About 86 per cent of employees around the world prefer to work in a multi-generational team as they believe an age-diverse team can help promote innovation, according to the latest Randstad Workmonitor.

More than eight in 10 said that they are already working in a multi-generational team. A multi-generation team is defined to be made up of coworkers with a decade or more difference in age.

Almost seven in 10 employees around the world said that they prefer their direct managers to be their age or older. This sentiment is higher in Asia, with 82 per cent of the respondents saying that they would rather work with a manager who is older than them. This is a reflection of a traditional Asian mindset where people tend to value status and seniority at the workplace over learnability and competence.

In Malaysia, eight in 10 respondents want to work with a manager who is older than them.

Ryan Carroll, Country Manager, Randstad Malaysia said, “A great leader is not necessarily someone who has worked in the industry or a company for a long period of time, but more importantly is an individual who has great decision-making capabilities and confidence in managing a team of different personalities, under extreme pressure. While a mature worker may be someone who is wise and makes calculated decisions, a younger manager could introduce newer and more innovative ways to achieve project milestones. Companies that want to stay at the forefront are encouraged to invest in identifying and developing tomorrow’s leaders who are competent and eager to learn - regardless of age.”

The notion of respect in the Asian culture can be witnessed in the workplace as managers tend to treat colleagues differently based on their age. Seven in 10 respondents across Asia said that their direct managers treat their colleagues from various generations differently. This sentiment is the highest in Hong Kong SAR (80 per cent) and mainland China recorded the lowest (67 per cent).

An age-diverse workforce can be challenging as leaders may feel overpowered by an experienced and mature coworker as compared to a younger executive who may request for more autonomy at work.

Less than four in 10 employees around the world are concerned about their future accomplishments than their immediate tasks. Employees and job seekers in Asia are also more likely to prioritise their daily tasks as compared to achieving future goals (71 per cent).

"Employees in Asian society prefer to know what the end results are as well as what they can achieve from completing a task, and planning for a long-term goal means having to deal with changes along the way. However, a long-term goal can provide people with a vision of how their careers can look like in the future and give employees a direction to work towards to." Carroll added.

Randstad’s Workmonitor is a quarterly research on global employment trends. The 2018 quarter two research was conducted between April and May 2018. A minimum sample size of 400 interviews is required in each country.

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