From Rotary Phones to Agentic AI: Is Your Workforce Ready for Gen Alpha?

In this article we discuss:

• The Generational Tapestry of Strengths
• What the Research Says
• Getting the Most From Generational Interactions
• Rethinking Strategic Workforce Planning
• Preparing Now for the Five Gen Workforce

When Baby Boomers entered the workforce, a rotary phone sat on their desk and colour television was considered cutting-edge technology. Today, Gen Z join their first jobs having never known a world without smartphones. In just a few years, Alphas will arrive at work – a generation whose baseline technology is agentic AI. 

For the first time in history, organisations will soon employ five generations side-by-side – introducing a 60-year span of lived experience in the workplace. For CHROs, the diversity of perspectives, skills and expectations this represents is extraordinary – but so too is the challenge of making it work.

What do people leaders need to understand about the multi-cohort mix – and how should organisations prepare for this unprecedented ‘Five Gen effect’?

The Generational Tapestry of Strengths

Every generation brings something vital to the workforce:

• Boomers and Gen X offer loyalty, stability and institutional knowledge, shaped by decades of economic and technological upheaval. They bring resilience, long-term perspective and a valuable capacity for mentorship.
• Millennials (Gen Y) bridge analogue and digital. Purpose-driven and collaborative, they are also leading workplace AI adoption. This cohort are confident adopters with enough workplace tenure to apply judgment and teach boundaries. A recent Slack survey found one in three use generative AI daily, often helping Gen Z colleagues apply judgment and governance to new tools. This cohort is more likely to understand and trust AI agents and lead all their peers in using the technology to increase productivity, automate repetitive tasks and take on more strategic responsibilities.
• Gen Z are shaking up workplace culture with their demands for flexibility, inclusivity, and cutting-edge tech. They’re seen as the most creative and innovative generation, but they’re also the most anxious about AI rendering their skills redundant. According to the Slack survey, Gen Z is using AI a lot for educational and personal projects. But when it comes to the workforce, they haven’t established the same level of comfort. 
• Gen Alpha will arrive with unprecedented digital fluency, expecting AI-first workflows and frictionless experiences from day one. They will judge their employee experience against the same intuitive, personalised platforms they grew up with.

Without careful management, these different cohorts could result is a clash of generations. But research suggests that, woven well, this mesh of talent can close skills gaps, boost productivity and drive innovation at scale.

What the Research Says

The Workday Asia Pacific Multigenerational Workplace Report, based on a survey of more than 3,300 leaders and employees across nine markets, highlights both the promise and the pitfalls of the Five Gen effect. A massive 88% of employees believe each generation has something to teach the others; and 86% agree that intergenerational collaboration is key to success. Yet 55% admit that misunderstandings are common when generations work together.

The challenge is not just that the generations have different skills, but different perspectives. Research from EY found success looks very different for younger workers, with 51% rating mental and physical health as their top priority, ahead of wealth or occupation. Many also expect to work for multiple organisations over their career, viewing ‘job-hopping’ as a way to build opportunities – not a red flag.

If long-held assumptions about loyalty, tenure and career progression are no longer valid, HR leaders may need to reconsider their employee value proposition. For younger generations, purpose, wellbeing and flexibility will rank equally alongside pay and progression.

Getting the Most From Generational Interactions

The single biggest brake on productivity identified across generations? Not lack of leadership, training or technology – but disengaged employees. Fostering a more engaged Five Gen workforce requires personalised development programs that address each generation’s specific needs and finding ways to spark cross-skilling generational interactions.

Forward-looking organisations are harnessing generational diversity using:

• Reverse mentoring. Breaking down silos can help promote understanding and maximise strengths of each generation. Reciprocal learning promotes continuous development and adaptability, helping to bridge generational gaps and create a more collaborative workforce. Even those in the highest echelons can benefit from young thinking. In NSW, young people are being invited onto the boards of Australian cultural institutions like the Art Gallery NSW and Sydney Opera House, supported with governance training. In this way, the state is pulling younger perspectives into strategic decision-making, challenging senior views while building the next generation of leaders.
• Skills-based hiring. Rather than hiring based on formal qualifications, leaders are looking for candidates with in-demand skills – or the capacity to learn them. This more inclusive approach widens talent pools, fosters diversity and creates fairer progression pathways across generations. But as Workday’s report notes, qualification bias in pay and promotion remains a barrier that HR leaders will need to address.

Rethinking Strategic Workforce Planning

To orchestrate five generations of talent, CHROs will need to:

1. Diagnose generational needs and motivators. Use workforce analytics to understand what different cohorts value.
2. Formalise two-way learning. Set up reverse mentoring programs to give younger workers a platform to share digital skills, while enabling older employees to pass on institutional knowledge and strategic insight.
3. Shift to skills-first planning. Embed skills-based hiring, internal mobility and AI-enabled reskilling across the talent lifecycle. This creates equity, widens access and builds a workforce that can flex as roles evolve.
4. Design flexible employee experiences. Balance digital convenience with human connection, hybrid with in-person, and flexibility with fairness. Recognise that expectations vary but avoid reinforcing generational stereotypes.

Preparing Now for the Five Gen Workforce

As workforces expand across five generations, CHROs and HR leaders must create workplaces where people of every age can thrive. This is how organisations not only keep pace with the future of work – but actually help to define it.

Download the Workday Asia Pacific Multigenerational Workplace Report to discover the challenges and opportunities that a multigenerational workforce can bring, and explore how leaders can maximise existing talent in their business, to help them thrive.