ENABLING THE GENERATIONAL RESET: Co-Creating the Future of Work

THERE IS A QUIET REVOLUTION happening in Indian workplaces. It doesn't shout, but it hums quietly beneath the surface-across office desks, Zoom windows, and WhatsApp groups. It pulses through onboarding sessions and exit interviews. It crackles in awkward silences between young recruits and seasoned managers. It is the generational reset.

- By Srinath Sridharan & Steve Correa

For too long, we have held onto a tired narrative: that the workplace is a contest between “us” and “them” – between the veterans who “paid their dues” and the new generation who “won’t stick around.” These stories, dressed up as wisdom, are often little more than anxieties disguising themselves as truth. They trap us in defensiveness. They reduce complex individuals to mere caricatures. And worst of all, they squander the opportunity.

Because the truth is: this shift, this reset is work in progress. A once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink how we work, lead, and learn from each other. India, more than many nations, stands at a generational crossroads. By 2025, Gen Z will constitute over a quarter of our workforce.

They've grown up in a digital-first, climate-aware, globally connected world. They are wired for purpose, eager for impact, and opposed to pretence. They want workplaces where learning is ongoing, contributions are visible, and hierarchy does not obscure human qualities.

Older generations – Gen X, Boomers – entered a very different world. Scarcity, structure, and sacrifice shaped their professional values. Stability was the reward. Respect was earned gradually – authority came from tenure, not from TikTok followers or climate campaigns.