Bridging the Generational Gap without Losing Our Minds

Working in DEI, I often hear a familiar refrain: “Gen Z is so frustrating to work with.” It comes from clients, friends, family, and even the occasional stranger who chooses to vent over small talk.

No one knows what Gen Z wants, they say, least of all Gen Z themselves. For boomers, it’s the classic “kids these days” narrative. Older millennials, on the other hand, find themselves thrown by what I call the “Gen Z blank stare”, that uncanny mix of poker face and existential dread whenever accountability is mentioned. The younger millennials (like me) are caught in the middle - balancing seniors who swear by their wisdom, with juniors who visibly recoil at the thought of rigid control. We crave structure, but we also value freedom, which honestly just makes us part-time diplomats.

The truth is, this tension isn’t new. Every generation has believed that the next one was ruining everything. Millenials panic about Gen Z, Gen X once rolled their eyes at millennials, and decades earlier, some grandparent was certain that rock music and bell-bottoms were the beginning of society’s downfall. When we talk about generational inclusion, we’re really talking about an age-old cycle.

So what skill do we actually need to navigate this? Collaboration across differences. It’s like cooking. You don’t get frustrated at tofu for not being paneer. Instead, you learn how to incorporate both in your meals. Clinging too tightly to tradition is just as limiting as treating every new idea as revolutionary. The key lies in balance.

Here’s where it becomes complex: younger generations are conditioned to navigate older ones, it’s part of how families, schools, and workplaces are structured. But the reverse is less common. Leaders, particularly from older generations, need to recognize how much priorities have shifted. Career paths are no longer linear, loyalty to a single employer isn’t the default, and goals evolve as quickly as the world of work itself.

And then there’s power. Older generations still hold more institutional authority and work experience. But when both sides insist on their way, workplaces risk turning into the professional equivalent of a WhatsApp family group - plenty of passive aggression, very little joy in the exchange.

The bottom line? Broad generalizations about entire age groups don’t help anyone. Learning to work across generations isn’t an optional extra in today’s workplace, it’s a life skill. And when we treat it that way, the workplace feels less like a battlefield and more like a place where we come together to build, create, and succeed.