We are in the midst of two enormous demographic shifts in the workplace that seem to be at odds with each other. We’re living longer and working longer — either by choice or necessity. In the last century, the 65+ age group has grown five times faster than the rest of the population; by 2031, according to a recent Bain & Co. estimate, employees 55 and older will constitute a quarter of the global workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly half of the increase in the number of people participating in the U.S. labor force between 2016 and 2026 is attributable to those 60 and older.
At the same time, there's such a growing reliance on DQ (digital intelligence) that companies are desperate to hire and promote digital natives, who are often much younger. According to Harris Interactive in 2014, 38 percent of Americans reported to a younger boss and the Department of Labor suggests the majority of Americans will have a younger boss in the near future. Physiologically, 60 may be the new 40, but when it comes to power in the modern workplace, 30 is the new 50. And as the pool of older workers and younger managers grows, so does the necessity for understanding the value of age diversity on teams.
With five generations in the workplace for the first time, some observers have predicted that battles will break out among the generations. I beg to differ. For years, in my role as the mentor to the Airbnb and other start-up founders — and as the CEO of MEA, the world's first midlife wisdom school — I've observed how symbiotic relationships among the generations can develop in ways that take companies to great heights. For that to happen, though, we have to move beyond the obsession with "knowledge work."
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