Generational Shifts

Recently, I was with a senior partner of a mid-sized firm who had a simple, but telling story. A junior colleague had texted him at 9 p.m. with the message: “Tomorrow, I’ll be on leave.” No explanation. No apology. Just a fact. When he asked why it was shared so abruptly, the response came: “No need to overcomplicate it.” To the senior, this felt like a breach of etiquette, a lack of respect, unprofessional. To the junior? It was just communication.

Such interactions pointing to generational shifts are increasingly common, not only in accounting firms, but across industries—from accounting and law to tech to consulting—you’ll find these micro-conflicts: senior leaders baffled by juniors who decline to work late without guilt, or young professionals puzzled by the “culture of presence” that glorifies late-sitting.

The clash isn’t about right or wrong, but a signal of a deeper shift in how different generations understand work, authority, and obligation. The discomfort is real—and it exists on both sides. Every generation believes it worked harder than the next. History suggests this belief is universal—and consistently misplaced. The way forward therefore is not to defend old norms reflexively, nor to adopt new ones uncritically, but to translate enduring values into contemporary forms by understanding these generational shifts with empat