The current office landscape is shaping up to look eerily like the Tony Danza–helmed 1980s sitcom Who’s the Boss? With so many big personalities, it seems as if no one knows who is driving the bus at any given moment. But everyone seems to think they’re behind the wheel.
So finds the Harris Poll in an exclusive survey with Fortune of 1,200 knowledge workers, revealing there’s a power vacuum developing in a time where the future of work is highly contested. Since the pandemic, everything from a four-day workweek to the need to be in the office has been called into question. But who will answer these queries with true authority has yet to come to light.
When the Harris Poll asked each generation who holds the most power in setting norms and expectations in the workplace, most of them felt their own generation did. A whopping 81% of Gen Xers think their group is in control, 70% of millennials think they are, and 54% of Gen Zers think it’s them. Boomers are the only group where less than half (46%) said the same about their generation. While everyone sees themselves atop the food chain, this likely means something different for each generation, says Amy Mulvey, senior research manager at the Harris Poll.
“For boomers and Gen X, this is likely recognizing a more traditional concept of power dynamics, as they are typically the corporate decision-makers,” Mulvey tells Fortune. “On the other hand, millennials and Gen Z may see themselves as the future of the workforce with power to influence decision-makers at their company as they seek to attract and retain talent.”
She adds that younger generations have shown they’ll leave for better jobs if their new expectations are not heard, therefore putting pressure on the more established older generations. This doesn’t necessarily mean there will be “a clash in power,” though. Mulvey explains that the debate represents a larger “opportunity to recognize the value that each generation brings in shaping the future of the workplace to make it an environment that meets the needs of employees at all different stages of life.”
The rise of the Gen Xers
Indeed, boomers and Gen Zers have been pitted against each other in their respective roles as traditionalists and rebels. But it turns out that the two generations are more similar than they’re made out to be, with both aligned in their work mission. And the struggle for better work-life balance is a tale as old as Gen X, who also wanted the same lifestyle Gen Z has been fighting for. Plus, it seems as if all generations are aligned in their desire for better pay and flexibility.
Even if young adults of each generation have tried to shake up the workplace, the office has only just started to feel drastically different. Most employees (86%) say that it feels like the workplace norms and expectations have shifted since the pandemic started, according to the Harris Poll. And a third report feeling like things have changed a lot.
While most age cohorts viewed their own generation to be the greatest power player in these shifts, the entire respondent pool collectively thought Gen X wins in general. Forty-one percent of them said Gen X has the most power in dictating the current office landscape. Part of what’s happening is a change in seniority, Rebecca Purser, research manager at the Harris Poll, explains. As boomers begin to retire, Gen X is taking over leadership roles. Indeed, most Fortune 500 CEOs are the average age of just about 58, right at the top of the Gen X bracket.
Gen Xers are in a prime place to know what people want and influence others, as they communicate with more senior and junior employees while in middle manager positions, Purser adds. “While they are sometimes overlooked in the generational narratives we tend to see, Gen X is likely quietly shifting what the future of the workplace looks like,” she adds.
While everyone might think they’re the boss, it seems as if the answer is less of a doozy than one might think (just ask Danny Pudi’s character Abed from Community). Amid the chaos, the middle-child Gen X rises to the top.
This article is part of Fortune’s New Normal at Work quartet in conjunction with the Harris Poll.
