When Generational Differences Divide Your Team

Several employees have asked to be reassigned to projects with coworkers closer to their own age.

Younger employees say older coworkers are resistant to new ideas, while older employees say younger coworkers don't value their experience.

Productivity hasn't suffered yet, but collaboration clearly has.

What would you do?

A. Reassign employees when possible. People work better with those they relate to.

B. Tell everyone that personal preferences can't dictate assignments and expect them to work it out.

C. Meet separately with each generation to hear their concerns and develop different approaches for each group.

D. Keep the teams multigenerational but address the assumptions and help employees learn how to work across their differences.

Let's Walk Through the Options

A. Reassign employees when possible.

Separating employees may reduce immediate tension, but it can reinforce stereotypes and prevent people from learning how to collaborate across differences.

B. Tell everyone to work it out.

Employees do have a responsibility to work professionally with their colleagues. However, simply telling people to get along doesn't give them the tools to overcome the assumptions contributing to the problem.

C. Meet separately with each generation.

Listening to concerns can provide valuable insight. But treating generations as separate groups may unintentionally strengthen the very divide you're trying to eliminate.

D. Keep the teams multigenerational but address the assumptions and help employees learn how to work across their differences.

Different generations can bring different experiences, perspectives, communication preferences, and approaches to work. Helping employees understand those differences can turn frustration into an opportunity for stronger collaboration.

SRD's Recommendation

While every workplace is different, we recommend Option D: Keep the teams multigenerational and address what's creating the divide.

The goal isn't to get every generation to work, communicate, or think exactly alike.

The goal is to help them work effectively together.

When organizations separate people because of their differences, they may create short-term comfort at the expense of long-term collaboration. Leaders can instead help employees challenge assumptions, appreciate different perspectives, and focus on what each person contributes.

Generational differences don't have to divide a workplace. Managed well, they can become one of its strengths.

Point-to-Ponder

Is your team learning from its generational differences—or allowing assumptions about those differences to keep people apart?

How SRD Can Help

A multigenerational workforce brings tremendous opportunity but only when employees know how to turn their differences into strengths.

SRD's Generational Differences workshop helps teams challenge stereotypes, improve communication, and build stronger working relationships across generations.

📞 Book a free 45-minute consultation TODAY and discover how SRD can help your generations work better together.