AARP Launches Employer Alliance to Help Organizations Unlock the Value of Multigenerational Teams

WASHINGTON ─ With Americans living and working longer, the workforce now spans as many as five generations. To help employers better leverage this shift, AARP has launched the AARP Employer Alliance, an employer engagement program that provides resources and tools to help businesses attract and retain older workers and drive innovation in an era of rapid technological growth and change.

Employers are more aware now than they were 10 years ago that the workforce is aging, and new AARP research finds that two-thirds of employers believe a multigenerational workforce is very important. Many are taking concrete steps to build age-friendly workplaces, such as reviewing hiring practices, offering age bias awareness training, and providing flexible work options. However, research shows that most businesses are still at the beginning of these efforts. There is more that employers can do to build workplaces where employees of all ages thrive and work collaboratively to drive engagement, productivity, and innovation.

“AARP created the Employer Alliance to help companies unlock the proven benefits of mixed-age teams — from increased productivity and creativity to informal mentoring and stronger communication,” said Heather Tinsley-Fix, Senior Advisor, Employer Engagement at AARP. “By joining the AARP Employer Alliance, organizations are sending a clear signal to employees and candidates that they value workers of all ages.”

The AARP Employer Alliance is a community of organizations committed to maximizing the strengths of every generation in the workforce. Companies like the American Heart Association, O9 Solutions, o2kl Advertising and Sanofi participate to share promising practices, expand their networks, and learn from experts on how to create cultures where all generations can thrive. Research shows that 90% of workers enjoy working with people of different ages.

The Alliance offers two ways to participate: Tier 1 supports organizations that are ready to evaluate their current practices, and Tier 2 is for organizations that are ready to implement, or have already implemented, policies that create age-friendly, multigenerational workforces.

A recent report from AARP and LinkedIn highlights the many benefits of workplace collaboration between workers of different generations, including two-way mentorship: younger workers share tech and AI skills more often and older workers share expertise, institutional knowledge, and soft skills. However, 40% of younger workers say their older colleagues help them stay current with tech trends.