Gen Z and the City: Navigating intergenerational differences in the workplace

A joint initiative between St Paul’s Cathedral and Cumberland Lodge.

Questions of intergenerational (in)justice centred on economic precarity, technological innovation, shifting social boundaries, and existential threats such as climate change, are impacting on young people’s expectations of their future. Yet while Gen Z express personal and social values that enable them to navigate the 21st century this has implications for the workplace where, for the first time, there can be four generations working together.

Cumberland Lodge and St Paul’s Cathedral have launched a new research action partnership to examine the values driving Gen Z and their workplace practices, to further understand how this affects the corporate, social, and creative sectors of the City of London.

Bringing together St Paul’s’ connections with the City, and Cumberland Lodge’s expertise in facilitating conversations on ethical and social challenges, this partnership will examine in depth how values are shifting between generations, and how this affects behaviours, attitudes, recruitment, and retention in the workplace.

The project involves an initial report and panel discussion at St Paul’s centred on the themes of intergenerational change (2024). In the second phase, Cumberland Lodge will facilitate conversations that bring together young people and employers to learn across generational boundaries.

The launch of the initial report will take place on Tuesday 8 October. You can find out more about the launch event here.

The project will develop a series of recommendations and learning tools to assist City firms and institutions to manage the generational diversity in their workplaces, including creating spaces for intergenerational dialogue. The project provides business leaders with the opportunity to learn from the insights and opinions of younger employees and for this to influence business policy and practice.

You can find out more about the work of St Paul’s Cathedral here.