Is Age Just a Number? Perspectives on Generational Diversity in Asia

Executive Summary

CEOs see talent shortages as one of the key challenges that companies will face in the coming months. Keeping all employees engaged and motivated by creating a culture that is inclusive of all – regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age etc. – will be mission-critical for companies to tackle this challenge.

While DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) overall is growing in strategic importance for companies across Asia, the issue of generational diversity has received only scant attention.

This report from The Conference Board of Asia builds upon a recent US-focused report from The Conference Board and aims to draw attention to feelings of inequity and exclusion that are experienced by specific generations, due to ageism in Asia. It highlights the benefits of promoting generational diversity and offers recommendations for addressing related challenges.

Insights for What’s Ahead

Multigenerational workforces, which are the norm in many companies across Asia, present an untapped opportunity to harness the unique perspectives and values that each generation brings to the workplace. Creating a conducive culture and environment within which employees of all generations and ages can thrive, will be critical in attracting and retaining talent in the current context of talent shortages, increasing productivity, and improving employer brand. Overcoming age-related stereotypes can open new avenues for talent sourcing.

To seize the opportunity that multigenerational workforces offer, organizations need to devote more resources to the issue. Currently, generational diversity does not receive the level of attention that it deserves, relative to other priorities of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) teams. Only about 50 percent of teams globally, include “age” as a part of their DEI strategy.¹ In Asia, the share is even lower - only 8 percent of companies recently polled by The Conference Board have generational diversity programs in place.² This glaring gap must be filled urgently.

Key barriers to building a more age-inclusive work environment in Asia include lack of awareness of the importance of generational diversity, unconscious biases about older and younger employees, and relatively low level of interest in the subject among both leaders and managers.³ To overcome these barriers, DEI teams in Asia must elevate the importance of generational diversity within their own portfolio of priorities. Critically, they must enable senior leaders to develop an appreciation of the benefits of generational diversity (e.g., for engagement, productivity, and employer brand). Senior leader championship and role-modelling will be critical success factors.

Mandatory retirement ages in many Asian countries bring careers of older employees to a premature end, forcing many willing and able employees, to exit. Aging adults can contribute productively to their workplaces well beyond their formal retirement ages, if companies are willing to disrupt conventional retirement norms. This means proactively changing current practices and legacy mindsets. Bringing retirees back in the capacity of consultants, contractors and/or advisors, for example, can be a smart strategy to expand talent pools, especially during times of acute talent shortages. To drive broader change, companies should advocate with national policymakers to influence increases in retirement ages and other age-inclusive policies to keep pace with the changing macro context in Asia and must actively engage with the local community and like-minded partners to maximize this opportunity.

Varying age demographics across Asian countries means greater complexity in crafting solutions to tackle the challenge of generational diversity effectively. For example, countries such as Japan, Singapore, and China are seeing rapid increases in aging populations, while others such as Indonesia and India are seeing higher growth rates in younger populations. DEI teams should tailor responses to address specific national contexts. Reverse and “mutual” mentoring, focused Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), cross-generational relationship building, curating effective onboarding programs, and developing inclusive leadership are useful in promoting generational diversity.

Ageism - i.e., age-related discrimination is common and has the greatest adverse effects on Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Gen Z’s (born after 2000). Baby Boomers report greater exclusion from career advancement and development opportunities, while Gen Zs especially feel dismissed, unheard, and anxious about job security.⁴ Legacy top-down hierarchical organizational structures that are common across Asian countries are one important reason for this. To counter ageism, DEI teams need to focus on programs and initiatives that not only break down communication and access barriers between generations but will ultimately change narratives and labelling across the organization. Reverse mentoring in particular helps to expose senior leaders to insights from younger generations and is intentionally designed to counterbalance Asian cultural barriers and biases.

¹ “The Economic and Social Disadvantages of Ageism,” episode 133 of the podcast The McKinsey Podcast, hosted by Roberta Fusaro, November 11, 2021.
² Pulse Survey—The Conference Board of Asia, 2022.
³ Laura Sabattini, Curtis Odom, and Steve Hong, The Multigenerational Workforce: Making Age Diversity Part of Your Organization’s People Strategy, The Conference Board, May 2022.
⁴ Laura Sabattini, et al., The Multigenerational Workforce: Making Age Diversity Part of Your Organization’s People Strategy, The Conference Board, May 2022.