There’s a quote about Gen X that I heard recently that really hits home: “Gen X is the only generation that became 30 at the age of 10 and still is 30 at the age of 50.”

As a Gen Xer, I can attest that this character trait is true. We are a different generation — smaller, more independent, self-sufficient and resourceful.

And apparently, we are pretty good bosses. According to a 2024 FlexJobs report, 49% of workers believe that Gen X colleagues are the best managers, with less than a quarter of workers saying the same about millennials and baby boomers. Gen X is generally defined as people born between 1965 and 1980. Many Gen Xers have moved into executive-level positions, and 267 Fortune 500 CEOs are part of this generation.

I’m fascinated by generational differences, though they tend to be a bit overblown and rigid. I’ve met Gen Zers and Millennials that act like Baby Boomers and I’ve met Boomers that act like Gen Xers. The point is that we are all different and labeling an entire group of people is never fully accurate. But there are definitely some traits that are identifiable in every generation that hold true and as an industry, we can learn from what each generation brings to the table.

While Gen X is motivated by diversity, work-life balance, their personal-professional interests, Millennials are motivated by responsibility, the quality of their manager and unique work experiences and Gen Z is motivated by diversity, personalization, individuality and creativity. Can you find people in every generation that hold some of those traits? Of course.

But since I have your attention and rarely have the chance to brag about Gen X, let me continue. In addition to reporting that Gen Xers make the best managers, 40% of respondents stated that they most enjoy working with Gen X. Conversely, 43% of survey takers stated that they least enjoy working with Gen Z.

As for other generations at work, 20% of respondents shared that they most enjoy working with Baby Boomers, while 31% said Millennials were the generation they most enjoyed working with.

Across generations in the workplace, the majority of Millennials (62%), Gen Xers (68%), and Baby Boomers (73%) feel that other generations don’t understand their generation’s workplace challenges, with the highest number of responses submitted by Baby Boomers. When asked about their younger counterparts, 59% of Baby Boomers feel that Gen Z “does not get an undeserved bad rap” in the workplace, compared to 58% of Gen X and less than half (48%) of Millennials.

I’ll just leave these stats here and let you discuss. I won’t be able to brag for long as a Gen Xer since our time in leadership will be short lived. In fact, Gen Z was expected to overtake Baby Boomers in the workforce in 2024. Still, Gen Z (known as Zoomers) will have to wait a while before it asserts control. Millennials will dominate the workforce until sometime in the early 2040s, according to Glassdoor’s estimates.