Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
What generational divide?
Organization | Jobs | Talent
May 16, 2023 – Workers across different age groups tend to leave or start new jobs for similar reasons, according to analysis by senior partners Aaron De Smet and Bill Schaninger and colleagues. Among employees who plan to leave their jobs, for example, both Gen Zers and boomers cite lack of career development and advancement as a top reason. Age groups diverge, however, when it comes to why workers stay. Younger workers favor flexibility, while older workers are more likely to cite compensation as a reason. Click through the interactive to see more.
Interactive
To read the article, see “Gen what? Debunking age-based myths about worker preferences,” April 20, 2023.
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Visual form
Ranked-reason matrix.
Layout / body structure
Each slide is a grid with ranked rows running top to bottom and age cohorts running left to right, plus a color legend on the right, so the reader reads each frame as a ranked matrix before advancing to the next employment moment.
What is being compared
It compares the top reasons employees cite for leaving an old job, taking a new job, and staying in a current job across Gen Z, younger millennials, older millennials, Gen X, and younger baby boomers, with an overall column as a reference point.
Measurement system
The visual uses ordinal rank positions rather than a numeric axis, so the reader tracks which reason occupies each rank slot for each age cohort and how those colors move from row to row across the grid.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Every frame uses numbered rank rows on the left, cohort columns across the middle, solid colored blocks inside the matrix, and a text legend on the right that translates each color into a reason such as compensation, career development, workplace flexibility, meaningful work, reliable colleagues, or safe workplace environment.
Main takeaway from the visual
Career development appears high across generations instead of belonging to just one age group, but the matrix also makes the differences visible because younger cohorts pull flexibility and meaningful work higher while older cohorts return more often to compensation.
Key standout values or extremes
The first slide ranks top five reasons for leaving, while the next two slides rank top six reasons for taking and staying, and the source page sums up the clearest split: both Gen Z and boomers put lack of career development near the top when leaving, younger workers lean more toward flexibility, and older workers lean more toward compensation.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
The reader moves frame by frame through separate matrices for leaving, taking, and staying, with the exact same cohort columns and legend retained across slides so the change in ranked reasons becomes the focus.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart is the full visual on this page.