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Seventy-one percent of our audience says their career is not similar at all to that of their parents.
The competitive and time-intensive job market. Inflation. The housing crunch. Shifts in how we view work-life balance and employee loyalty. These are some of the primary differences people note between today and the careers of generations before.
It’s clear from the comments in our Generational Career Similarities survey that people are sometimes frustrated trying to communicate these changes to their parents, who might be too far removed from today’s job market to realize that printing a resume and knocking on a few doors won’t get you far. The world is far more complicated than it used to be.
I’m lucky I haven’t had to explain much of that to my own parents. (Hi, Mom, and thanks for being a Pipeline reader and the best cheerleader ever.) But from my vantage point, the workforce I was primed to enter in my 20s doesn’t exist anymore. And as a millennial, the stereotypes about how my generation approaches work—labels like lazy, entitled, or obsessed with flexibility—have sometimes created what feels like a classic parent–teen dynamic across generations.
There’s an almost-tangible divide in workplace priorities and the old and new world, and that divide is often marked by a sigh or a hidden eye roll…on both sides.
Rather than dwell on that tension, which overshadowed headlines throughout much of my early career, here’s how I’ve been mentally framing the generational disparity:
Lately, in and out of work, I’ve been paying attention to moments that quietly raise my standards.
For example, a friend of mine loves oversized, worn-in t-shirts, so her partner often “breaks in” new shirts for her, wearing them around the city until the shirts are perfectly comfy. This is a sweet, easy gesture between them. But for me, it’s logged under: Wait, I didn’t know I could ask for that.
At work, it’s the same. Whoever suggested turning off all the fluorescent lights around their desk in InHerSight’s migraine survey—your idea, too, has been dog-eared under that how-did-I-never-think-of-that vertical.
The point is simple: noticing these moments helps me assess places in my life where I’m not asking for enough—of my relationships, my employer, or even myself. Applied to generational changes, it becomes a source of validation.
Truthfully, the workforce 30 or 40 years ago was easier in really important ways. To get and keep a job. To grow in place and afford to raise a family. These are huge advantages.
On the flip side, people often had to bend to their careers, overwork, and play more of a game. As one survey respondent reminded us, you felt guilty for taking time off. I don’t love that—for me or for my parents’ generation.
When I think of millennials, I think of balance, prioritization of mental health, and values- and mission-driven work. Ambition may have looked like “entitlement,” but I wonder: Were we “disloyal” and “obsessed with flexibility,” or did we just quietly raise everyone’s standards?
Now look at Gen Z: “70 percent of all Gen Zers globally are involved in some type of social or political causes, and they evaluate a brand’s commitment to serving and giving back to those in need before even considering whether to work there.” That’s interesting to me, because it sets a new, higher minimum. Another standard raised.
Here’s the thing about the workplace: It’s a relationship, and relationships are two-sided. Sure, every relationship has power dynamics. But they’re also malleable. With every new generation, I see more vividly what it means to be both an employee and a person at work.
Choosing to view these generational changes as progress rather than chaos helps me frame my own career—and can maybe help you explain yours to your parents.
It’s not demanding to turn off fluorescents for someone with a migraine. It’s not entitled to offer parents flexibility in an economy that often requires dual incomes. It’s not lazy to truly be unreachable when you’re sick or out of office.
These small, thoughtful changes are how generations quietly raise the standard—for work, for life, for the generations to come.
