Gen Z stereotype their older colleagues as incompetent, untrainable, and unadaptable, a new study has revealed.
Researchers from the University of Queensland conducted surveys across workplaces in Australia and Taiwan.
Their results reveal consistent evidence that young workers are less trusting of their older co–workers.
‘Workplace structures are becoming more and more horizontal, which means we often see people with significant age gaps working in the same roles,’ said Dr Chad Chiu, lead author of the study.
‘Younger workers often make unfair judgments about this – when they work with older colleagues sharing similar job titles they often wonder why they don’t advance to more senior positions.’
The news will come as no surprise to many youngsters, who often take to social media to vent their frustrations at their older colleagues.
Taking to TikTok, one user said: ‘”These kids have no work ethic” says my 70yo coworker that refuses to learn how to use the printer.’
Another posted an eye–roll meme, writing: ‘Me watching the 65–year–old that makes twice my salary struggle with a PDF.’
Gen Z stereotype their older colleagues as incompetent, untrainable, and unadaptable, a new study has revealed
For the study, the researchers carried out a series of experiments involving a total of almost 400 employees.
In the first experiment, 199 employees working in consulting and technology firms in Taiwan were surveyed about their trust in their colleagues.
The results revealed that younger participants were more likely to rate older colleagues as untrustworthy.
Dr Chiu explained: ‘When younger employees receive very little information about their older colleagues’ capabilities, they will primarily rely on surface–level characteristics like age to make a judgment.’
In a second experiment, 177 Australian participants aged 22 and older were presented with a scenario involving a 55–year–old engineer responding to an urgent production issue.
The participants were asked to assess how capable the engineer appeared, with responses collated according to the age of the participants.
The results revealed that younger people expressed lower levels of trust in the engineer.
‘They may have thought of them as a nice or supportive colleague, but they didn’t see them as useful,’ Dr Chiu said.
Their results reveal consistent evidence that young workers are less trusting of their older co–workers (stock image)
Overall, the findings suggest that older employees may need additional support as they progress through their careers, according to the researchers.
‘It is a mistake to think they don’t need support because they’re older or more experienced,’ Dr Chiu added.
‘These findings offer important insights for older professionals seeking to sustain their careers, as well as for managers aiming to lead inclusive and age–diverse professional teams more effectively.’
