If you’re looking for cues as to how your employees will adapt to new technology tools, consider the age profile of the organization’s workforce.
In a survey of 500 U.S. professionals across various industries conducted by Yooz, a provider of purchase-to-pay automation, more than three-quarters (76%) of all workers witnessed senior colleagues push back against new technology. Furthermore, 55% of millennials (those born 1981 to 1996) said they’re “excited and eager” to try new tools, while only 22% of baby boomers (those born 1946 and 1964) said the same.
More than a third (35%) of the baby boomers said they feel cautious or annoyed, or prefer sticking to the old system, when new technology is plugged in. Not a single Gen Z survey participant (those born 1997 and 2012) selected that response.
At the same time, about a quarter of Gen Z employees have refused to use a new workplace tool, more than any of the other generations, which Yooz characterized as Gen Z not being “afraid to say no.”
About AI specifically, 35% of Gen Z workers said they “love” new tools, versus 13% of Boomers. Still, 40% of employees overall said they find AI helpful but unreliable. “The takeaway: skepticism is still widespread, but younger employees see clear value,” Yooz wrote in its survey report.
The report said organizations “need to manage rollouts carefully: leverage the enthusiasm of younger adopters to build momentum, but also address the concerns of veteran staff who may need more reassurance to get on board.”
The key to winning over anyone reluctant to embrace AI is building trust through real-world use cases and support, showcasing quick wins such as an AI tool that saves everyone time on a tedious task, Yooz wrote.
Among employees, the most commonly cited need with regard to new technologies is better training on AI tools. More than half (52%) of those polled said their company takes a “learn-as-you-go” approach, providing only some basic training or documentation. Relatively few employees said their employer provides “a lot” of training on new tools.
And, almost half (48%) of the employees said better training for all would be among the most effective ways to help a company adopt new technology more effectively.
The research also delved into the question of who should drive decisions to implement new workplace technology. While younger employees are craving clear direction from the C-suite, at the same time, there is “a call for more bottom-up input in tech decisions,” according to the survey report.
More than a third (35%) of Gen Z respondents said new workplace tools should be chosen by leadership with input from younger employees. Additionally, more than a quarter of Millennial and Gen Z respondents said adoption would improve if leadership embraced change faster and more visibly.
A sizable minority (28%) of Gen Z employees said they feel older employees are actively holding back innovation at their company. Yooz advised a collaborative approach to the issue, pairing “tech-savvy younger employees with veteran staff to share knowledge and encourage cross-generational support during rollouts.”
Yooz partnered on the research with Pollfish, a third-party survey platform, and it was conducted in February 2025.
