Remember that 2024 post where we asked if you might be a “cusper”? It hit a nerve—and our inbox has been full of follow-up questions ever since. So, we thought it was time to revisit microgenerations, this time looking more closely at the shared experiences that can make someone feel more connected to the generation before or after them than the generation they technically belong to.
We get some version of this question almost every time we speak: “What about those of us who are right on the edge?”.
It’s a fair question. Generations are helpful because they give us a way to understand how shared experiences can influence people at work. But a birth year doesn’t suddenly flip a switch. Someone born at the end of Gen X may have a lot in common with an older Millennial. The same is true for Millennials and Gen Z.
These groups are sometimes called microgenerations or cuspers, and they’re an important reminder that generational lines are not nearly as clean as they sometimes appear on a chart.
Someone may technically be a Millennial but relate much more closely to their Gen Z colleagues. An older Millennial may find that their experiences look a lot like those of younger Gen Xers. It all comes back to what was happening in the world—and in your life—during your formative years.
So, What Shapes a Microgeneration?
Think about how much the world has changed in relatively short periods of time.
The iPhone launched in 2007. Social media changed how we communicate and build relationships. COVID completely disrupted how millions of people learned and worked. Now AI is changing how we access information and think about everything from entry-level work to leadership.
Depending on exactly where you were in your life when those moments happened, your experience may look very different from someone in the very same generation.
Were you already managing people when COVID hit, or were you starting your first job from your childhood bedroom?
Did you learn how to work before smartphones were everywhere, or have you always had instant access to information?
Were you already established in your career when hybrid work became normal, or is hybrid work the only professional environment you’ve ever known?
Those differences matter. They can influence our expectations around communication, speed, independence, feedback, flexibility, and even what we believe a leader should do for us.
That’s where microgenerations become particularly interesting in the workplace. Let’s look at a few of the bridges we see between today’s generations—and what those shared experiences can tell us.
The Boomer–Gen X Bridge (Also Known as “Generation Jones”): Around 58–66 in 2026
This group built much of their careers before the workplace became fully digital, but they’ve also spent decades adapting to new technology, economic cycles, and changing expectations.
Today, many are thinking about what the next phase of work looks like. Do I want to retire? Stay involved? Consult? Mentor? Keep leading?
Someone on the younger end of the Baby Boomer generation may find they have much more in common professionally with an older Gen Xer than with a Boomer born 15 years before them. They may have experienced similar technology transitions, similar economic events, and similar changes in what leadership and work look like.
For leaders, the opportunity is to recognize those similarities rather than assuming age or a generational label tells the whole story. There is enormous value in experience, institutional knowledge, mentorship, and advising—but how people want to use that experience may look very different depending on where they are in their career and life.
The Gen X–Millennial Bridge (“Xennials”): Around 42–48 in 2026
We think this is an especially interesting group right now.
Many learned to work one way and are now being asked to lead in a completely different environment. They remember life before the iPhone. They experienced the rise of the internet and social media in real time. And many became the first group of leaders tasked with managing truly hybrid teams at scale.
A younger Gen Xer and an older Millennial may therefore have more shared experiences than their generational labels would suggest. Both remember an analog childhood and adulthood shaped by rapid digital change. Both learned traditional workplace norms before having to adapt to entirely new ways of communicating, managing, and working.
They’re also often sitting directly between senior leaders who expect work to operate one way and younger employees who are asking for something different.
That can make them incredibly valuable translators inside an organization. They understand the systems that came before them while also having spent much of their careers adapting those systems for what came next.
The Millennial–Gen Z Bridge (“Zillennials”): Around 27–32 in 2026
This may be one of the most interesting microgenerations in the workforce today because the pandemic created such a clear dividing line.
Someone who is 31 may remember several years of traditional office life before COVID. Someone who is 27 may have entered the professional workforce during or immediately after it.
But this is exactly why the generational label alone can be misleading. A younger Millennial whose early career was disrupted by COVID may have far more in common with an older Gen Zer who had the same experience than with a 44-year-old Millennial who had already spent two decades in the workforce.
The younger Millennials in this group are also beginning to manage Gen Z at scale. They’re close enough to remember being the “young person” in the workplace themselves, while simultaneously becoming responsible for setting expectations, providing feedback, and developing the next generation.
We hear Millennial managers say: “I had to figure this out on my own.”
But we also hear: “I don’t want to lead people the way I was led.”
That puts this microgeneration in an interesting position. They have an opportunity to take what worked from their own early career experiences, leave behind what didn’t, and create more clarity and structure for the people coming behind them.
The Gen Z–Gen Alpha Bridge (“Zalphas”): Around 10–16 Today
They aren’t in our workplaces yet, but we think this group is worth watching.
Many were in elementary school during the pandemic. They experienced childhood before generative AI became mainstream, but they will enter adulthood in a world where AI is a normal part of how they learn, search, create, and solve problems.
That will shape their expectations.
Older members of Gen Alpha may ultimately have more in common with younger Gen Zers than we realize today. Both groups are growing up in a digital-first world, but the introduction of AI creates another important dividing line within their experiences.
We don’t know exactly what that will mean yet. But we think it will force organizations to reconsider what entry-level work, onboarding, development, and even “experience” look like.
Your Generation Is a Starting Point, Not the Whole Story
This is the piece we find most interesting about microgenerations.
We (as a society and general trend) tend to talk about generations as though everyone inside one category should have more in common with one another than with people outside of it.
But that isn’t always how it works.
A younger Gen Xer may have more in common with an older Millennial than with the oldest members of Gen X. A younger Millennial who started their career around COVID may relate more closely to older Gen Z employees than to Millennials who were already established leaders when the pandemic began. And that makes sense.
Generations can span 15 years or more. Think about how much can change in that amount of time. Smartphones, social media, COVID, remote work, AI, economic cycles, and changing expectations of leadership can all create very different formative experiences within a single generation.
Microgenerations help us account for some of that gray area.
What Should Leaders Do With This?
First, don’t create more labels just for the sake of creating labels. The point of understanding microgenerations is not to put people into even smaller boxes.
It’s actually the opposite.
- Use generational data as a starting point for better questions. Ask employees what shaped the way they think about work. Talk about communication preferences instead of assuming them. Get clear about what flexibility, feedback, autonomy, and accountability mean on your team.
- Pay attention to the people who naturally bridge generations. Someone who understands the expectations of senior leadership and the changing needs of emerging talent can be incredibly valuable. So can the manager who remembers traditional office culture but has successfully learned to lead a hybrid team.
- Microgenerations are another reminder of something we talk about often at GPS: generational data is useful, but it is never the whole story. Shared experiences matter. Life stage matters. Career stage matters. Technology matters. Culture matters. And sometimes, a few years on either side of a major event can shape how someone sees work more than the generational label beside their birth year.
So, we’ll leave you with the question we’re now asking:
If you consider yourself a cusper, what defining moment makes you feel more connected to one generation than the other?
Send our team a note or share your answer with us. This was one of our most popular conversations the first time around, and we have a feeling we still have a lot more to learn.
Did you like this week’s post? Then you might like these posts below.
Gen Z and AI: Where They Stand—And Why It Might Surprise You
Why Change Management is a Leader’s Most Essential Skill
Your Employees Are Applying To Jobs On Your Dime
What’s Next?
If your team is navigating generational friction, stalled performance, or culture misalignment—it’s time to take action.
At GPS, we’re on a mission to help organizations unlock clarity, communication, and performance across every generation. And we don’t just talk about results—we deliver them in 90 days or less.
Connect with us today and start driving results that last.
