ManAGEment: the challenges of global age diversity for corporations and governments

What is it about?

This paper looks at the need for organizational change management in the light of the inevitability of having to cope with a multigenerational workforce. This cannot be addressed effectively without taking account of the impact of ageing on the wider social context and the ways this varies by region and issue. To that intent we first go beyond the global generalizations and look at the structure of how the world population is changing, and what it means for replacement birth rate, the impact of dependency ratios and health care costs, factors that have a serious impact on education and skills availability, health etc for our human capital; we also include a comparative analysis of Europe and the US on three issues: (a) the public policy approaches to retirement (b) the social context; and (c) myths around the older worker – where we conclude that the difference is less than one would expect. Finally, we discuss the implications for organizational approaches to managing a multigenerational workforce. We argue it demands global approaches and a willingness to experiment with creative solutions over time—in both public policy initiatives and in individual organizational action.

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Why is it important?

The structure of how the world population is changing, and what it means for replacement birth rate, the impact of dependency ratios and health care costs are factors that have a serious impact on education and skills availability, health etc for our human capital.