Amid reports of declining employee engagement in both the United States and Canada, employers may want to consider adapting their benefits and workplace strategies to help stop the decline.

Finding ways to meet the expectations of employees from multiple generations is one strategy that may boost engagement.

Engagement Trends

Gallup defines employee engagement as “the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace.”  According to a recent Gallup survey, employee engagement in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in a decade, with only 31% of employees engaged. An ADP survey also found a drop in engagement among Canadian employees—Only 18% reported being fully engaged, a 3% drop from 2023.

Declining employee engagement in the U.S. and Canada can be attributed to a variety of factors, including organizational changes, flexible work transitions, employee expectations and management practices. According to Gallup, highly engaged workplaces start at the top, with leaders creating conditions geared toward building engagement.

The Multigenerational Workforce

To reverse declines in engagement, organizations need to adapt their workplace strategies to meet the expectations of all employees in the workplace. From Baby Boomers to Generation Alpha, today’s multigenerational workforce brings different views, experiences and goals to work and creates opportunities for greater learning, innovation and collaboration. But this creates challenges in designing employee benefits packages to meet the needs of all employees.

The five different generations in today’s workplace may also have different values:

• Baby Boomers (1946-1964). Company loyalty, stability and recognition; in-person communication.
• Generation X (1965-1980). Autonomy, flexibility, work-life balance, professional development opportunities.
• Millennials (1981-1996). Purpose, flexible working arrangements, work-life balance, collaboration, professional development opportunities.
• Generation Z (1997-2012). Creativity, innovation, social impact, mental health support, diversity.
• Generation Alpha (2012-). Creativity, innovation, social impact, mental health support, diversity, work-life balance, flexibility.

Employers can address the needs and values of all employees and increase engagement by following the strategies below.

Conducting Employee Surveys

Employers can take the guesswork out of what different generations of employees want and need by surveying employees. Engagement surveys should be conducted informally and at least annually (but preferably more often) to address evolving employee needs. The survey is just the first step and highlights the topics the employer can focus on to enhance engagement. To gain positive momentum, employers should act on the feedback and continually share results. Engagement will likely decrease if employers fail to follow up on surveys.

Also, keep in mind, different generations may prefer to receive the survey in different formats.

• Older employees may prefer to receive a paper survey, while younger employees may prefer a digital format.

Offering Flexible, Personalized Benefits

Offering personalization and flexibility in benefit offerings whenever possible gives employees options and allows the different generations to tailor their benefits to meet their specific needs.

• Younger employees may prefer benefits such as student loan repayment and those that help them maintain a work-life balance, while older employees may prefer more robust health and retirement plan benefits.

Communicating Benefits Effectively

Each generation has different preferred communication styles, so employers must prepare communications to reach all groups, using multiple channels and methods of communication to ensure that all groups stay informed.

• Baby Boomers may prefer in-person communication, while Gens Z and Alpha may prefer communication through online tools or text messages.

The tone, frequency and content of communications should also be considered, depending on what each generation prefers.

• Older generations may respond better to formal, direct communication, while younger generations may prefer informal, personal communication.

Tailoring communications about benefits will ensure employees of all generations understand what benefits are available to them and how they can be utilized.

Providing Training and Development

Learning and development opportunities can include training, mentoring, coaching or career pathing. By offering different opportunities and catering to different learning styles, employees from multiple generations can be more motivated to succeed in the workplace, while enhancing their skills, knowledge and performance.

• Tools for older employees could include training on new digital tools and other development opportunities to help them remain competitive in the job market. Younger employees may appreciate learning about leadership communication styles and exploring new ways they can achieve their full potential.

Offering Flexible Work Arrangements

Flexibility in where and when employees work can significantly enhance job satisfaction and accessibility across generations.

• Older generations may have a mix of those who prefer to work on-site most of their week, those who enjoy the flexibility of hybrid options with remote work and others who may appreciate a reduced work schedule as they age. Younger generations may also have a mix of those who prefer remote work or nontraditional work hours to maintain a better work–life balance, and others who prefer working in the office for various reasons, including learning opportunities, creating relationships at work and distracted living situations.

There are a variety of flexible work options employers can allow for all generations:

• Remote work. Working from a location outside of the traditional office building.
• Hybrid schedules. Splitting time between working in a physical office building and working remotely from another location.
• Flexible work hours. Varying start and end times of an employee’s shift.
• Compressed workweeks. Working a full-time workload in fewer days than the typical five-day workweek. For example, working ten hours a day, four days a week.
• Job sharing. Two or more employees share the responsibilities of a single full-time job. For example, two employees may both work part-time, on different days of the week, dividing the work and schedule requirements of a full-time employee.

By providing these options, employers are more likely to attract and retain employees from different generations, while increasing employee satisfaction, well-being and productivity.

Creating Mentoring and Coaching Programs

Creating a mentoring/coaching program allows generations to share their experiences and knowledge with each other.

• The program could allow older employees to teach younger co-workers about working with clients and how to succeed at the organization, while younger employees could teach older colleagues about using modern technology.

The shared knowledge allows employees to collaborate and find common ground when working together, updates both employees’ skill sets and encourages relationship building.

Adjusting Management Styles

Since each generation responds differently to management styles, managers must pay attention to those preferences and adapt to them.

• Older generations may prefer more contact with managers due to their respect for authority. While younger generations may prefer a more hands-off approach to management, they do appreciate frequent, constructive feedback to do their best work.

Recognizing and Rewarding Performance

All employees appreciate some form of recognition and reward for doing a good job. This can include compliments, feedback, incentives, bonuses or promotions.

• Older generations may prefer to be rewarded and recognized publicly for their knowledge and experience, while younger generations may wish to receive personalized recognition from a digital platform for their creative contributions and meaningful work.

Acting on a few of these strategies can go a long way toward building employee engagement across generations to create a happier, more productive workforce.

Developed by International Foundation Information Center staff. This does not constitute legal advice. Please consult your plan professionals for legal advice.