Intergenerational collaboration can give the PR industry a boost

Research from the University of Cologne, shows that when younger workers seek out information or training from an older co-worker, the older worker’s motivation gains a significant boost.

It’s something that both PR agencies and in-house teams should really know. After all, retaining talented, experienced and knowledgeable PR professionals – whatever their age – is extremely valuable. 

The study, published in the Journal of Organisational Behaviour, finds that knowledge seeking from younger co-workers contributes to older workers’ motivation to continue working because it provides an important opportunity to offer value. 

When I joined the PR industry as a bright-eyed, hungry new graduate, I never considered that the questions I asked and advice I sought from colleagues who were decades older than me could actually be benefiting them too. 

Now with these academic insights, we could make sure we are much more conscious about the interactions we have – and those we encourage – in the workplace. Imagine if we actively urged and provided space for these mutually beneficial conversations to take place. Ultimately, it would ensure that the benefits of age-diverse workforces are optimised. 

Shame and embarrassment

Yet we should also be aware that Professor Anne Burmeister at the University of Cologne also investigated the positive and negative effects of workers over 45 seeking knowledge from their younger co-workers. This revealed a risk that older workers could feel shame and embarrassment when seeking knowledge from those younger than them at work – since societal norms dictate that older workers should really be the ones providing knowledge. 

It's important for these attitudes to change, especially with rapid technological advances meaning that younger generations could be much more adept with certain technology that’s useful in the PR world. 

However, it’s key for us all to note that the study showed if an older worker appreciated intergenerational interactions and thought of them as pleasant and useful, then the negative feelings associated with seeking knowledge from younger, more inexperienced co-workers were significantly lessened. In these cases, exchanges actually led to higher motivation.

Given that the UN estimates that by 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65, up from one in 11 in 2019, we need to be conscious that as populations age, so do workforces. In many industries, including PR and communications, we need to utilise information like this to adapt our work and ensure best practices are implemented for many years to come. 

An ageing workforce

There are already signs that the world is changing and getting used to an ageing workforce. We’ve seen that as populations age, governments are adapting, legislating against ageist hiring practices, making it illegal for employers to avoid hiring, promoting or training their employees based on their age. Some companies are adjusting their working hours and offering more holiday leave to older workers. 

Pair this demographic trend with swift technological change and there needs to be an exchange of skills and information, regardless of age. PR agencies and in-house teams will need to figure out ways to forge meaningful intergenerational collaboration for the benefit of both individual employees and the future success of their organisations. 

It’s about more than simply encouraging a culture of lifelong learning, a trend that many of us have already invested in. It’s about building on this foundation so that older employees are more likely to find intergenerational interactions fulfilling and satisfying, hopefully leading them to seek these exchanges more often. It’s also down to senior leaders to actively encourage and facilitate these high-quality conversations.

Tech matters 

While younger employees might take to certain technologies and IT training more quickly than older employees, those with more experience might actually be better placed to apply the technologies to workplace tasks that younger people are not able to identify these uses yet.

If we don’t acknowledge the need for this intergenerational collaboration within our industry, we are letting down our older colleagues as well as risking losing these experienced PR stars from our teams much earlier than we need to. We could wave goodbye to the knowledge they have without it ever having been passed on. 

After all, when the experience of an older worker who has tackled many crises, seen incredible impact from their work and garnered remarkable media relationships meets the tech-savviness of a younger co-worker, magic could really happen. 

Stephanie Mullins-Wiles is director of BlueSky Education, a specialist international PR consultancy for universities and business schools.