3 Things HR Must Do to Build Gentelligence

Megan Gerhardt • February 9, 2025

3 Things HR Must Do to Build Gentelligence®

Is a multigenerational workforce an opportunity or a threat? It might be up to HR.

Research is clear on this: it depends on how that age diversity is managed and the workplace culture that surrounds it. Really. That is the linchpin on all of this, which means it’s entirely up to your organization to do what it takes to turn what most see as frustration into an incredibly valuable human capital asset.

How? Multiple studies have confirmed that there are key HR practices that can help turn the corner on this. In fact, these are vital to creating what we call an “age -inclusive” or “age-friendly” workplace culture, defined as one where all employees (not just older ones) believe their age is not a hindrance to learning, advancement, or support.

To quote the original researchers Boehm, Kunze, & Bruch, an age-inclusive climate is one where “not only should older employees feel free from age-related discrimination but so should younger workers”. When employees feel this way, age diversity results in innovation, performance, engagement, and lower turnover. If they don’t feel this way, the results are the exact opposite.This research is solid, with a sample of 93 different organizations and over 14,000 employees. When these age-inclusive HR practices (age-neutral recruiting, equal access to training, and equal promotion opportunities) were present, it positively influenced the development of an age-diversity climate within organizations, and that age-diversity climate ultimately resulted in better company performance and lower collective turnover intentions among employees.

So what are these 3 magical HR practices? According to research by Boehm and colleagues in the journal Personnel Psychology (one of the top journals in our field!), there’s a trifecta. I’ve added some actionable Gentelligence® ideas to each one to get you started:

Take an age-neutral approach to recruiting and development: First, let’s take a hard look at your job descriptions, folks. Let’s check that job posting language. Are you signaling an age preference, maybe without even realizing it?
Replace “energetic” with “motivated” or “high-performing”
Focus on skills and competencies rather than years of experience
Avoid age-specific phrases like “fresh graduate” or “mature professional”
Ask yourself why you specify a certain number of years of experience for a particular role. Even something seemingly innocent like “5-7 years experience preferred” could effectively discourage candidates on BOTH ends of the age spectrum. In 2025, do you really stand behind that number and range? Why? Are you willing to lose either more experienced talent (who might not apply if they have say 27 years of experience instead of 7) or younger candidates who could come in fresh off of learning critical skills your company is trying to build? Think about it.

How about your recruitment and interview process?

Share your job opportunities with various professional organizations representing different age groups
Ensure recruitment materials show employees over a wide range of age. If you’re open to older candidates interning as a way to start a new career chapter, do they see people similar to themselves in those internship postings on LinkedIn?
I hope this goes without saying, but:
Remove date fields for graduation or earlier employment where possible
Don’t require birth dates or photos (if you are requiring this then I am worried for your HR department)
If using AI to screen and filter resumes, double check you haven’t unconsciously embedded any age-loaded bias into your process
Use blind resume screening techniques
Think carefully about the benefits and drawbacks of taped video interviews or even virtual-only interviewing. As candidates of all ages are prioritizing value alignment and a sense of identification with their employers, those time-saving recruitment measures can signal your organization doesn’t have the time to connect personally with their people.
Recognize the interests and priorities of different age groups and life stages:
Research shows that all of us, regardless of age, value flexibility and autonomy. That said, the type of flexible arrangement that might appeal to your employees may vary based on career stage, life stage, or even amount of experience. For example, my students consistently report that they do NOT want remote-only jobs, as they are focused on building their professional and personal networks, need to learn the ropes, and need opportunities to stand out and impress their managers, all things that are hard to do via Zoom. That said, few of them want a fully in-person job that has no flexibility, hoping instead for something in the middle. People in my career and life stage (I’m 47) also want flexibility, but may define that differently or want it for different reasons, including balancing caring for children and aging parents. Those in latter phases of life and career may want to be helping out with their grandchildren, have more opportunities to travel, or even slowly ramping down their work hours as they explore retirement options.
When it comes to benefits, top companies are already exploring how variable options might better support employees across age and life stages. For example, those in later career stages have shown great interest in grandparent leave, while my fellow Gen-Xers are finding themselves in need of eldercare support right now. Younger workers are expressing a need for new kinds of benefits as well, including home-buying assistance and access to emergency funds.
All generations and ages can benefit from cross-generational learning and mutual mentoring. Older employees often report few opportunities for development, something that can negatively impact their engagement and retention. Younger workers are being shamed for not coming in with “basic” life or professional skills. Rather than the never-successful approach of shaming people for not learning the same things you did by their age, meet them where they are at and offer to programs that can help fill those gaps.
Promote and value the contributions of all ages: It can be easy to fall into the trap of putting more attention on the newest skills (AI anyone?), but keep in mind that there are many different kinds of knowledge needed in the workplace. For example, your youngest employees might be coming in the door with the latest AI skills, but those with more years of experience are well-positioned to complement that know-how with some “know-when”, “know-why”, helping to align the transition to AI with company values. Here’s some actionable ideas to make sure all kinds of experience and knowledge are showcased to their fullest:

Create platforms for employees of all ages to share their expertise. This makes it easy to share your skills or to ask for help, and can also build fantastic and unexpected intergenerational relationships in the workplace.
Feature diverse age representation in success stories and case studies (how about highlighting some of those intergenerational friendships?)
Ensure leadership development programs include all age groups
Proactively encourage intergenerational points of view through intergenerational employee resource groups or roundtables, especially ones that focus on timely challenges for the organization.
Focus on results and contributions rather than years of experience. One of the top frustrations for younger employees are arbitrary timeline for promotion. It’s fine to be firm on the skills and contributions that need to happen prior to advancement, but revisit whether that always occurs on a set, inflexible timeline.

