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Key Takeaways
Most UK workplaces are already multigenerational, and 88% of organisations see that as a genuine benefit, yet fewer than a quarter of managers feel very confident actually leading one.
The friction usually isn't age itself, it's untrained managers defaulting to a single communication style that doesn't fit everyone on the team.
Specific, learnable skills close this gap: agreeing channel norms, offering feedback in more than one format, and asking rather than assuming how someone prefers to work.
Structured manager training, not a generic policy, is what actually moves the confidence needle.
Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, so this is a legal consideration as well as a management one.
Getting this right sits within a wider inclusive culture, not as a standalone initiative.
Why so many managers feel unprepared for a multigenerational team
Most SME teams now span three or four generations, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z, roughly the ranges used by the Resolution Foundation's 2023 intergenerational audit of the UK. A 2026 survey of more than 130 UK HR professionals and senior leaders, reported by further education and skills publication FE News, found 88% see this mix as a genuine benefit. Only 23% rate their managers as very confident leading it, 50% only somewhat confident, and 34% of mid-sized organisations couldn't say how their managers were coping at all.
That's a wide gap between how common this is and how prepared managers feel for it. The same research points to why: the two most commonly cited barriers were differences in communication style and differences in work preferences, not age itself, or any deeper conflict between generations.
For the fuller evidence on why fixed generational personalities don't really hold up, our guide to succeeding at cross-generational working goes into the research behind that in more depth.
What that means practically is that this is a skills gap, not a personality clash, and skills gaps can be closed with the right training and a few consistent habits to build manager confidence across your team.
Speak to our CIPD-qualified HR expertsWhat good managers do differently day to day
A few practical adjustments work well across a mixed-age team. Agree channel norms as a team, for example whether instant messages are for quick logistics and email is for anything needing a considered response.
Offer feedback in more than one format, a quick verbal comment for those who want it, followed by something written for those who prefer time to reflect. Vary how meetings run too, mixing open discussion with a written agenda circulated in advance.
If you're genuinely not sure how someone prefers to be reached, the simplest approach is to ask directly and mirror it back, returning a phone call with a phone call rather than an email, rather than guessing based on their age.
The same individual approach applies to benefits and flexible working. CIPD research found 18 to 24 year-olds are roughly twice as likely as the UK average to have left a job over inflexible working, but the underlying need, childcare, eldercare, or easing towards retirement, varies by life stage rather than generation. See our guide to flexible working in the UK for the fuller legal picture on requests and rights.
Training managers to lead across generations
The confidence gap closes fastest with training aimed at the actual skills involved, not a generic diversity module. That means practice in active listening and open questioning, spotting your own assumptions about what a colleague can or can't do based on their age, and adapting how you deliver feedback and recognition to the person in front of you rather than a default style.
Understanding behavioural and working-style differences properly, rather than guessing from age, is exactly what tools like Insights Discovery are built for, giving managers a genuine read on how someone prefers to communicate and work, instead of falling back on a generational stereotype. Building this into a structured programme, rather than leaving individual managers to work it out alone, is where learning and development support earns its keep.
Not sure where your managers' gaps actually are?
A short conversation is usually enough to identify the two or three changes that would make the biggest difference. Get in touch for a no-obligation chat about what training would suit your team.
Building genuinely inclusive, cross-generational teams
The businesses that get the most from a multigenerational team do a few things consistently. They run mentoring in both directions, with experienced staff sharing institutional knowledge and newer joiners sharing fresh perspectives in return.
They build project teams that deliberately mix ages rather than letting people cluster with peers who think the same way, and they treat this as one part of a wider inclusive culture, not a standalone initiative, which is exactly the territory our complete guide to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) for SMEs covers in full.
Worth remembering too that age is one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, so decisions based on generational assumptions carry legal risk alongside the management one. For the deeper legal and tribunal picture, our cross-generational working guide covers that in detail.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my managers actually need training on this? If communication breakdowns, complaints about being overlooked for development, or assumptions creeping into recruitment and promotion decisions sound familiar, that's usually a sign. UK-wide, only 23% of managers rate themselves as very confident here, so needing support is the norm, not an exception.
What should manager training on generational differences actually include? Active listening, recognising your own assumptions, adapting feedback style to the individual, and genuinely understanding working-style differences rather than guessing from age. Generic diversity training rarely covers any of this in enough practical depth.
Is asking how someone prefers to communicate just stereotyping by another name? No, the opposite. Stereotyping assumes a preference based on age. Asking the individual and adjusting accordingly is exactly the fix for that assumption.
Do younger or older employees care more about flexible working? Both do, but often for different reasons tied to life stage. UK data shows younger employees are currently more likely to leave a job over inflexibility, but flexibility ranks as a priority across every age group.
Is it legal to make decisions based on generational stereotypes? No. Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. For how this has actually played out at tribunal, see our guide to cross-generational working.
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