In many workplaces, the age differential between employees may range from a few years, to several decades.
Experts believe it's vital for employers to create generation neutral workplaces, and to highlight similarities, not differences, between different age groups.
Ricky Nowak conducts training in what she calls the inter-generational workplace where there is sometimes a gap of fifty years between the youngest and oldest employees.
The executive coach and leadership expert previously ran courses on how to manage workers from the Generation Y bracket (born in the 1980s and 90s) in the workplace.
She said while recognising generational differences was important, it should not be at the expense of appreciating the similarities among workers of vastly different ages.
"We need to come to terms with the fact that everything in business has changed and in order for us to manage and be change ready and change prepared to meet the future we need to get the conversation onto the table across an organisation and make sure that we become generation neutral,” she told SBS News.
"Understand that people are going to have different experiences and they want to continue having experiences, not just explanations about why we should be doing things differently, but to actually do them differently."
She said some workplaces were holding themselves back due to outdated assumptions.
"It's the assumptions that are creating a lot of problems in business today so we've got to get really clear, what do we want to do, how do we want to do it and why is it important and how will it influence the organisation from a commercial sense if we get it right," she said.
"And how will it influence the organisation, commercially, if we get it wrong?"
The Jewish Museum of Australia in Melbourne prides itself on being an inter-generational workplace that is getting the best out of all its staff and volunteers.
People can start volunteering from age 16, while the oldest volunteer is 83.
Chief Executive Rebecca Forgasz told SBS she intentionally set out to recruit more younger staff.
"For me, people in their twenties are a really different generation to me and it is different and challenging to kind of work out how to work effectively with them," she said.
"I think it's about seeing what they have to offer and what they bring and it's the same with older people. You know, as much as I wanted to give young people an opportunity, I really value the experience and the wisdom that older people bring into the workplace as well and I've sought that out as well."
Volunteer at the museum, David Better, 25, was part of the new influx.
He says he brings a more informal approach to the workplace.
"I look at things in a different way to them and I think they're learning from me just as much as I'm learning from them in terms of how to interact with the children, how to get them engaged and how to make the tour sessions entertaining, I suppose," he said.
Fellow volunteer Janet Arndt said having young people at the museum like David has had a positive influence on her own approach.
"Seeing things in a different way, yes and I think that's really good because it makes you re-think the way you think and refresh your ideas and ways of dealing with the different situations," Ms Arndt said.
"You're respected by everybody, there's nobody that looks down on you as an older person and you're definitely valued here."
The Grattan Institute believes government policies need to change too with older workers encouraged to stay in the workforce for longer.
Chief Executive John Daley said one measure worth considering is a rise in the pension eligibility age.
"As we've got an increasing number of people who are older, the economic impact of them working for longer makes a big difference," he said.
"We've estimated that if we move the age in which you can get the pension up that won't affect everybody's decision but it will affect the decision of a material number of people and if they work for longer obviously government collects income tax for longer, government pays out less in the way of age pensions and of course, those people will almost certainly also wind up in better economic circumstances themselves because they work for longer."
