We don’t need to talk about millennials, or any other generation for that matter, argues 44’s Nick Robbins. Breaking free of these tropes and looking at what unites more than divides us might help our communications engage more people.

Look around your workplace and, according to Forbes, you could see up to five generations represented. You’ve got your Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen-X, Millennials and Gen-Zs.

But who are these groups and what do they stand for? Certainly, there has been plenty written about the differences between them both in popular culture and academic circles. Even if you haven’t read too much into it, some of these theories appear so ubiquitous that you can probably reel off a few right now:

That has had an impact on internal communications, and certainly in the way that people perceive communications should be tailored. But should it?

A study by Rudolph, Rauvola and Zacher, which reviewed a suite of academic papers that linked generational difference and its impact on leadership, found that there was no empirical link between generations and preferred forms of leadership.

In fact, it found that one of the most damaging aspects of generational thinking was that it created the fallacy that any differences that did exist were negative and couldn’t be left unchecked by a business.

Let’s try a different view. How about we say that generations are social constructs that have created difference and ‘otherness’ that have been willed into being. At best, they are more gradual than is currently accepted and are actually a bit ‘fuzzy’ (see Campbell, Twenge and Campbell’s work for more on this). For example, if the cut-off between Millennial and Gen Z is 31 December 1999, then two people born a day either side of that will have more in common than two people born six or seven years either side.

Research company Adecco’s key takeaway from a 1,001-strong survey of US workers was that members of Gen Z are more concerned about the cost of education (21% of respondents), compared to Millennials (13% of respondents). But then, data from the National Center for Education Statistics in the USA tells us that in the 10 years between 2010 and 2020, tuition and fees rose by 20%, from $11,397 to $13,677. Therefore, people born later are more concerned about it because it became more expensive, and their debts are likely to be higher and take longer to repay. Is that generational, or simply situational?

Now, if senior leaders believe that generational differences are creating comms problems, we might find it’s something we have to include in our planning. But what should the IC professional’s role be? To deliver or to provide expert guidance and challenge views that we feel might not carry weight?

Obviously, the latter is easier with data to back up our findings – it’s certainly going to work better than citing journal articles in the boardroom. So, capture your own data, of course, but also look at what else is available. The IoIC, and Ipsos Karian and Box’s IC Index 2023 is a rich data source that’s worth reviewing. There are a few surprising stats in there – certainly around preferred channels across age range and seniority.

So, what are we saying? Well, it pays to remember to keep a healthy scepticism about long-held assumptions and perhaps it’s worth planning comms around what unites your employees rather than what we perceive divides them.

How do you account for generational differences in your comms, or do you not? Let us know and if you’ve picked up any surprises looking through the IC Index report. We always welcome a healthy conversation about comms trends – maybe over a cuppa if you fancy dropping by. Reach out today.