Employers Are Ignoring Gen X And It’s a Costly Mistake

Abstract: New research from the Mather Institute finds Gen X plays a critical but unrecognized role in today’s workplace—bridging generational divides while feeling overlooked by employers and underserved by current wellness and talent strategies.

For a generation often labeled as ‘past its prime,’ Gen X is quietly doing some of the most important work inside today’s organizations.

According to new research from the Mather Institute, employees in their 50s and early 60s are not only contributing at a high level—they are acting as the connective tissue across increasingly fragmented, multigenerational workplaces. The problem: many employers still aren’t paying attention.

This comes at a time when a new study conducted by Mather entitled the Gen Xperience Study, concludes that GenX has a huge and critical role it can serve when it comes to workplace demographics.

Jennifer Smith, the study lead said the research comes at a pivotal time when individuals in their 50’s and early 60s are “playing a vital role in the workplace yet feel overlooked.

“They are deciding now how they will age well in the next chapter of their lives while remaining with their current employers. Companies are investing in wellness programs that aren’t resonating with Gen X, a generation key to the success of their employers.”

As for what employers should consider doing about preventing GenXers from being overlooked, the study suggests they start targeting and recruitment strategies directly to them, provide fair and transparent advancement opportunities and realize the valuable “bridging role” Gen X can play between younger and older colleagues.

The study, said Dominice LaPorte, the chief people officer at Mather, “shows how Gen X is uniquely able to understand workplace dynamics across all generations – and how younger and older employees are more alike than stereotypes suggest.

Employers, he added, need to “recognize the value of this unique generation, which has successfully adapted to rapid social and technological changes and brings untapped potential to the workplace.”

Key findings revealed that:

• More than 70 per cent of all generations enjoy learning from different generations.A significant gap exists between Gen X and younger generations in their expectations regarding employers’ support of their social wellness.
• Compared to employees from other generations, more Gen X employees (38 per cent) intend to stay with their current employer for more than 10 years.
• Gen Xers “are less likely to participate in workplace wellness programs than younger generations.
• Approximately 61 per cent of millennials and 59 per cent Gen Zers are more likely to change jobs if their personal wellness went unsupported in the workplace compared to 41 per cent of Gen Xers.”

This year’s report is the third of five that aims to “identify key lifestyle trends, attitudes and interest of Gen X,” Mather said. Year one (2024) examined the three highest priority areas for Gen X – family, career, and health, while last year’s study revolved around their views on wellness trends and technology.

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