We’ve become skilled at creating labels.
Boomers. Gen X. Millennials. Gen Z. Each comes with its own caricature, its own set of assumptions. The older generation complains that the younger won’t work. The younger generation resents being told they’re entitled. And round and round we go.
Here’s what I’ve noticed in working with organizations across industries: the issue isn’t generational. It never was.
A twenty-five-year-old who values flexibility isn’t lazy – they watched their parents sacrifice everything for companies that downsized them without hesitation. A fifty-year-old who expects face time isn’t out of touch—they built careers when presence equaled commitment because that was the currency of trust.
Context matters. Adaptability matters more.
The real question isn’t whether Gen Z will work. They will. They already are. The question is whether we’re willing to examine what we’re asking them to work for, how we’re asking them to work, and why we structured it that way in the first place.
When someone refuses to engage with our systems, we have two options: blame them for not fitting, or question whether the system still serves its intended purpose.
Most organizations choose blame. It’s easier. It requires no change from us.
But consider this: if multiple generations are struggling to connect, engage, and find meaning in their work. Perhaps the problem isn’t them. Maybe we’ve built structures designed for a world that no longer exists, then labeled anyone who notices as difficult.
The person who questions why they must be in the office when their productivity is measurable remotely isn’t defiant. They’re asking a reasonable question we’ve decided not to answer.
The generational myth serves us in one way: it lets us avoid examining our own assumptions. It allows us to point at “those people” instead of asking whether what we’ve always done still makes sense.
Stop blaming generations.
Start asking better questions..