Why do these matter so much? According to the article, these HR practices accomplish two key things: first, they signal to your employees of all ages that they are committed to treating them fairly (this is known as the “signaling effect”). Second, when HR practices consistently demonstrate fairness across age groups, employees develop a shared understanding that age differences are valued and supported in their own company (known as “collective sensemaking”).

I’m passionate about taking academic research insights and turning them into actionable tools for leaders. That’s what Gentelligence® is all about. Let me know what steps you are taking to make these changes in your organization.

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Why Generation A Might Just Be the...Analog Generation

By Megan Gerhardt • February 13, 2026

It has been said that everything old becomes new again on a long enough timeline. There's a fascinating generational trend I've been seeing among younger Gen Zs and the oldest of Gen A (Note: I am not calling that generation Gen Alpha, because that name is nonsensical and outdated already, and that generation is barely in their teens. More on that soon)--a craving for low-tech, no-tech, screen-free experiences. Gentelligence focuses primarily on generational dynamics in the workplace, and I do predict this will have implications for where and how these generations want to work. Despite the chaos surrounding back-to-office policies and experiments, our youngest members of the workplace (and our soon-to-be newest employees) are showing signs that they value time away from screens. I first noticed this last year among my own students, who were overwhelmingly setting change goals in my change management class focused on reducing screen time. Versions included "cleaning up my sleep routine" (putting the phone away at least 30 minutes before bed, eliminating blue light before bed, reading physical books), "reduce my weekly screentime", "stop doomscrolling", and "impose limits on TikTok and Instagram time". It was a sign that it was no longer just their parents or older generations who wanted them off their phones; they wanted themselves off their phones, too. For a wave of young people raised in an era of tech overload, it seems we have reached the point of maximum saturation, and they are pushing back. As one of my students astutely mentioned to me last year, "There are no boundaries now...our generation is just trying to figure out how to put some of them back." I've doubled down on the need for this in my teaching, having conversations with students about how to ethically use AI as a thought-partner while balancing protected time for our most scarce resource these days: deep thinking and connection. It was this need, coupled with the overwhelming research showing the improved retention and learning that occurs when students handwrite their notes and put away their laptops in class, that led me to declare our classroom a laptop and phone-free zone. We still use slides to guide conversations, but there are no longer 30 laptop screens popped up in front of them, distracting even those who are trying hard to focus. Surprisingly, I've had very little pushback. I was concerned they would feel like I was forcing them backwards, but collectively we seem to be exhaling. The discussions have never been better. As our younger Gen Zs reach young adulthood and our oldest Gen As become teenagers, they are emerging from a kind of social experiment they entered unwittingly — a life that has never known a world without constant screens. They are realizing how different they feel when they unplug. Gen Z and Gen A even have a term for this: touching grass. That's right, when the default is constant tech immersion, they had to come up with a phrase to represent the intentional effort it takes to step away. Whenever possible, I try to engage in some real-time generational anthropology, just to explore my hunches and (when possible) debunk stereotypes. Gentelligence is all about being curious rather than judgmental, and I am most definitely curious about these early signs that our younger generations are seeking a better balance between their tech and non-tech worlds. Last month, I was in Chicago for a keynote and found myself in a trendy food hall over lunch. There were little shops surrounding the food hall, including one of my all-time weaknesses, a stationery store . Pens! Journals! Paper! Notebooks! (I, too, love the analog. After indulging myself in a number of vital paper goods, I was tucking into a sandwich in the food hall and saw a (literally) noteworthy sight: a table of early 20-somethings, gathering on their lunch hour and...writing in their journals. Multi-colored pens, stamps, and conversation were plentiful. There was not a phone in sight. That in and of itself was remarkable. It turns out that stationary stores are experiencing a resurgence . Knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and sourdough baking are also all having a moment. Physical books ( and bookstores! ) are making a comeback. A few weeks later, I was at another event, this time a very trendy commercial interior design conference, where we were discussing ways to design spaces that promote intergenerational interactions (yes, it was as cool as you might be thinking). I saw a young designer at the cocktail hour and walked over to introduce myself. I asked if I could pick her brain on something, as I figured it was part of her JOB to be up on the latest trends. I asked her whether she was feeling a personal pull to use less tech, or if this was something she had seen among her peers. That's when she told me about Analog Bags . (I won't go down that rabbit hole here, but feel free to explore the link and know that I am absolutely creating my own Analog Bag as we speak). At that same design conference, a book was recommended to me: Megatrends by John Naisbett. The gentleman who suggested it said it changed his life. He thought I would find it interesting, given my interest in generational trends, behavioral cycles, and, of course, my classes in change management. I ordered it as soon as I got back to my hotel room (fun fact: it was published in 1982, so you'll have to find a vintage copy!). I've been devouring it, and among the many eye-opening insights was the observation that " the more 'High Tech' we become, the more we need 'High Touch.” Now, Naisbett was referring to the high-tech era of the early 1980s, when personal computers were entering the scene, but the relevance of the comment almost 45 years later, in the age of AI, was not lost on me. Those who have lived their entire lives as products of high-tech are now blazing the trail to meet their need for high touch. Let this be my formal declaration (for whatever it's worth) that I predict our youngest generations will lead us back to a balance between tech and high-touch: they are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, and their message is clear. They are living, breathing embodiments of a life flooded with endless tech, fake news, constant connectivity, dopamine hits, and input dictated by algorithms, and it appears they may have had enough.