When you Think DEI, do you Think about Age?

HR Homeroom

Orlando, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) -- If you played word association about "diversity, equity, and inclusion," you might not have age as a category for DEI coverage.

But as Valerie Horton Rakes, a risk manager for the City of Tampa, and Regina Lock, an account executive and risk manager for McGriff Insurance Services explained in their WCI session, "Age and Diversity: Aging in the Workforce," there's no time like now to embrace age as a diversity boost.

Five Gens and One on the Way

Rakes explained that the time is right for embracing age diversity as a strength in workplace due to the wide range of age groups that are actively involved in the U.S. economy. According to Rakes, the following generations are currently adding to workplace dynamics across the country:

+ Traditionalists, like 93-year-old Warren Buffett who continues to run Berkshire Hathway as he approaches his 94th birthday on Aug. 30.

+ Boomers, born after World War II and before 1965.

+ Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980.

+ Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996.

+ Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2010.

+ Alphas, born since 2011 and coming to a workplace near you soon.

So, what does age have to do with it?

"Having age diversity in the workplace is a positive, if you handle it the right way," Rakes said. "When you mention DEI, you're talking about age, but people are not talking about."

How Age Diversity Improves the Workplace

Rakes offered up as a thought exercise hypothetical intergenerational pairings of celebrity artists. For example, wouldn't a film starring Michael B. Jordan opposite Clint Eastwood be must-see entertainment? Rakes explained that age diversity lets employees improve their weaknesses with other employees' strength. So, while a Boomer might not be Excel-savvy, that worker could team up with a Gen Xer to knock out a spreadsheet or a pivot table in mutually beneficial ways.

As a history lesson, Rakes explained that when the Age Discrimination in Employment Act went into effect in 1967, 43 states restricted women from working at night.

"Women weren't allowed to be out alone," Rakes said. "This is what was going on at the time in the country."

The ADEA itself shows how much progress has been made. The protections of the law are triggered at age 40, meaning that in the late 1960s, "people were getting discriminated against for being 40-plus," Rakes said, contrasting it with today's situation where a 40-year-old employee still has 54 years to catch up with someone like Warren Buffett.

Assumptions

Lock noted that the issue of age boils down to assumptions for most people.

"Who do you want to see when you take your device to the Apple store, and who do you want to see when a surgeon is coming in to remove your appendix?" Lock asked.

Other examples of assumptions Lock presented were the "OK, Boomer" meme and the fact that if it weren't for her 14-year-old son, she wouldn't have known that she could operate her washer and dryer from her smartphone.

But, Lock emphasized, overcoming assumptions can pave the way to a more productive workplace with more engaged employees and higher retention rates because of the balance that Rakes emphasized.

Lock explained that age diversity:

+ Increases ideas.

+ Brings in more opinions.

+ Reduces turnover.

+ Ensures a variety of skillsets in the workplace.

+Yields innovation.

"Mix up your teams," Lock said. "It's a challenge because senior employees will want better things that come along with seniority, like the corner office, but an age-diverse workforce is going to be more productive."

Assumptions Audit

It's one thing to talk about age diversity, but how can employers make it come to life? Rakes' suggestion was to conduct a one-week assumptions audit.

"Conduct an assumption audit," she said. "It could cause friction, so HR is the best place start."

One important aspect of an assumption audit is that it causes deep reflection on biases that we might not know we have, Rakes said.

"Take the time to pay attention to your own thoughts," she said. "It's easy to think about others but be on heightened alert when you're talking about the '30-year-old who's always late.'"

With the changing workplace dynamics when it comes to age, an assumptions audit won't be easy, Rakes said, but it will be worth it.

"You have to work because it's not going away," Rakes said.

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