Generations apart on change

Does generation matter when it comes to managing organizational change? A recent survey about change management practices conducted by Eagle Hill suggests that it does. In fact, the findings indicate that generational attitudes about organizational change have diverged remarkably from the more uniform sentiments Eagle Hill found when it last looked at generational attitudes about change. These insights reveal generational differences that can shape change management strategies and employee engagement during transformation.

Generations agree organizational change management needs improvement

Across generations, employees do agree their organizations aren’t managing change particularly well. In fact, overall, only one quarter of respondents (25%) feel their organization effectively manages major changes across the workforce.

But beneath that shared sentiment lies noticeable divides on most other issues related to organizational change management. In the wake of 10+ years of seismic shifts (including the pandemic and dramatic political and economic swings), it’s now time for organizations to employ change management strategies that incorporate how generational differences in enthusiasm, stress, and other motivations can realistically be managed. By integrating these generational insights into broader change management practices, organizations can strengthen alignment and success when managing organizational change at scale.

Gen Z as change cheerleaders

Across the survey, Gen Z presents as the most enthusiastic group, with higher optimism about how changes impact the organization and their individual work lives than their older counterparts. For example, 70% of Gen Z say that process change made their organizations better, compared to just 49% of Millennials, 45% of Boomers and 36% of Gen X who say the same.

Similarly, Gen Z responds far more positively than Boomers or Gen X about the effects on the organization and their day-to-day work lives stemming from culture change, reorganizations, cost reductions, leadership changes and return to office.

Overall, Gen Z (and, to a lesser extent, Millennials) are considerably more likely than their older cohorts to report experiencing specific benefits of change. In nearly every type of change, the younger groups seem to view transformation as a chance for improvement, while the older ones see it as a disruption. Given these results, it is perhaps not surprising that Gen X (29%) and Boomers (25%) are much less likely than Gen Z (53%) and Millennials (43%) to say that organizational changes improved their job satisfaction, highlighting again how tailored change management strategies are needed to drive stronger outcomes across age groups.

It’s possible that experience breeds skepticism. Gen X and Boomers have weathered decades of corporate shift and seen how organizational change often disrupts more than it delivers. For them, each new “transformation” can be seen as a potential loss—of stability, status, or simplicity—whereas younger generations see those same shifts as chances to grow, adapt, and redefine their roles. Accordingly, while 76% of Gen Z respondents say that organizational changes have been worth the effort, only 67% of Boomers and 57% of Gen X agree.

Interestingly, the one organizational change where Gen Z was the least positive generation was the introduction of AI. While more than 6 in 10 Millennials (63%), Gen X (62%) and Boomers (61%) thought AI made their organizations better, only 45% of Gen Z agreed, highlighting how tailored change management practices may be needed to address emerging technologies. One would think that Gen Z—the “digital native” generation—would be more enthusiastic about AI, not less. However, Gen Z’s lower positivity toward AI may reflect their concerns about their own job security (entry level roles being the most vulnerable), their own skill relevance, and ethical implications of AI—rather than resistance to technology itself.

Generation X was a particularly dramatic outlier regarding return to office. Only 3% of Gen X respondents said return to office changes made their organizations better—ten times less than Gen Z (34%), Millennials (32%) and Boomers (30%). This was the single biggest variance in generational attitudes Eagle Hill found in the study. The likely cause is that Gen X professionals are often in mid-to-late career stages, frequently juggling leadership responsibilities at work with family obligations of both school-age children and elderly parents. They tend to value flexibility and autonomy more than the perceived benefits of returning to the office, particularly because they have already established strong professional relationships and reputations.

Generations differ on change leadership and change management strategies

While we found generational agreement in the most important factors leading to change acceptance (understanding the reason for change and effective communication) our research points to significant differences between the two older and two younger generations when it comes to other change strategies and change influencers. The younger two generations gave more weight to the importance of being encouraged to think untraditionally and take risks to manage organizational change, and to the value of recognition and rewards as ways to help employees accept organizational change.

Additionally, Gen Z and Millennials feel more influenced by work friends to embrace change than their older counterparts do. Twenty-seven percent of Gen Z and 23% of Millennials report friends at work to be the most influential people in change, compared to only 12% of Gen Xers and 11% of Boomers who say the same. Older generations are also less likely to see managers as role models in change. Sixty-eight percent of Gen Z and 65% of Millennials see their managers as role models, compared to just 50% of Gen Xers and 52% of Boomers.

These findings suggest that younger generations (Gen Z, Millennials) are more socially anchored in the workplace—looking to peers and managers for cues during change—whereas older generations (Gen X, Boomers) are more individually anchored, relying on personal experience rather than social influence.

Perhaps most important, the younger generations feel more supported in change than their older counterparts do. For example, while 30% of Gen Z and 29% of Millennials agree that their organizations execute change in a way that makes it easy to embrace, only 20% of Gen X and 18% of Boomers do. Moreover, Boomers (18%) and Gen X (30%) were much less likely than Millennials (46%) and Gen Z (53%) to report that their managers took away work to help them adjust to change.

As a result, 31% of Gen Z and 29% of Millennials feel excited and motivated when leadership announces new initiatives, while only about half as many Gen X (15%) and Boomers (13%) feel the same—a possible reflection of how they perceive changes adding to an already full workload.

Bridging the generational divide to manage organizational change

Clearly, a one-size-fits-all approach to change management simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Lasting organizational success will come not from creating separate playbooks for each group (an unrealistic, resource-gobbling exercise), but rather, from using these insights to build shared purpose while allowing every employee to see their own “what’s in it for me.”

To make it stick, leaders need to manage organizational change as a multi-generational experience—anchored in a shared purpose but tailored to the different motivations, needs, and expectations that each generation brings to work. Here’s how leaders can bridge the generational divide and build lasting momentum for change: