Ingram's April 2024

EMPLOYERS SERIES — MULTIGENERATIONAL WORK FORCE

An Ageless Challenge

Generation Z, nearly 69 million in number, is pushing its way into the U.S. workforce in ways that differ from past demographic changes.

by Dennis Boone

We’ve seen this play before: In 2009, workforce development exec utives and leadership training gurus found fertile ground with corporate clients and HR managers trying to make sense of a new generation enter ing the workforce: The Millennials. Their entry into the job market would not be inconsequential: Esti mated at 72.25 million in number, their generation supplanted Baby Boomers as the largest in the nation’s history. Born roughly between 1984 2001 (social scientists seem unable to agree on a time frame), this cohort showed up for work with a mindset unlike employers had ever encoun tered. For one, they were technology na tives, raised on keyboards and video screens, even if those tools might be

considered rudimentary in the age of the smartphone. They also viewed work differently, with a hunger for work life balance that didn’t mark previous generations in which single-employer careers were a norm. They wanted not only a collaborative environment but a seat at the table with discussions long deemed the province of management, even senior leadership. They also craved continuous learn- ing and training, and if any one of those elements wasn’t sufficiently present, they would be out the door. Loyalty wasn’t programmed in anywhere near the levels companies had come to ex pect. At that same time, roughly around 2009-2010, the last vestiges of the Silent Generation were exiting the scene. Having grown up during the

late stages of the Great Depression and too young to serve in World War II, their worldview was one shaped by hardship and, often, deprivation. These were people glad to have jobs, be able to support a family, and buy a house. They personified the American Dream. As they left, the first of the Baby Boomers began to hit retirement age, a trend that was expected to play out through the end of the current de cade, roughly 2030. That expectation hasn’t quite been realized: Many re fuse to head into retirement. Whether it’s a personal choice to keep working for the satisfaction of it or financial conditions that require them to work past Social Security eligibility, roughly 20 percent of Boomers were still em ployed or working by the end of 2023,

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April 2024

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