How to address the workplace generational gap crisis
Tanya Little is Chief Growth Officer, and Matthew Daniel is a statistician and Director of Technical Marketing at Vitality Group. Sees are the creators’ own.
The pandemic has affected representatives’ lives universally, yet the effect on more youthful ages has been particularly high. For Gen Z and recent college grads, COVID-19 made propelling a profession seriously testing, and separation from companions, family, and associates eliminated day to day schedules and social communications fundamental for keeping up with great psychological well-being. Far more terrible, psychological wellness support has been disturbed — right when it’s required most.
An articulated generational hole was clear in the Vitality Group Healthy Hybrid working environment overview. While oneself appraised prosperity of more established ages in the working environment has gotten back to pre-pandemic levels, more youthful staff have fallen behind, with 27% of Gen Zs and twenty to thirty year olds presently evaluating their emotional well-being and prosperity as “not exactly great” to “exceptionally awful.”
Whenever we inspected the variations, we found that passage level representatives have encountered less advantages of working from a distance than additional senior workers. While Gen Z and recent college grads rank their administrator’s job in supporting their prosperity as more significant than more established ages, they felt essentially less upheld by their directors to take an interest in exercises that would advance their prosperity.
What does this mean for employers?
Employers are already facing the fallout of the Great Resignation and struggling to attract and retain employees. If left unchecked, the disparities facing younger generations will result in these workers quitting their jobs. In our survey, 30% of Gen Zs and millennials said they were “moderately likely” or “extremely likely” to leave their positions in the next six to 12 months versus just 18% of Baby Boomers and Generation X.
The stakes are high for employers to improve well-being support and adapt workplaces for younger generations. So, what can employers do?
Take a technology-enabled, strategic approach
Young people struggle disproportionately with various dimensions of well-being, particularly mental health. Expanding mental health support is critical for attracting and retaining young talent. Technology needs to enable the support in place and connect employees to the resources they need when they need them to ensure the benefit has visibility and is used effectively. A successful well-being platform should bring together well-being initiatives with personalized, evidence-based activities and incentives to make it easy for employees to engage in the care they need when they need it.
Create healthy hybrid workplace policies and practices
We’ve seen that entry-level staff struggle more with taking care of their well-being and managing their responsibilities while working remotely. From our research, a common theme emerged – employers need to allow for utmost flexibility and trust their employees. This means giving employees the right to take time out of their day for their well-being, including allowing for time to socially connect, exercise, go outdoors and recharge.
Plugging regular well-being activities into the company’s well-being program during the workday and incentivising participation for younger, entry-level employees is an effective way to do this. Partnering with experts in creating well-being cultures can also help get this right.
Support entry-level managers
COVID-19 has been challenging for managers who have dealt with navigating changes in their own lives. Most managers have had trouble maintaining productivity and motivation, staying connected to their employees, and helping them navigate serious issues, from personal problems to the loss of loved ones.
Further down the organizational chain, entry-level employees experience the pressure of the same challenges, but without the support they need. Many entry-level employees have also been left to pick up the additional workload of managing change, learning new systems, and picking up the slack from organizational downsizing.
As the pandemic continues, it’s essential to continually evaluate how managers support their entry-level staff, ensuring they are supporting their well-being and giving flexibility for well-being activities and work-life balance.
Connect and engage employees
The evidence also shows that more efforts are needed to connect entry-level employees, especially those working remotely or hybrid, to their leadership and peers – digitally or physically. With younger staff experiencing isolation while working remotely, creating the time and digital spaces to connect with their leadership and peers can make a massive difference. This can happen through regular coffee catch-ups with leadership, for example. Well-being champions and technology can also be leveraged to create connection opportunities between employees, centered around a well-being activity.
Achieving long-term, sustainable performance
As younger generations enter the workforce, fundamental challenges will arise unless employers act. These generations want an employer who genuinely cares about their well-being. Their workplace needs to feel inclusive, oriented around their growth and development, and rich with flexibility, connectivity and a sense of unity. The benefits of adopting these changes in the workplace extend beyond attracting and retaining younger staff or closing the generational gap; it also means future-fitting organizations for improved long-term, sustainable performance.
