I saw an article earlier today about ageism at work in which the author spoke about how companies lose that built-in wisdom and know-how when it leans favorably toward hiring younger workers over older workers.
I agree.
Though I’d add the problem is equally, if not more so, generational.
As hiring managers bring on more Millennials, who are great on teams, wanting very much to succeed and rank up (they’re a rank-and-file generation) and liking of efficiency; and as they’re not hiring as many Gen Xers, who are a bottom-line, get-it-done, figure-it-out generation, the costs to businesses are significant.
Millennials (currently 20-42 years old in 2024) are a take-few-risks generation. They don’t move as independently or confidently through chaos and difficulties as GenXers do. (Every and any Gen Xer will attest to this truth.) Millennials will have more collective power and will change the workplace to align with their natural skills and preferences as they become more and more of the nation’s midlife leaders in a decade or so, but they are not as comfortable in taking on The Unknown, figuring stuff out, taking risks and accomplishing the mission as Xers are. Not by a long shot.
Part of the ageism-at-work problem is related to having fewer people with experience around. For sure and by dint of years lived, Xers, currently 43-63 in 2024, have more experience. They’ve made more mistakes, had more wins and learned some hard lessons along the way. But it’s more than experience and wisdom that’s the issue; it’s attitude.
Most Millennials have experienced most of their careers with mostly Xer (and some Boomer) managers. Gen Xers are the ultimate generals in a battlefield: Assess the risks, figure out how to make the best of a situation with limited resources, and accomplish the mission, no matter what.
Xers may not be the friendliest and chummiest of managers (something Millennials value and want), but they get stuff done! They solve problems you didn’t even know you had. They make miracles possible when the odds stacked against you are high, resources are limited and the future seems bleak. That’s where Xers shine!
Remove or hire less often Gen Xers and you start to lose that scrappy, ultra-pragmatic, results-focused capacity inside an organization.
And that, I offer, is the real issue with “ageism.”
Can your organization survive and navigate the tumultuous waters, now and into the future, with a mostly Millennial team? You may have to find out the hard way.
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George Washington, the ultimate general taking his troops through perilous challenges, was a member of the same nomad-like generation as today’s Xers.
