Fax vs TikTok – Generational clichés are best laughed at together.

From seasoned pros who can handle processes in their sleep to digital natives who can fix the Wi-Fi faster than you can say "got it": When proven experience meets new ideas, tradition meets fresh perspectives, and calmness meets the drive to create, it often generates precisely the dynamic that helps companies move forward. The generation mix sounds like a dream combination. And it is – as long as you don't make the mistake of treating clichés as employee instruction manuals.

Because where different worlds, values, and working styles collide, friction is bound to occur. Not because it's "young versus old," but simply because people tick differently.

Clichés are amusing, but useless

Differences can be wonderfully exaggerated: Some seek "purpose" and flexibility, while others work tirelessly until retirement. Some want minute-by-minute feedback, while others are convinced: "No news is good news."

That may sound pointed, but in practice, it hardly helps. Because reality doesn't fit into age brackets. There are 60-year-olds who go viral on TikTok and 20-year-olds who swear by their paper planners. Young people who love routine, and older employees who celebrate every change. Anyone who only looks at a birth year overlooks what truly matters.

What truly drives people

When we set the stereotypes aside, it becomes clear: Employees don't orient themselves by stereotypes, but by what gives them energy in their daily work.

Some primarily need emotional resonance: belonging, recognition, purpose. Others act more pragmatically: they value reliability, clear structures, and a fair give-and-take. Still others are growth-oriented: they want to shape things, learn, take on responsibility, and create new things.

These patterns are not tied to age. They run through every workforce and change with life phases, career stages, and personal experiences.

Listening instead of labeling

The real art lies in not rushing to apply labels, but rather in understanding: Who needs security, who needs freedom, who needs resonance? Who thrives in a team, who needs room for creativity? Who wants stability, who wants adventure?

Leadership that takes these questions seriously creates spaces where people can develop—regardless of whether they are 23 or 63. This is how engagement, motivation, and ultimately performance are created.

People instead of patterns

Laughing about clichés brings people together: they provide wonderful material for small talk and comedy. But they are useless for leadership. In the end, what matters is not whether someone is young or old, but whether the conditions are right for them to work with joy, energy, and impact.

And that can be figured out: Fundamentally, systematically, and completely free of clichés.