Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on FlexJobs.com.
Today’s workforce consists of five different generations: the Silent Generation, baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z. Each generation brings its own experience and work style to the multigenerational workforce, and understanding the unique attitudes, challenges, strengths, and preferences of each generation at work is critical to ensuring an inclusive workplace for all.
To better understand the experiences and perspectives of the multigenerational workforce, FlexJobs polled over 2,000 professionals — including baby boomers, millennials, and Gen Xers — between June 11, 2024, and June 23, 2024.
According to FlexJobs’ 2024 Generations at Work Report, nearly half (49%) of respondents believe that Gen Xers make the best managers, while less than a quarter (24%) of respondents feel that millennials and baby boomers make the best managers.
In addition to uncovering the different generations’ perspectives on working together, the report also highlighted top workplace trends, preferred work arrangements and communication methods, and a shared desire for work-life balance and flexibility across generations in the workplace.
Majority of Workers Favor Gen X Over Gen Z
In addition to reporting that Gen Xers make the best managers, 40% of respondents stated that they most enjoy working with Gen X. Conversely, 43% of survey takers stated that they least enjoy working with Gen Z.
As for other generations at work, 20% of respondents shared that they most enjoy working with baby boomers, while 31% said millennials were the generation they most enjoyed working with.
Across generations in the workplace, the majority of millennials (62%), Gen Xers (68%), and baby boomers (73%) feel that other generations don’t understand their generation’s workplace challenges, with the highest number of responses submitted by baby boomers.
When asked about their younger counterparts, 59% of baby boomers feel that Gen Z “does not get an undeserved bad rap” in the workplace, compared with 58% of Gen X and less than half (48%) of millennials.
Quiet Quitting Embraced by Millennials More Than Other Generations
The leading workplace trend reported was quiet quitting, or disengaging from work before quitting altogether. Quiet quitting was reported by 20% of respondents, with other top trends including:
Nearly one-third (32%) of millennials reported that they have “quietly quit” their jobs — a rate slightly higher than average. This percentage is also higher than any other generation polled, with 17% of Gen X and 11% of boomers reporting that they’ve quietly quit a job.
The Ideal Length of Time to Stay in a Job
Most respondents (60%) agreed that the ideal length of time to stay in one job was five or more years. Other respondents reported the ideal length of time to stay in a job as:
- 3-4 years (19%)
- 2-3 years (16%)
- 1-2 years (5%)
The ideal length of time was divided by generations, with 69% of boomers and 67% of Gen X reporting a higher willingness to stay in a job for five or more years, compared with less than half (45%) of millennials.
According to each generation, the ideal length of time to stay in a job is:
- 5+ years: millennials (45%), Gen X (67%), boomers (69%)
- 3-4 years: millennials (22%), Gen X (17%), boomers (17%)
- 2-3 years: millennials (24%), Gen X (13%), boomers (10%)
- 1-2 years: millennials (8%), Gen X (3%), boomers (4%)
Working From Home Most Prevalent Among Boomers
The Generations at Work Report also revealed that baby boomers are working remotely at slightly higher rates than Gen X and millennials.
Over half (52%) of boomers reported that they work from home full-time, compared with 46% of Gen Xers and 38% of millennials. In fact, millennials demonstrated the highest levels of full-time in-office work, with 40% of millennials reporting that they don’t work remotely at all.
Here’s a breakdown of in-office versus work-from-home data across generations at work:
- In-office full-time: millennials (40%), Gen X (34%), boomers (31%)
- Remote-only work from home: millennials (38%), Gen X (46%), boomers (52%)
- Hybrid work: millennials (22%), Gen X (20%), boomers (17%)
As for these work arrangements, most generations agreed that working completely from home in a remote job was their ideal work arrangement.
Specifically, the majority of millennials (61%), Gen Xers (61%), and boomers (67%) prefer to work entirely from home, while 39% of millennials, 38% of Gen X, and 32% of boomers prefer a hybrid work arrangement.
Preferred Methods of Communication Across Generations
Regardless of work location, the vast majority (87%) of the multigenerational workforce agreed that email is their preferred method of communication.
In addition to email, preferred methods of communication between and among generations in the workplace include phone calls (45%), video meetings (45%), and text messaging (44%).
Only 37% of respondents prefer communicating via chat platforms, such as Slack.
Generations United in Desire for Work-Life Balance
Also agreed upon across generations at work is the long-term professional goal of work-life balance and “having as much flexibility as possible.” This multigenerational desire for career flexibility reinforces the demand for remote and hybrid work options throughout the workforce.
In summary, the top professional goals cited among generations included:
- Work-life balance: millennials (85%), Gen X (81%), boomers (60%)
- As much flexibility as possible: millennials (78%), Gen X (73%), boomers (63%)
- Making as much money as possible: millennials (59%), Gen X (55%), boomers (38%)
- Having a job where they can travel: millennials (41%), Gen X (28%), boomers (16%)
- Owning their own business: millennials (35%), Gen X (27%), boomers (15%)
- Becoming a manager: millennials (13%), Gen X (9%), boomers (5%)
