Goa, 21st October 2026: A study led by Prof. Anamika Sinha, Professor, Goa Institute of Management (GIM), challenges the growing tendency of organisations to label employees by generation, particularly the perception that Gen Z is inherently less committed than the older generations.
The research team examined more than 700 respondents across three generational cohorts and found that differences between generations are more nuanced than popular workplace stereotypes suggest. The findings indicate that socialisation, life experiences and exposure may play a greater role in shaping workplace values and behaviour than generational labels based simply on year of birth.
The findings of this study have been published in the prestigious International Journal of Work Innovation in a paper co-authored by Prof. Anamika Sinha and Dr. Sravani Bharandev from BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, along with Dr. Sunita Guru from Nirma University and Ms. Meghna Goswami from FMS, Delhi.
The research team examined how different generations respond to situations involving corporate corruption, fraud, discrimination, data privacy and other workplace practices, while also looking at gender differences.
Key findings of the study:
- The research team found that Gen Z showed the lowest tolerance for situations involving direct harm to people, nature and the environment.
- On questions related to discrimination and equity, Gen Z responses were closer to those of Gen X than Millennials (Gen Y).
Based on these findings, the research team suggests that the experiences of Gen Z, including growing up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, climate concerns, social disruption and heightened awareness of sustainability, may have influenced their expectations around responsibility and consumption.
The study also found that Gen Z employees show greater acceptance of practices such as the use of social connections for business advantage and sharing of data, which the researchers associate with growing up in a highly connected, social-media-driven environment where personal and professional identities increasingly overlap.
Based on these findings, the research team argues that the conventional practice of defining generations primarily through birth-year brackets can oversimplify individual differences. For example, two people born only months apart can be placed in different generational categories, while people born in the same year but raised in vastly different social, economic and cultural environments may have very different experiences.
Speaking about the findings of the research, Prof. Anamika Sinha said, “Generations are not difficult, they are different, and there is a reason for why so. Understand, embrace and include everyone for a brighter, happier future for your own self. Question, challenge and redirect people who are biased and use discriminating, judgemental and stereotyping language. You owe it to the future and to a total mental wellness of the society. Champion this not as an activist, but as a responsibility and for your own selfish needs.”
The study found that across a number of common business practices that were ethically questionable, the three generations showed broadly similar responses, with only marginal differences. This suggests that workplace ethics may be influenced more by what individuals have been exposed to and what their environment considers acceptable than by their generational identity alone.
The research also identified differences by gender. Women respondents recorded higher average tolerance across most of the corruption- and fraud-related workplace scenarios examined in the study.
These findings have implications for Organisation Development (OD), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), leadership development and workplace ethics programmes.
The research team suggests that rather than designing interventions around assumptions such as “Gen Z employees are difficult” or “older employees don't understand younger workers”, organisations can use generational differences as an opportunity for dialogue and sensitisation. This can be achieved through:
- Using evidence-based sensitisation programmes to develop a shared language around ethics, equity and inclusion.
- Avoiding broad stereotypes about employees based on age or generation.
- Considering the intersection of gender, generation and socialisation when designing DEI initiatives.
- Training and rewarding specific workplace behaviours rather than assuming that a particular generation naturally possesses or lacks certain values.
For psychologists, mental wellness professionals and diversity trainers, the research also offers a framework for helping employees understand their own generational experiences while developing mutual respect across age groups.
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