22 young workers’ representatives from nine different European countries gathered at the Nell-Breuning-Haus in Herzogenrath (Germany) from 3-7 April 2024 to attend the EZA young workers platform conference organised in collaboration with Nell-Breuning-Haus and funded by the European Union. The title of the event was “Together instead of side by side: How to create a bridge between older and younger workers”.
The conference opened with introductions among attendees and the different perspectives on the intergenerational world of work. The great need for discussions on the topic soon became apparent. The discussions explored, for example, the different opinions on working from home and in the office, and the flexibility and resilience of the generations when faced with digitalisation and social media. In addition to the expectations in terms of the content of the conference, the focus was also on networking and exchanges. The starting point was to identify the intergenerational prejudices, to which the workers’ representatives responded with creative methods and ideas they could use to cooperate and learn from each other.
A digitisation officer joined the conference on the second day to teach the participants how to use camera and film under the motto “Learning from each other, with each other and about each other”. The workers’ representatives were split into groups of five for an online discussion on technical and content-related questions. Here, they focused on the topic of the seminar, and the interviews were designed to view the issue from different generation-specific perspectives.
The next day, the participants continued their work from the previous day and conducted interviews with people from different generations and backgrounds on the seminar topic “building a bridge between younger and older workers”. The attendees then compiled their work and results and discussed them.
Following the insights gained and discussions on the intergenerational world of work, in the afternoon the participants then formulated positive actions. They then focused on their own organisations. What measures could be implemented to improve communication between different generations in the workplace? What strategies could be used to promote a transfer of knowledge between different age groups? What opportunities could be identified to create an inclusive work environment that exploited the strengths of all the generations?
The solutions developed were diverse and creative. A central point was the informal exchange among colleagues, for example through sporting events or cooking and eating together. Internal training measures were also proposed in which younger or “tech-savvy” employees would teach their older colleagues how to use new technologies. The same should then happen in reverse to facilitate an effective knowledge transfer within organisations. The participants also highlighted that a more diverse composition of boards and management positions in general is an important measure to incorporate a wider spectrum of genders and age groups. During the seminar, all participants became aware that every age group has prejudices against other generations, whether younger or older, and this must be acknowledged to enable them to engage in a common dialogue.
As the attendees expressed their final thoughts of the seminar, it was obvious that the time they had spent in Herzogenrath had made them more optimistic in their view of the future and had enabled them to make numerous contacts for their future work.
Looking back at the programme, we’re sure that the exchange of experiences, suggestions, insights and ideas will have a positive impact on the (youth) work of this year’s participants. We’re already looking forward to next year's conference.