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🧓🧑🦱 When Boomers Meet Gen Z At Work
Inside: What Skype’s Shutdown Means for the Future of Internal Comms
Sophia Bennett
May 08, 2025
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Good Morning!
From personality-first hiring trends to the quiet death of a communication giant, this week’s headlines challenge how HR leaders define readiness and resilience.
As Skype fades into tech history, are your internal tools keeping pace with the future of work? Let’s dig into the research and rethink the defaults.
⬇️ Upcoming in this issue
🧓🧑🦱 When Boomers Meet Gen Z: What It Takes to Lead Age-Diverse Teams Today
📞 What Skype’s Shutdown Means for the Future of Internal Comms
📉 Tariff Anxiety: How HR Can Protect Frontline Workers from Economic Shockwaves
🤝 Likability vs. Skills: The Hiring Bias HR Can’t Ignore
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🧓🧑🦱 When Boomers Meet Gen Z: What It Takes to Lead Age-Diverse Teams Today
Today’s managers are trying to steer the most age-diverse workforce in U.S. history toward cohesion. Research shows collaboration fuels innovation and performance, yet only a small percentage of organizations say their leaders are skilled at cross-generational team-building.
As Gen Z challenges norms with customization and curiosity, many older colleagues view their expectations with confusion or skepticism.
Key Insights
🧠 Just 6% of companies believe their leaders can unite multigenerational teams effectively, highlighting a massive leadership development gap.
📦 Gen Z expects a customizable work experience, mirroring their upbringing in an on-demand world—think Uber Eats meets career planning.
🗣️ Remote work has eroded informal connections, making it harder for employees to find common ground without intentional leadership.
🪞 Generational stereotypes distort reality, often masking shared interests and talents—Boomers can love tech and Gen Z can value structure.
📞 What Skype’s Shutdown Means for the Future of Internal Comms
In a workplace where seamless digital communication is now non-negotiable, tools that once felt revolutionary can quickly become obsolete. That’s the lesson underscored by the quiet retirement of Skype—a platform that once defined the voice and video call era but couldn’t keep pace with the demands of modern, integrated collaboration.
Key Insights
📉 Skype's failure to innovate during the pandemic opened the door for Zoom and Google Meet, erasing its early lead in video calling.
💼 Microsoft's $8.5B acquisition didn’t future-proof Skype, as missteps and redesign backlash led to its phase-out in favor of Teams.
🔄 Teams’ integration with Microsoft 365 drove adoption, but bundling led to antitrust concerns and eventual decoupling across Europe and globally.
📡 The shift from Skype to Teams reflects a larger truth: communication tools must evolve with hybrid work, not just coexist with it.
😄 Comic Relief (HR Edition)
HR pros, how often do you really disconnect on vacation? |
📉 Tariff Anxiety: How HR Can Protect Frontline Workers from Economic Shockwaves
Economic policy may be set in Washington, but its impact is felt most immediately on the factory floor and in the retail aisle. With rising fears tied to tariff-driven uncertainty, frontline workers are bracing for job cuts, reduced hours, and shrinking paychecks—often without the support systems enjoyed by salaried staff.
As layoffs loom and generational anxiety widens, HR must step in as both translator and stabilizer—turning uncertainty into a roadmap for resilience.
Key Insights
📊 52% of frontline workers fear layoffs from tariffs, while 74% believe trade policy will hurt their long-term earning potential.
🔄 Cross-training employees across departments builds adaptability, reducing vulnerability to supply chain shocks and offering paths for internal mobility.
🧠 Mental health and financial stress are growing, prompting experts to recommend saving education and accessible psychological support as core benefits.
👥 Gen Z workers show the highest anxiety (63%), calling for generation-specific strategies like upskilling, digital training, and transparent leadership outreach.
In hiring, we all want the “right fit,” but how often does that mean the “most likable” instead of the most qualified?
In a study of 10,000 candidates, those who got the job were 12 times more likely to be described as having a “great personality” than those who didn’t—even when skillsets were comparable.
As the research suggests, when likability overshadows capability, organizations hire less effectively and lose talent faster.
When you think about your last few hires, which factor played the biggest role in your decision? |
Key Insights
📈 Hired candidates are 12x more likely to be called “great personalities”, highlighting how subjective traits now outweigh proven skills in interviews.
🧠 Men are 7.5x more likely to be described as confident, while women are 25x more likely to be labeled “bubbly,” revealing stark bias in feedback.
🗂️ 84% of unsuccessful candidates receive no feedback, yet those hired based on skills stay at companies longer—proving structure beats “vibe.”
📉 Hiring based on likability leads to weaker job performance and faster attrition, undermining long-term organizational growth and retention.
PS – If you are stuck finding the right HRIS or ATS, our sponsor, SSR, offers a free HR software matching service that thousands of HR leaders trust. It’s fast, vendor-neutral, and helps you find the right tools without the usual hassle.
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Sophia Bennett | Editor-in-Chief | HR Insights Today