplace.

So, companies need to be consider how they can develop an educational policy and culture that really encourages cross-generational learning.

Q: We are increasingly living and working longer. What role do organisations have to play in ageing societies?

One of the key areas that organisations need to focus is on how they care for their employees. I have a very holistic and open understanding of what I mean by care. A lot of companies have thought about care firstly in terms of parental leave, maternity leave, and helping parents, but actually if we’re talking about equipping and supporting our workers for the demands of the 21st century, our care responsibilities as individuals are changing. Women are having fewer babies, they are having them later, closer together, and fathers and grandparents are more involved than ever, so do company policies reflect this.

But then also a major responsibility for Gen X and very soon Millennials will be looking after their parents. Do companies have a policy that really is inclusive and helps people look after older people as much as young people and enable them to fulfil those duties? This is crucial, because elder care will be much longer and arguably more disruptive and intrusive to people’s work than looking after children.

Care also includes self-care, which covers everything from mental and physical to financial well-being. So, when companies are talking about care, they need to understand that they are talking about something that is multi-generational and much more expansive than just support for parents or mental health awareness days. This is what employers need to demonstrate.

Q: What causes the significant disparity between generations in the workplace, considering that family is highly valued outside of work? Why is it challenging to reconcile these differences within a professional setting compared to outside of it?

We know that the baby boomer generation are the exceptional generation. They accumulated an awful lot of wealth to the extent that one in five baby boomers in the UK is a millionaire – mostly on paper in property. They own 70% of the nation’s wealth and that money is already trickling down the generations. The bank of Mum and Dad is the sixth largest mortgage lender in the UK and that money is going to their millennial kid and grandparents are supporting their grandchildren. But also, there’s a sense that because we’re living longer, we’ve disrupted what expectations come with a certain age, particularly middle-age and old-age. We therefore feel more in touch with our children, and you’re seeing this with Gen X who are friends with their Gen Z children.

On the family side, the reasons are economic, whilst on the work side they are cultural. There’s a bigger generational gap because of technology, Gen Z are questioning the cultural corporate norms that have existed for Boomers and Gen X. Additionally, Gen Z are looking at Millennials going, you’ve worked really hard…but what have you got to show for it? They’re the generation that will not live by one salary alone and are aware that there are endless possibilities for multiple streams of revenue.

Q: What single piece of advice would you give to any company in how to navigate multi-generational workplaces?

The multi-generational workforce is not going anywhere – it’s the future. Companies need to recognise the new reality, which is we are working longer, we are disrupting the age and stage model of work where before long, if you haven’t already, you will have managers who are 25-years old, managing people over 55. You’ve got a hybrid working model which means generations are colliding less and probably misunderstanding each other more, and a working culture, which I think because of the pandemic, means there are now greater expectations on companies as to what they provide for their employees.

You have to recognise that what worked in the 20th century will not work in the 21st for two very simple reasons. Firstly, technology is changing rapidly and it is changing everything about our lives at an unprecedented pace. Secondly, our ageing society means that the life-cycle is changing and with this comes a whole range of differences, to the 20th century, including different educational needs, and care responsibilities.

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So, the 21st century life cycle really has to be at the forefront of your mind when creating policies for your employees. It’s not about how much can I offer that person or how much flexibility can I give them, but can I give them the support structure they need in order to produce the best work? Can I give them a reason to come into the office. Fundamentally, this means companies need to think about all the things we’ve discussed – understanding, empathy, effective communication, learning and education, and care.

Interviewed by Sarah-Jane Wakefield, Director and Head of Employee Communication and Engagement