Employees who are much younger than their managers report lower productivity than those closer in age due to a lack of collaboration between employees of different generations, according to new research.
The survey carried out by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in collaboration with global consulting firm Protiviti, found that friction between different generations was driving down productivity. It also highlighted the need for firms to develop intergenerationally inclusive work practices. These include making it easier for each generation to ‘fit in’; developing and advancing people based on merit rather than age; and committing to a generationally diverse workforce.
GENERATIONAL IMPACT ON PRODUCTIVITY
The key findings from studying 1,450 employees in the finance, technology and professional services industries in the UK and USA, showed that:
- 25% of employees surveyed self-reported low productivity.
- 37% of Gen Z reported low levels of productivity; followed by 30% of Millennials, 22% of Gen X, and 14% of Baby Boomers.
- Employees with larger age gaps with their managers report lower productivity. Those with managers more than 12 years their senior are nearly 1.5 times as likely to report low productivity.
- Generations agree on the most important skills for productivity and career advancement. The top three include active listening, time management and judgement and decision-making.
INTERGENERATIONAL INCLUSIVE PRACTICES
An ageing global population means there is less ‘younger talent’ in the pipeline. It also means increased generational diversity, with large firms regularly having five generations working together. In firms that use intergenerationally inclusive work practices, productivity was higher in younger generations, noted the report. These practices include enabling colleagues of every generation to have similar levels of voice when collaborating and advancing employees based on merit regardless of their age. The proportion of Gen Z employees reporting low productivity drops from 37% to 18%. For Millennials it declines from 30% to 13%.
Across the board, 87% of employees reported high productivity levels in firms with intergenerationally-inclusive work practices, compared to just 58% of employees from firms without these practices. In addition, employees working at intergenerationally inclusive workplaces are twice as likely to be satisfied with their jobs and are less likely to look for a new role. These findings are especially salient as the OECD predicts that the UK, US and the broader global economy will experience slow growth in 2024. This in turn will put pressure on companies to boost productivity.
PRODUCTIVITY MANAGER AGE GAP
“I am not surprised that we discovered a ‘productivity manager age gap’, shared Dr Grace Lordan, Founder and Director of The Inclusion Initiative at LSE, who led the research. “There is good evidence that across generations individuals have different tastes and preferences. So why do we expect them to work easily together? We now have five generations working together in the workplace and the skills that are required to manage these dynamics are not usually being taught by firms. Our research shows that if we invest in giving these skills to managers, and creating intergenerationally inclusive workplaces there are significant productivity gains to be had.”
Matt Duncan, Managing Director of Protiviti Global Business Consulting, added: “Protiviti is delighted to collaborate with The Inclusion Initiative in becoming the inaugural founder of the Generations Hub. GENERATIONS is an important study focusing on an under-researched area of diversity in the workplace. Through this research, we hope to support our clients in creating productive and successful teams, taking proactive steps to improve organisational effectiveness and drive long-term success across the organisation.”
THE INCLUSION INITIATIVE
The report, titled GENERATIONS, Unlocking the Productivity Potential of a Multigenerational Workforce marks the first of a multi-year research collaboration between The Inclusion Initiative at the LSE and Protiviti. It explores how firms can capture the productivity potential that is available from getting colleagues of different generations to work better together.
Protiviti and LSE are hosting a virtual launch event on 1 February 2024 to explore the report findings. Click here to register.
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