Talk of how Gen Z is integrating into the workforce and how they are disrupting the expectations and standards of previous working generations is dominating the proverbial water cooler.  

People love to talk about how Gen Z is changing the workforce—and most people have a strong opinion on the subject. 

A New York Times article describes the trend of younger employees coming of age and redefining what they want their work experience to look like. 

''People are discarding the traditional success ethic—which reads that whatever your personal work preference and lifestyle might be, they should be subordinated to the ultimate goal of moving up the organization,'' the article reads. ''Now people are saying that success doesn't necessarily mean moving up. It means personal fulfillment; it means psychological success in terms of one's own value system, and it means more opportunity to control your own future.'' 

The article also describes how newer employees are switching jobs more frequently and are constantly on the look for roles that align with their values. 

''They don't always trust the old ethic that if they work hard everything will come out right,'' the piece continues. “They are also learning to package themselves in more marketable ways, switching careers more frequently as they find themselves stalled professionally, and demanding more information about advancement opportunities.” 

The workforce is skewing younger, and companies need to adapt to make sure that the future of their employee base is happy. It’s a relatively new challenge… isn’t it? 

Maybe not so much.  

Here’s the part of this story where I make a small confession. Yes, that article from the New York Times cited above is talking about a new generation of workers disrupting the status quo, but it’s not about Gen Z. It was published in 1982 and was talking about the Baby Boomer generation, which was just coming into its own professionally. 

This 40-year-old story proves a couple things. One, people have always talked about generational divides and what makes older different from younger. Two, though, shows that there’s a lot more that different generations have in common than they may realize.
 

The value of Reverse Mentorship 

Since 2021, Land O’Lakes has offered a Reverse Mentorship Program to shine a light on those similarities and provide a jumping-off point for new workplace connections. 

Reverse mentorship is exactly what it sounds like: the early-in-their-career employee is placed in the role of mentor, and the more experienced employee takes on the role of mentee.  

This allows the more junior employees a unique opportunity to build leadership skills and expand their networks, and it gives more experienced employees chances to continue learning in their careers while also getting a fresh perspective from coworkers they may otherwise not have met. 

“Mentorship is pretty prominent regardless of the industry or sector you're in, but I feel like the idea of reverse mentorship—flipping those roles—is pretty unique,” says Cody Hoerning, a phenotyping senior scientist at the WinField United Innovation Center in River Falls, Wisconsin, and a mentor in the program. “I'm trying to ensure that I am offering my insights, my experiences, sharing those. It's cool because it's more of a leadership role that I may not take in a traditional mentorship.” 

The concept has seen success so far here at Land O’Lakes. Since its inception in 2022, our co-op's Reverse Mentorship Program has had around 900 participants; in the 2025 cohort, there are 258 participants. 

Jenna Bradford, a program mentor and tech services ag data innovation specialist, says the opportunity to connect with more tenured employees that she otherwise wouldn’t have met has helped her feel more comfortable in her role and within Land O’Lakes as a whole. 

“Some of my coworkers have been working here as long as I've been alive, and that can be really daunting because they know so much. But having the opportunity to sit down and meet with them, it's like, ‘oh, OK, we're all just people,’” Jenna says. “Getting to have all those cross-generational experiences and understand all different types of people on a personal level helps everyone keep in touch with the business.” 

Breaking down preconceived notions about other generations is essential to unlocking the full potential of a workforce. Dairy Foods President Heather Anfang says her participation in the Reverse Mentorship Program has proven to be an essential tool in keeping a pulse on the company.  

By building relationships built on trust and mutual respect, regardless of tenure or title with the enterprise, Heather says she’s able to get honest feedback and valuable insight into how people feel about the state of the co-op. 

“I can get information from my mentor on how they're feeling about the company—and having a connection like that helps me gain that different perspective,” Heather says. “Having the ability to tap into all of the great minds in this organization and hear from some really talented individuals only makes our co-op better.”

Different generations, similar mindset 

Mazuri Director John Zeloski has been in the program for a couple years. In addition to gaining insight about the company from a different perspective, he says his mentors have been invaluable resources and subject matter experts in their own right. 

His participation has helped him learn about new technologies and alternative ways to get work done. 

“We have some really capable and confident employees acting as mentors. The people that are stepping up and want to be part of this program are high-potential employees,” John says. “It's always insightful for me to learn what's on the younger generation's mind, what's important to them, how they want to work.” 

Though there is a lot of discourse about how different the generations are, data collected in the last few years shows that employees, regardless of age, are looking for similar flexibility, purpose and work-life balance in their careers. 

Jenna says reverse mentorship has been a key component in her professional development, and it’s helped her find common ground with more tenured employees. 

“It's been really cool to have that setting where it's a bit more informal and there’s the opportunity to be vulnerable,” Jenna says. “Having strong relationships helps your career, and being able to talk about how your opinions might be different on some things while also talking about the many things you have in common in a respectful way really helps the livelihood of Land O’Lakes.” 

Reverse mentorship has proven to be a valuable asset in helping us build a resilient team that’s ready to handle fresh challenges and grab new opportunities by providing nearly 1,000 people with the opportunity to connect with a coworker they may otherwise never have met. 

“It's so important that we build the relationships, we get to know each other,” Heather says. “That's how we build trust, and that's how we solve problems.”