In American workplaces today, it’s possible to have up to five generations working side-by-side, with a small percentage of the Silent Generation still working along with boomers, Gen Xers, millennials, and members of Gen Z.
While members of these different generations are working together, they are worlds apart in terms of the economies they grew up in, the values shaping society during their formative years, and their expectations for how their career trajectories should unfold.
To better understand how these attitudes, philosophies, and experiences have shaped the mindset of workers from different generations, iHire conducted a comprehensive study of more than 1,600 workers, including over 400 from each of the predominant generations.
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The data reveals important details about how each generation approaches job searches, what they look for in a work environment, their feelings about compensation and benefits, and more.
Let’s take a look at some of these generational disparities to understand the differences between younger, middle-aged, and older employees — and to identify some insights older workers can glean from their younger peers.
Non-traditional work is growing in popularity — and could be the solution boomers are seeking While millennials and Gen Xers showed the strongest interest in full-time work, with over 70% of members of both generations strongly interested in full-time positions, Gen Zers and baby boomers have different desires.
Gen Zers are equally open to full-time work and part-time jobs, while a slight majority (56.6%) of boomers say they’d prefer to work part-time. Both the oldest and the youngest generations are clearly seeking flexibility, although for different reasons, as many Gen Zers are still in school while boomers are starting to slowly transition out of paid employment .
Boomers hoping to find jobs with a part-time schedule may want to consider taking a page from both the Gen Z and millennial playbooks, though.
Gen Zers showed a stronger interest in seasonal work (preferred by 14.3%), while millennials are the most interested in freelancing, gig work, and temp jobs, with 44% expressing a desire for one of these three work options. Among Boomers, on the other hand, just 15.6% had considered freelancing, while seasonal work was largely not on their radar, with only 11.5% expressing interest.
If boomers try temp jobs, seasonal positions, or freelance work, they may find exciting new opportunities that offer flexibility while still earning income to supplement their savings.
AARP reported a growing interest in gig work among near-retirees and retirees, finding additional benefits beyond a paycheck, including the opportunity to engage with the community and form new social connections. There are also fun solutions for seasonal work that could be suited to soon-to-be or current retirees. For example, serving as a camp host could allow older workers to indulge a desire for affordable travel while earning extra income.
Boomers are doing something right when it comes to job hunting, with 32.8% tapping into their networks compared with just 21.4% of Gen Xers, 12.7% of millennials, and 11.7% of Gen Zers. It’s unclear how much of that extra interest in networking is driven by the simple fact that older workers may have larger networks.
Still, getting a job from a referral may be the single best way to find work , so younger job seekers clearly have something to learn from their older peers. Boomers, on the other hand, should get much more savvy about social media.
Millennials and Gen Xers were almost three times as likely as boomers to use Facebook in their job search. At the same time, fewer than 2% of boomers job-hunted on Instagram or TikTok compared to more than 20% of Gen Z. Older workers were also more likely to use LinkedIn, which is, after all, a career-building site.
Although boomers may not be as familiar with these other channels, there’s no reason to neglect any potential resource when looking for work. Furthermore, boomers who embrace newer platforms may be able to hone social media skills, which could come in handy in the workplace.
Boomers aren’t big on DEI, but working for an inclusive company could reduce ageism risks When addressing challenges during the job search process, Boomers were much more likely than other generations to cite discrimination as an obstacle to getting hired. Around one in five said this was an issue, compared with under 15% of those in younger generations.
Ageism was a primary reason boomers struggled with discrimination. Still, despite their work opportunities being diminished by prejudice, boomers were the least likely among all generations to say that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was a factor they considered in deciding whether to apply to work for a company. Only 15.4% of boomers said they cared about DEI, compared with 23.4% of Gen Xers, 26.7% of millennials, and 28.4% of Gen Zers.
These differing philosophies are likely driven by the fact that DEI has become a more prominent societal focus during the formative years of younger workers, so older Americans may not be as familiar with or as positive about the concept.
Still, companies concerned about discrimination should be the least likely to disqualify workers due to age, so boomers may want to make this more of a factor in their company research. Older workers should also read company reviews — a practice adopted by around half of all generations, except for Gen Z, who may want to make a more concerted effort to learn what current employees are saying before submitting applications.
Older workers should take a second look at the importance of mental health benefits Workers of all generations shared some common traits when it comes to salary and benefits, with half or more of all workers believing they were fairly compensated at their most recent position, and members of all generations citing health insurance and PTO as key workplace benefits that were important to them.
There was a significant disparity in concern about access to mental health benefits, though, as these benefits were important to just 11.2% of Boomers compared with 31.7% of Gen Zers, 30.5% of millennials, and 22.2% of Gen Xers.
With close to a third of retirees experiencing depression of some type in the first two years post-retirement, having access to workplace mental health benefits in the years leading up to retirement could help older workers prepare for this life transition while reducing the likelihood of suffering from these types of issues.
Giving up on professional development may be short-sighted among older workers For many older workers, career advancement is unsurprisingly less of a priority, while preparing for retirement has taken center stage.
In fact, close to a quarter of boomer workers said retirement was their top career goal. At the same time, the majority of millennials (20.6%) were primarily interested in salary increases, and Gen Z (26.4%) and Gen X (21.5%) were the most focused on finding new, better jobs.
Since boomers may have half a foot out the door, it’s not all that surprising that 64.1% aren’t pursuing any professional development at all. Still, while soon-to-be retirees may not want to climb the corporate ladder, giving up on expanding the mind and learning new skills could be a mistake.
Online courses and mentorship were both very popular among millennials, with 30.8% taking online classes, 14.8% mentoring others, and 11.1% being mentored. Boomers could keep their minds sharp and potentially open the door to new and more flexible career opportunities by continuing to learn and grow professionally, while participating in a mentorship relationship could help them share their valuable experiences and develop social connections that could pay dividends over the long term.
If you are older, you may qualify for free (or almost free) classes at a nearby university.
Boomers can’t overlook stress and burnout as a source of concern Finally, boomers worried about potential retirement shortfalls can’t overlook the risks associated with workplace stress and burnout, both of which younger workers are more attuned to.
While over a third of boomers said having insufficient savings to retire was the biggest challenge likely to impact their career, just 19.0% cited stress and burnout as something to worry about. This was a far smaller percentage than in other generations, with 33% of Gen Xers, 39.7% of millennials, and 46.2% of Gen Zers expressing concern about stress levels on the job.
A stressful work environment can compromise the health of near-retirees, while also making it far more likely they’ll be forced into retirement before they otherwise would leave due to reaching a breaking point. This can worsen their retirement readiness if they end up with fewer years to save and more years to rely on their savings.
Becoming more attuned to signs of pressure and taking a proactive approach to avoiding burnout could allow for a longer tenure in the workplace — especially if boomers do decide to explore some of those alternative work solutions younger generations are embracing.
Ultimately, these disparities reveal significant differences between younger and older workers in terms of workplace concerns, job search efforts and career goals.
Understanding these differences and finding ways to learn from workplace peers could help boomers find solutions that ensure their final years on the job provide a gateway to the secure, happy retirements most are ultimately hoping for.
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