Norwegians less concerned with bosses age than many other nationalities

Finance jobs, AdeccoFinance jobs.Photo: pixabay.com

Should your boss be older or younger than yourself? In a new, international poll,eight out of ten Norwegians answered that age doesn’t matter.Half,however, prefer a boss to be older than themselves.

 

The manager is traditionally older than his (or her) employees. In the global labour market analysis, Randstad Workmonitor, directed by the Randstad staffing and recruitment team, 69% of more than 25,000 interviewed employees said they preferred their boss to be as old, or older,than themselves.

53% of the Norwegian employees who participated in the survey wished to report to an equally old or older boss. Of workers in 34 countries in the private sector who participated in the survey, it was only in Poland that the employees are less concerned that the boss should be older than themselves.

‘’Norwegians are more open to age not being an obstacle when you are a boss, i.e. whether you are younger or older than your employees. I think this may, among other things, depend on the fact that the Norwegian leadership style is more open and inclusive than in many other countries. The most important thing for us is, after all, that the boss is inspiring and open,’’ said CEO Eivind Bøe of Randstad Norway.

In the same survey, one in five Norwegians answered that they prefer a boss younger than themselves. 83% of Norwegian respondents said at the same time that the senior age is not significant as long as he or she is an inspiring leader. Just as many said that their immediate boss is good at working with different generations.

‘’The proportion of jobs is steadily growing, and the age tension will be much bigger in the future, as the workforce lives and works much longer than the one earlier. The digital shift requires new knowledge, and opens up for younger leaders rising to the top.That is something older workers have to deal with.

Older employees must, in line with the young people, accept that they do not know everything.The key is the focus on communication and open dialogue, as well as a fundamental respect for the fact that age and skill not automatically connected. Leadership is also about open establishment and negotiation of expectations,’’ said Eivind Bøe.

In the same survey, nine out of ten of the Norwegians responded that they prefer to work in teams consisting of different age groups.

‘’In the workplace, there is often a lot of focus on the composition of teams consisting of different personalities, knowledge and gender. Focus on different age groups may not have attracted much attention, but I think it is positive that the survey also focuses on age composition, and that so many are positive to a wide range of generations in the teams,’’ said Eivind Bøe.

 

Source: Randstad  Norge / Norway Today