BRIDGING THE AGE GAP

SHARED WISDOM: Tony Cosgrove, left, with fellow interns at Luxury Escapes’ headquarters. cent) say the same. On the flip side, while most younger workers will happily connect with colleagues on social media (71 per cent), this figure drops to just a third (33 per cent) for older workers.

“The key to a positive and productive age-diverse team lies in the art of our everyday conversations,” says Alison Monroe, national director of Randstad’s career transition company RiseSmart.

“Each one of us needs to challenge our ageist assumptions and biases and establish a culture of equality, respect and inclusion.

“This means less talking, more listening and seeking to understand.”

The Randstad report shows 86 per cent of workplaces have a workforce with at least a 10 to 15-year age range, which means workers are alongside those of at least one different generation, and 89 per cent of workers prefer to work with colleagues of different ages.

They believe the collaboration is mutually beneficial (86 per cent agree) and drives innovation (85 per cent).

“Employing people from different generations fosters diversity of thought in any team and it’s crucial not to alienate individuals by relying on stereotypes,” Monroe says.

“When our own bias and assumptions lie unchallenged, we risk the loss of knowledge and expertise, productivity and the inability to reflect our customer base.” WHEN Tony Cosgrove started an internship with Luxury Escapes, he knew he would be mentored by a younger generation.

He has worked as a teacher, principal and senior education officer so was comfortable working with all ages.

“In teaching, I was inspired by kids every day,” he says. “(At Luxury Escapes) I am dealing with young professionals and (I accept) any inspiration they can give me.”

Cosgrove, 64, recently started writing travel blogs, with some of his work published on Starts at 60.

He applied for the internship with hope of gaining skills in this area. From day one, he noticed a few differences to his past workplaces. “I watched the chief executive of this amazingly successful business talk to a bunch of older people wearing his blue jeans and thongs,” he says. “That is something I never experienced.”

Luxury Escapes welcomed 10 senior interns after being inspired by the movie The Intern, which starred Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.

Luxury Escapes co-founder and chief executive Adam Schwab says the travel company’s team ranges from age 18 to 60, “with a really nice mixture”.

“We have a lot of customers who are 45-plus so it’s critical we are able to understand and relate to such an important market,” he says.

SEEK Laws of Attraction data shows although salary is the top driver across the board, Millennials are more likely to seek career development opportunities ahead of work/ life balance – which is the number two factor for both the older generations.

Generation X workers and Baby Boomers also value job security and a good job location, respectively.