Today’s workplace brings together people whose work experiences could not be more different.
Baby Boomers built their careers in one kind of workplace. Gen X entered another. Millennials came of age professionally during the 2008 financial crisis, and many members of Gen Z began their careers during or shortly after a global pandemic.
Those experiences matter.
They influence how we communicate, how we respond to leadership, what we expect from an employer, how we use technology, and even what we believe being a “good employee” looks like.
I recently spoke with Pete Mercer of Repertoire Magazine about these differences and how leaders can build stronger multigenerational teams. [Read the original Repertoire Magazine article]
One of the most important things I shared in that conversation is something I’ve seen repeatedly throughout my work with organizations: Generational differences don’t have to create division. When we understand where those differences come from, they can become an advantage.
Understanding Our Generational Signposts
I use the term generational signposts to describe the events, economic conditions, cultural shifts, and shared experiences that help shape a generation’s worldview.
Think about the difference between beginning your career during a period of economic stability and beginning it during the 2008 financial crisis. Or imagine entering the workforce when showing up at an office every morning was simply how work was done compared with starting your first professional job from your bedroom during COVID-19.
Those experiences leave a mark. They can influence our expectations about job security, communication, technology, leadership, loyalty, flexibility, and work-life boundaries.
The challenge begins when we assume our experience is the correct experience.
We see someone approaching work differently and think: “That’s not how you’re supposed to do it.“
But often, what we’re really saying is: “That’s not how I learned to do it.“
That distinction can completely change the way we lead.
Stop Comparing Younger Employees to Your Younger Self
One of the easiest generational traps to fall into is comparing someone from a younger generation to who you were at their age. It sounds reasonable, but the comparison doesn’t really work.
You may have been the same age, but you weren’t entering the same workforce.
Millennials entered their careers around the time of the 2008 financial crisis. Gen Z encountered COVID-19, remote work, rapid technological change, and tremendous economic uncertainty during some of their earliest professional experiences.
Their expectations around work developed in a very different environment. That doesn’t mean every Millennial or Gen Zer behaves the same way. Generations aren’t personality types, and they shouldn’t be treated as stereotypes. They do, however, give us useful context for understanding why someone might approach work differently than we do.
Every Generation Brings Something Valuable to the Table
The goal isn’t to decide which generation has the better approach… It’s to recognize what each perspective can contribute.
Younger employees often arrive with fewer assumptions about how something has to be done. They’re comfortable questioning an existing process and asking: “Why are we doing it this way?“
That can be enormously valuable.
Having grown up surrounded by rapidly changing technology, many younger employees are comfortable experimenting with new tools, automating processes, and looking for more efficient ways to accomplish something. Sometimes they see a solution that someone who has been doing the job for twenty years simply doesn’t see anymore.
But experience has tremendous value, too. An experienced employee may hear that new idea and immediately recognize consequences that aren’t obvious at first.
Maybe the proposed change increases costs. Maybe it creates a safety concern. Maybe a process exists because the organization learned a painful lesson ten years ago.
This is where multigenerational teams can become incredibly powerful.
One person asks: “Why can’t we change this?”
Another says: “Here’s what we’ve learned from doing this for twenty years.”
Put those perspectives together, and you can often create something better than either person would have developed alone.
Make the Unwritten Rules Written
Many workplace conflicts aren’t actually about generations… They’re about expectations that were never communicated.
Every organization has unwritten rules:
- How quickly should someone respond to an email?
- What does “urgent” actually mean?
- Should you call, text, email, or send a message through another platform?
- When should someone handle something independently, and when should they ask for help?
- What does good communication look like here?
Long-time employees may understand these expectations instinctively because they’ve spent years inside the organization, but a newer employee doesn’t have that context.
And when expectations aren’t communicated, we tend to fill in the blanks with assumptions. Instead of assuming employees should “just know,” leaders can make expectations explicit.
- Talk about communication preferences.
- Define what urgency means.
- Explain why certain processes exist.
- Discuss how and when feedback is given.
The clearer you make the environment, the less room there is for unnecessary generational friction.
Don’t Assume Younger Employees Only Want Technology
There’s another assumption I hear frequently: younger generations would rather communicate through technology than talk to another human being.
It’s not that simple.
Many younger employees, particularly those whose first professional experiences happened during COVID-19, missed opportunities previous generations took for granted.
They didn’t always have the spontaneous conversations in hallways. They didn’t sit beside experienced colleagues and overhear how they handled a difficult customer. They didn’t necessarily have lunches, meetings, conferences, and informal conversations where professional relationships naturally developed.
Technology may feel comfortable to them, but that doesn’t mean human connection isn’t important.
In fact, many younger employees deeply value face-to-face interaction and mentorship. They simply may have had fewer opportunities to develop those skills in a professional environment.
That’s something leaders can help create.
Feedback Means Different Things to Different Generations
Early in my own corporate career, hearing from my manager usually meant one thing to me: I had done something wrong. So frequent feedback didn’t necessarily feel reassuring.
Today, working with younger generations has taught me that silence can communicate something entirely different to them.
Some younger employees expect more frequent feedback. When they don’t receive it, they may wonder whether something is wrong, whether their work is valued, or whether they’re succeeding.
Neither expectation is inherently right or wrong. They’re simply different.
A good leader recognizes that motivating and communicating with people isn’t a one-size-fits-all exercise. Sometimes leadership means adjusting the way we communicate so another person has what they need to succeed.
Trade Policies for Standards
One of the most powerful shifts organizations can make is moving the conversation away from rules and toward standards.
Older generations were often taught: “This is the policy. Follow it.” But younger generations are much more likely to ask: “Why?” That question can frustrate leaders, but it can also be useful. Instead of immediately defending the rule, ask what the rule is ultimately designed to accomplish.
What is the standard we’re trying to uphold? Maybe it’s exceptional customer service. Maybe it’s patient safety. Maybe it’s accuracy. Maybe it’s responsiveness. Maybe it’s producing excellent work on time.
When everyone understands the standard, there may be multiple ways to achieve it. That’s where innovation becomes possible without sacrificing quality.
The Goal Isn’t to Make Everyone Work the Same Way
Leading a multigenerational workforce isn’t about getting Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z to think alike. They won’t. And that’s not necessarily something we should want.
The opportunity is to create an environment where different experiences strengthen the organization rather than divide it.
That starts with curiosity. Instead of: “Why don’t they do this the way I do?” Try: What is influencing the way they’re approaching this?“
Instead of assuming someone isn’t committed because they establish different boundaries around work, understand what shaped those expectations. Instead of dismissing a long-standing process as outdated, ask why it exists. And instead of expecting people to somehow understand the unwritten rules of your organization, talk about them. Because ultimately, most people come to work wanting to succeed.
The leader’s job isn’t to make everyone approach that success in the same way… It’s to create an environment where people from different generations can communicate, contribute their strengths, learn from one another, and do excellent work together.
Continue the Conversation
I recently discussed these ideas with Pete Mercer for Repertoire Magazine, including how generational signposts influence the workplace, the strengths different generations bring to their teams, and what leaders can do to reduce unnecessary generational friction.
Read Pete Mercer’s original article, “Navigating Generational Differences in the Workplace,” in Repertoire Magazine
