Five Generations at Work

1Introduction & Call to Action

The rise of five generations in the workplace is intersecting with the rise of exponential change. With the global advance of an ageing population, our workforces are operating across Silents, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, with the advent of Gen Alpha on the horizon. What is striking is the simultaneous convergence and divergence – the convergence in the unprecedented moment of age diversity at work, and the divergence in the fractures and fragmentation exacerbated by the context of our times. In an age of flux, or as some have termed a ‘polycrisis’, the forces are being felt from the outfall of a pandemic to socio-political turbulence, from generative AI to the need to regenerate the planet. These multiple forces are rapidly changing the world of work, from the types of roles and shapes of our careers to the way in which we work together. Consequently, the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to succeed are changing at a similar rate.

Yet the prevailing discourse on how different generations work together has defaulted into divisive generational silos and stereotypes. In the context of so much flux, and when it has never been more imperative to work together, we not only have a necessity to change this, but more importantly to transform it into a hopeful opportunity. For the first time in history companies have five generations in the workplace. And each generation has its own defining characteristics, values and attitudes shaped ...