Varying age groups work differently

Problems arising from the different work styles of younger and older employees is one of the biggest challenges facing employers, it has been claimed.

The latest stats from the Office of National Statistics predicted that by they year 2020, nearly a third of working people in the UK will be over 50.

Professor Jeremy Myerson, director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art, said:

“Twenty years ago human resource managers may have paid lip service to issues surrounding increasing age diversity in the work place. Now, senior executives realise that poor management of generations at work has a profound impact on their bottom line.”

Myerson said the needs and work styles of people at each end of the age scale were polarised.

“This creates very serious organisational issues for business managers relating to communication, sharing knowledge and retaining staff,” he said.

According to research from the Helen Hamlyn centre, older workers expect more choice and control over how and when they work over the course of a day.

Older workers are also generally more ‘curious and committed’ to learning and mixing work and personal projects, Myerson argued.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008