Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha stand to lose valuable knowledge, career growth, and human connection if they don't bridge the generation gap at work. Without each other, older workers lose fresh perspectives, while younger workers miss out on hard-won wisdom. This disconnect threatens workplace success for everyone.
Kimberly Adams, host of Marketplace, knows this firsthand. Her great-grandmother's handwritten cookbook is a family treasure. It tells a story of limited options for Black women in the early 1900s. By her grandmother's generation, options grew to teacher or secretary. Then World War II opened factory jobs. Today, Adams is the first Black woman to host a flagship show at public media powerhouse Marketplace, reaching 8 million listeners daily.
Three generations. One big question: What gets passed down, what gets lost, and what do the youngest workers really need from those already in the workforce?
Why Generational Connection Matters More Than Ever
By 2030, Millennials and Gen Z will make up roughly 74% of the global workforce, according to Deloitte's 2025 survey. Yet the informal systems that once connected generations at work are breaking down. Adobe research shows that 83% of Gen Z workers say having a mentor is important, but only about half have one.
Meanwhile, Gen Alpha (born between 2013 and 2025) is entering a job market reshaped by artificial intelligence. The window for intentional knowledge transfer is closing fast.
The American Dream Isn't What It Used to Be
Adams' father went from being one of 11 food-insecure children to a corporate vice president. That step-ladder dream felt possible then. Adams isn't sure it exists now.
"The arc of the American dream was still a bit more possible than I think it is now for young people today," she says.
The numbers back her up. According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research (2025), Black women with postgraduate degrees earn $93,000 annually, compared to $157,570 for white men at the same education level. The National Women's Law Center reports Black women earn roughly 64 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.
"Progress was never consistent," Adams says. "There are always moments of severe setback. We survived Jim Crow. We will find a way through this too."
Know the Room — And Know When to Leave It
Adams worked in newsrooms from Cairo to Washington, D.C. She learned early that adaptation is key. She watched colleagues resist the shift to online news and digital editing — and lose their jobs.
But she also learned to spot real obstacles versus deliberate barriers. At one point, she was told she hadn't "paid her dues" while less experienced colleagues were promoted.
"I realized there was nothing I could do in that newsroom to advance my career," she says. "So I quit, became a freelancer, moved to a different country, and worked it out on my own."
Her advice for younger workers: Learn to tell the difference between a challenge you can overcome and a system designed to hold you back. Discrimination has gotten more sophisticated, so you need to be savvier.
The Proximity Problem: Why Remote Work Hurts Mentorship
One of the biggest workforce shifts is the collapse of physical proximity. For decades, mentorship happened naturally — you were in the room, you heard the pitch, you watched how a pro asked a follow-up question.
Research shows this matters. A 2026 LSE and Oxford study found that remote work may account for 64% of the rise in youth unemployment since the pandemic. Companies on distributed teams are less willing to hire younger workers who need in-person development. Entry-level job postings dropped 25% between January 2024 and April 2025, according to Randstad.
Meanwhile, a 2024 Gallup study found that one in five employees reports significant loneliness — with workers under 35 most affected.
Adams gives a powerful example. When she started out, interns spent hours transcribing interviews. It was tedious, but they absorbed the craft — question structure, use of silence, handling off-script moments. Now AI does the transcription. Interns aren't in the room.
"So how do they learn those interviewing skills?" Adams asks. "There's no intern in the room."
Her advice for Gen Z: You have to manufacture the physical spaces that used to be a given.
- Send cold emails
- Show up to professional events
- Ask to sit in on meetings as a silent observer
- Find common ground before asking for mentorship
"Who you know might sit down with you for coffee at a networking event — but won't respond to a random LinkedIn message," she says.
What Gen Alpha Actually Needs From Older Generations
When asked what older workers should pass down to Gen Alpha, Adams didn't mention technical skills. She said: interpersonal skills.
"The technical skills we would normally pass down — we have no idea which will be irrelevant," she says. "But interpersonal skills, professionalism, following up, responding with kindness and integrity — those things go a long way."
A 2025 CAKE.com survey of managers backs this up. The top challenge with Gen Z isn't technical ability — it's interpersonal readiness. Managers use regular feedback (72%) and mentorship (45%) to bridge the gap.
Adams also warns against treating Gen Alpha like a younger version of today's workers. They face a fundamentally different labor market.
"Gen Alpha should be confident when they say, 'It is not the same labor market,'" she says. "That's not an excuse. That's a fact."
How to Make Knowledge Transfer Intentional
Adams' family story shows that generational knowledge transfer has never been automatic. Her great-grandmother's cookbook survived because someone kept it. Her grandmother's factory story survived because Adams asked for it.
"We lose our stories if we don't get them from our elders," she says.
This applies to workplaces too. With older workers making up 57% of U.S. labor force growth (Pew Research Center), the overlap between generations is huge — and fleeting.
The window for deliberate transfer is open now. The question is: Are we paying attention?
Every generation in the workforce right now should ask: What am I actively preserving for the ones coming behind — and am I doing it with enough intentionality before those windows close?
Comment