By Simona Scarpaleggia & Isabelle Steiger
Many organisations aren’t optimally utilising the potential of their age-diverse teams – this hypothesis, born from years of observing the Swiss business landscape, formed the starting point for the EDGE-EY-EqualVoice Study 2024. The survey of over 400 Swiss business professionals not only confirms this assumption but also shows how sustainable business success depends on how companies manage intergenerational collaboration.
Daily practice reveals a surprising discrepancy. While there’s a fundamental willingness to collaborate, implementation often fails. The reasons lie in the profound transformation of the working world. When we began our careers, a clear set of rules shaped the workday – complete dedication to the job, personal needs taking a back seat, learning from experienced supervisors. Meanwhile, reality has fundamentally changed.
Younger professionals are now shaping the workplace with new standards. They consciously set boundaries between work and private life, prefer digital learning formats, and strive for more than just career advancement: they seek meaningful work that creates change. Although both paths lead to the goal, in hindsight, we too would have done some things differently. It’s precisely in this diversity of approaches that a special opportunity for success lies – provided we understand and utilise it correctly.
Reshaping Collaboration
Our study provides revealing insights into current teamwork. While three out of four Baby Boomers report positive experiences, one in five Generation Z members negatively assess collaboration with other age groups. This differing perception reflects more than just varying viewpoints.
Innovation and knowledge transfer suffer directly from this situation. While programmes like mentoring and reverse mentoring create better understanding of different perspectives, the crucial next step is to deliberately utilise each generation’s specific strengths. When generations work separately, opportunities are missed: neither the long-standing experience of one group nor the fresh impulses of the other can fully impact genuine innovation.
Potential in Mid-Career
Data analysis revealed another significant insight. While companies invest considerable resources in attracting young talent and retaining senior expertise, they overlook a crucial group. Professionals in mid-career – accounting for 70% of Switzerland’s working population according to the Federal Statistical Office and forming the workforce’s core – aren’t receiving necessary attention. This development endangers both current performance and future leadership development.
The generational distribution is particularly revealing. Only Baby Boomers credit their companies with effectively promoting individual qualities across generations. In contrast, a third of Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X criticise the lack of strategic planning in team composition. With Baby Boomers’ impending retirement, valuable experience risks being lost, while younger generations bring knowledge about new technologies and market developments. Companies that don’t unite these different perspectives risk internal conflicts – and forfeit competitive advantages.
Future Impulses
Successful companies no longer limit themselves to merely understanding generational differences. Our study crystallises three concrete action areas that make the difference:
- Redesigning Teams
Superficial diversity programmes no longer suffice. The most successful companies go further: they deliberately combine age-mixed teams, thereby tapping into each generation’s specific strengths. The impact is demonstrable. Systematically merged perspectives and experiences from different age groups significantly improve knowledge transfer. - Developing Mid-Career Professionals
Developing mid-career professionals proves to be a strategic success factor, not just an HR task. Smart companies recognise: these employees serve as essential bridges between generations. Through targeted development, they become mediators who can orchestrate knowledge exchange across corporate levels. - Utilising Generational Mix
The greatest successes are achieved by companies that anchor generational interplay as a central business competence in their strategy – not as an optional cultural project. Particularly in Switzerland’s knowledge-based economy, the added value becomes evident: when employees of different ages exchange insights and constructively challenge existing assumptions, the entire organisation benefits.
The three approaches described point the way forward. Companies successfully integrating different generations create the foundation for sustainable innovation and growth. A systematic exchange between generations strengthens their position in global competition and shapes an organisation capable of evolving.
This path requires time and consistent commitment. However, the price of inaction outweighs the investment in change. In an era where talent determines business success, generational interplay must become lived practice. This demands full attention from leadership.
For Swiss companies, this presents a special opportunity. The potential already lies dormant in their workforce – in the collective power of different generations. They just need to awaken and purposefully utilise it.
Authors
Author of “The Other Half: Promoting Women for a Strong Economy.”
Supports companies in business transformations focusing on leadership and employees – corporate culture, DE&I, leadership and change management.
