Workplace attitudes are influenced more by career stages than by generational stereotypes, according to research from Culture Amp.
The findings challenge common perceptions about Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers, revealing that trends in commitment, management perceptions, career optimism, and internal communication have remained consistent across generations at similar life and career stages.
The research, based on benchmark data from 2024 and comparative data from 2015, shows that younger employees tend to exhibit lower commitment to stay with their employer but greater optimism about career opportunities. It also shows that perceptions of management decline with age and that younger employees feel less informed about HR initiatives – a trend that has persisted for over a decade.
Employee Commitment and Career Optimism
Gen Z employees are often seen as less committed to staying in their roles. Culture Amp’s data shows that in 2024, only 50 percent of Gen Z employees expressed commitment to staying in the short term, compared to 70 percent of Boomers. However, this trend is not unique to Gen Z. When Millennials were at the same career stage in 2015, they displayed even lower levels of commitment.
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Rather than indicating a lack of loyalty, low commitment among younger employees appears to be linked to career optimism. Gen Z employees today, like Millennials in 2015, see career paths as open-ended, valuing diverse experiences over long-term tenure with a single employer. They prioritise growth and development over employer loyalty – suggesting a different approach to career progression rather than disengagement.
Perceptions of Management and Workplace Communication
Another stereotype about Gen Z is that they are difficult to manage. However, Culture Amp’s data indicates that they have the most favourable views of their managers compared to older employees. This trend has remained consistent over time, with younger employees consistently rating their managers more positively than older colleagues.
The research also noted ongoing challenges in internal communications. In 2024, only 55 percent of Gen Z employees felt informed about HR initiatives and employee experience improvements, compared to 67 percent of Gen X employees. The same pattern was observed in 2015, indicating a long-standing difficulty in effectively communicating HR initiatives to younger employees.
This could be due to organisations struggling to engage employees at the lower levels of workplace hierarchies or younger employees having higher expectations for organisational change. The research suggests that companies may need to improve communication strategies to ensure early-career employees feel included in decision-making processes.
Implications for HR and Leadership
The findings highlight the importance of focusing on career stages rather than generational labels when designing engagement strategies. Younger employees tend to have high expectations and enthusiasm but require clearer communication and structured development opportunities to maintain engagement.
Jess Brannigan, Head of Enterprise People Science, EMEA, at Culture Amp, said, “What is most interesting about this research is that it runs counter to the assumptions that are out there about younger generations; that Gen Z are flighty or just don’t care as much about work.
“Rather, it shows that our sentiment (whatever generation we belong to) differs over the lifecycle of our career which makes more intuitive sense; when we are at the beginning of our career we would be wise to assume we won’t work there indefinitely but rather seek opportunities with optimism as our data shows.”
