It was only about five years ago when employers noted for the first time that five generations were working side-by-side — from Traditionalists (born 1928-1945) staying in their jobs long past retirement age to the influx of Millennials (born 1981-1996) now finding their stride at work and Gen Z (born 1997-2005) testing the waters.

 

Such a sprawling age range left employers trying to balance hiring strategies, employee benefits decisions and workplace culture to accommodate them all equitably.

 

Today, Traditionalists have mostly departed the workforce and Generation Alpha are still below working age, so we’re essentially back to four generations in the workplace. But little of what we learned about them even five years ago still applies. Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) are the ones seemingly delaying retirement, and Gen Z are the ones bringing energy and new expectations into the workplace.

 

Meanwhile, social and economic disruption, a global pandemic and historically low unemployment rates have shifted life priorities and changed what work means for all these groups — often in different ways.

 

That makes generational sentiments in the workplace worth re-examining. So, to dig deeply into what employees of every age want from their employers, Robert Half collected survey responses from more than 500 workers in Canada, age 18 or older, in November 2022 and in January and April 2023.

 

The result is a revealing new report, Examining the Multigenerational Workforce. It details nine essential facts about the four primary age groups at work that can help managers recruit, motivate and retain today's professionals at every age and stage of their careers.

 

The research goes beyond generational stereotypes to uncover how these four generations of professionals feel about the workplace and the companies they want to work for, as well as how they define professional success.

 

Understanding what diverse generations want and expect in the workplace is key to creating workplace cultures that work for everyone. What is the modern work experience digital natives Gen Z are looking for? How can we leverage the energy of the huge Millennial cohort? How do we keep Gen X engaged in their prime earning years? And how do we retain Baby boomers and their institutional knowledge?

 

Read the new report to learn what to emphasize when recruiting and interviewing candidates along with ways to better engage your employees at any age to keep retention rates high.