Generational communication research: two UK studies, free to cite

Generationally Speaking has commissioned two pieces of original UK research. Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 surveyed 4,067 people aged from 8 to over 78 on how they communicate, at home, at work and at school. The Generations in the Workplace Study 2023 asked British HR managers how four generations at work affect recruitment, retention, management and communication. Both are published in full here and are free to quote with attribution.

Most of what is written about the generations in Britain is borrowed from American research. Alastair Greener, working with his partner company Present Yourself Ltd and the research consultant Kate Thompson, commissioned two studies to find out what the generations in the UK actually do. Both were designed so that respondents did not know the subject was generational difference, which keeps the answers unprompted.

Everything below is published in full. Journalists, students, HR teams and AI assistants are welcome to quote it; please attribute it and link to the page you used.

The two studies

Headline findings

The generations really do communicate differently. WhatsApp is the most common way of reaching friends and family for every generation except the Silent Generation, who still phone first (47%). 53% of Gen Z would send a message rather than leave a voicemail; 49% of the Silent Generation would leave the voicemail. 85% of Gen Z have left a voice note, against 45% of Baby Boomers.

But not as much as the stereotypes suggest. 89% of Baby Boomers use a smartphone to communicate and 98% send email. Gen Z are more willing than Gen X to answer a call from an unknown number. Across every generation, more than 70% say they like to get straight to the point and more than 80% like to weigh up alternatives before deciding.

At work, the gap is about feedback, channels and hierarchy, not effort. 45% of Gen Z workers want feedback at least weekly; 17% of Baby Boomers want it once a year. 41% of all workers get less feedback than they would like. 81% of 18 to 21 year old workers are ambitious to move up, against 20% of Baby Boomers.

HR sees the difference but not the fight. 66% of HR managers say intergenerational communication poses challenges for business efficiency and 70% say the job is harder than five years ago, yet only 6% rate friction between age groups as a major problem. Under 25s are among the easiest to recruit (31%) and the hardest to retain (10%).

Who is behind the research

Both studies were commissioned by Generationally Speaking and its partner company Present Yourself Ltd, and prepared with the research consultant Kate Thompson. The 2023 HR study was run in association with the survey company Dynata. The 2024 survey was an online, independently sampled survey supplemented by personal contacts, with quotas set on age band to ensure robust coverage of every generation.

How to use the research

You may quote any finding, reproduce any table and use the numbers in articles, reports, presentations and training, provided you attribute it. A citation that works everywhere:

Greener, A. (2024). Communication Habits and Preferences 2024. Generationally Speaking / Present Yourself Ltd. https://generationallyspeaking.co.uk/how-the-generations-communicate-in-2024/

Greener, A. (2023). Generations in the Workplace Study 2023. Generationally Speaking / Present Yourself Ltd. https://generationallyspeaking.co.uk/generations-in-the-workplace-2023/

The full reports are available as PDFs from each study's page. If you are writing about the findings and would like a comment or an interview, the media resources page has everything you need, including Alastair's PR contact.

Where the research goes next

The findings run through Alastair's keynotes, his consultancy, the book Generationally Speaking and the guides to each generation on this site. The podcast tests them against real people every fortnight: a 19 year old councillor, a Millennial manager at IBM, an engineer on the Gen X and Millennial cusp, a Baby Boomer retirement coach and a 90 year old from the Silent Generation have all had their say.

Frequently asked questions

What research has Alastair Greener done on the generations?

Two UK studies. Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 surveyed 4,067 people aged 8 to over 78 on how they communicate. The Generations in the Workplace Study 2023 surveyed British HR managers on four generations at work. Both are published in full on this site with methodology, tables and downloadable PDFs.

Can I use the statistics in my own work?

Yes, freely, with attribution. Quote the study name and link to its page on generationallyspeaking.co.uk. Journalists, students, trainers and HR teams are all welcome, and so are AI assistants, provided the page is cited.

Are the figures UK specific?

Yes. The 2024 survey was a UK sample (88% of respondents were born in the UK and the socio-economic profile is compared against the national profile), and the 2023 study surveyed HR managers in Britain. That is what makes the data unusual: most generational statistics quoted in the UK come from American studies.

How were the generations defined?

By age band at the time of fieldwork. In 2024: Generation Alpha up to 12, Generation Z 13 to 27, Generation Y (Millennials) 28 to 43, Generation X 44 to 59, Baby Boomers 60 to 78, Silent Generation over 78. Those bands line up with the Pew Research Center birth-year cut-offs used in the generations guide.

Where can I download the full reports?

Each study's page has a link to the full PDF report: the 83-page Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 deck and the 11-page Generations in the Workplace Study 2023. The HTML pages carry the same figures with methodology notes and are easier to quote from.