How to Handle Generational Differences at Work? One Family Offers a Blueprint
Spanning ages 37 to 86, three generations of the Hickman family run a lumber and flooring company in western Pennsylvania. The youngest works remotely and handles social media. The oldest remembers when workers stayed with one employer for life and still uses a flip phone.
Workplaces big and small are looking more like the Hickmans’ as the country’s population ages and people continue working well into their later years. With about 8% of people 75 and older now in the labor force, nearly double the labor-force participation rate from 30 years ago, it’s more common to have four and possibly five generations at one workplace. The vast range of attitudes toward work and skill sets can create opportunity, with older workers offering experience and younger ones offering fresh approaches.
It can also fuel tension as norms around working hours and attitude shift. A 30-year-old may run to the grocery store at 2 p.m. and work after dinner, while their 60-year-old colleague wouldn’t dream of running a personal midafternoon errand.
“Each has a strong work ethic, but one might define it as working 24/7 and the other as working hard eight hours a day, but not on weekends, in the evenings or on vacations," says Olivia McIvor, a human resources executive in Vancouver, British Columbia, who has researched generational diversity at work. The Hickmans’ approach has lessons for the rest of us. Each generation of family members tries to respect the others’ skills and roles, and they rely on each other to help keep the company going.
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