Can we bridge the generation gap in PR to unlock workplace potential?
It may sometimes feel like the generations are working on different planets, each with its own language, tools and values, but that also presents an opportunity to foster harmony and innovation
The modern PR workplace has never been more diverse with four generations working together: baby boomers, gen X, millennials and gen Z. Each bringing their own sets of values and work styles.
All approach work-life with very distinct attitudes and expectations, and all have strong ideas on what makes the world tick. From first jobbers to senior leaders, everyone can roll out frustration with generational differences – but this diversity ultimately also presents an incredible opportunity for collaboration and insight.
The idea is easy enough to embrace when you consider positive attributes. Boomers - post-war babies - are traditional careerists, valuing loyalty and hierarchy; gen X – the first generation where both parents went out to work, is defined by independence and prioritises work-life balance; millennials and gen Z are highly values-led and brought up to be included in decision making, seeking more flexibility and inclusive leadership styles as a result.
However, oft-complained about shadow sides can prove more of a challenge - a rigidity in boomers, bullish independence in gen X, entitlement in millennials and lack of resilience or respect for hierarchy in gen Z.
But how to make a multi-generational workplace . . . work? This is one of the biggest organisational challenges facing business today. Bringing diverse teams together takes effort - and never more so than when wildly divergent perspectives on the why, how and what of work are in play – and no one can agree on whether they’re a good thing or not.
Building a culture
Active understanding is the first step to communication – in PR it’s baked into the job description – and it’s clear that empathetic awareness and context are needed to unlock intergenerational potential.
Fostering respect can have huge impact, particularly when acknowledging the unique strengths of each generation - then leveraging them. As such, senior leadership need to be aware of creating an authentically inclusive culture around a vision, values and shared goals that all generations can resonate with - a form of inclusion that is more about clarity than being all things to all people.
Part of this means affording equal weight to the value of each generation and their contribution. Intergenerational and reverse mentorship can be a great way to start to build bridges, helping generation X adapt to and take advantage of new ways of working and cutting through the traditional hierarchy power structure that can leave younger generations feeling alienated and unvalued.
“If you're a gen Z, or later millennial you expect to have an equal voice and for someone to actually do something with that information,” says Jane Sunley, co-founder of consulting firm Hendrick & Hyde, specialising in business culture and leadership. However, if your culture of inclusion isn’t authentic, you can expect problems– with good reason – she notes. “There are a lot of people paying lip service to that, saying let's ask them, but we'll overrule it anyway.”
Flowing the opposite way, boomers and gen X can provide real-world context for younger generations that no amount of study can make up for. Gen Z entered the workplace largely around Covid and has not, as a result, had the experience of routine office life with its natural exposure to mentorship or client interaction - while social skills and relationship building, so intrinsic to PR and marketing, are honed through years of real-world interactions as yet untravelled by gen Z.
Reframing the ‘problem’
For former VP of marketing at Pandora, and business coach Jo Glynn-Smith curiosity is the lens for leveraging intergenerational talent: “Leaders need to open conversations and rather than just complain that gen Z aren’t resilient, for example, to look at what they want. They want explanation. They want to know why they're doing something, because they've been brought up with the why and understand they've had choice. Leaders need to understand that that's how they see things and it’s not just because they're being difficult.”
In understanding context, leaders can then adapt and make different management decisions that engender less friction. “Rather than just giving an instruction, you're going to have to say, “this is how I want you to deliver it, and this is why I need you to deliver it this way”, so they understand what they're doing and why they're doing it.”
But she says, curiosity must work both ways. “Younger generations are not that curious - they are the information generation. But rather than turning to Google or ChatGPT for all the answers, they need to sit down and ask questions of a senior person. How did you do that before? Why? What were the results?”
Another accusation levelled at millennials and gen Z is their lack of company loyalty. But again, reframing this can help – and even provide motivation to improve company culture. As Sunley notes, “with an emphasis on fairness, as soon as there's a whisper of bad treatment, they’ll be off. But if they find the right environment, with the right challenges and values, and people listen to them, gen Z will stay.”
For every perceived ‘flaw’, there is always another perspective. Gen X were the first to push back on work-life balance, for example. Gen Z refusal to stay somewhere that doesn't align with their values might feel flaky to some – but it too represents progress. It’s worth remembering that ultimately, each generation challenges the status quo – and in time that ‘inconvenience’ usually benefits everyone.
How do I love thee?
Recognising the work ‘love language’ for each generation and building it into business culture is also key – how they view praise, success and fulfilment at work is vital to motivating and engaging them.
A boomer might value status while a gen X worker may prize autonomy over promotion; at the same time the benefits of flexibility, or active corporate social responsibility can hit home with more power for millennials or gen Z looking for work satisfaction.
Younger generations most notable gen Z now around mid-twenties median, are also at the sharp end of the tussle between post-Covid WFH and back-to-the-office mandates. Adaptable inclusive leadership now includes factoring in flexible work arrangements to cater to different generational preferences. But while gen X and millennials might be hanging tenaciously onto WFH as a boon, for gen Z, at a different life stage, it may not be preferable or practical.
Walking the intergenerational tightrope means ensuring that gen X can work flexibly if required, but doesn’t just retreat behind Zoom, staying present and proactive in providing learning opportunities for younger colleagues, through workshopping and team building.
Big picture thinking
One thing everyone can agree on is that it’s a fast-changing world with increasingly urgent demands and complex audiences reflecting a myriad opinions and needs. Mixing generations up in project teams encourages dynamic problem-solving and is essential for the diverse viewpoints that lead to impactful, inclusive campaigns and messaging. “You can't build a strong PR campaign in an echo chamber,” notes Glynn-Smith.
Exploring the big questions through formal and informal channels can also be another powerful way to bring generations together in solution-oriented ways, sharing their wider ideas on topics such as AI, the environment and work practices.
Technology is one of the biggest modern questions, and fluency around it perhaps the biggest difference – and generational barrier. Gen X may straddle the pre-and post-digital world – but for ‘digital native’ millennial and gen Z, tech is an extension of them, in a way that can make more analogue generations feel alternately scathing – or (secretly) left behind.
Ensuring that all ages feel comfortable with technology is crucial as is providing opportunities to learn and channels for all preferred communication styles. But again, it can also be a skill share opportunity, with younger employees acting as ‘tech mentors’ for older colleagues.
Ultimately, generational diversity is a powerful asset when it’s embraced. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each group, companies can build stronger and more innovative teams. Individuals, in turn, who recognise their generation does not have all the answers, can open themselves up to collaborate together in ways that only enhance their development – driving an ever-evolving understanding of what 360-excellence in the workplace really looks like.
Anna Melville James is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written for the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, the Independent, the Mail on Sunday, National Geographic Traveller, the Guardian, Country Living and everywoman.