Around the country the same intergenerational conflict is playing out daily, and it is driving the young and the old mad in equal measure.

Young people entering the workforce at the moment are driving their old bosses crazy.

When we analyse the very different circumstances under which Gen Z (born 2000-17) and the Baby Boomers (born 1946-63) were raised, and the broader economic environment at the start of their careers, we understand the source of this conflict.

Baby Boomers were a gigantic birth cohort.

After the terrible collective experience of living through the First World War, the Great Depression, and the Second World War, the nation was finally optimistic about the future again. As the young men returned home, there was pent-up demand for baby making.

The fertility rate surged from around two births per woman to around 3.5 births per woman. There were just heaps of kids around.

Baby Boomers didn’t always finish their full 12 years of schooling.

Many entered the workforce after relatively rudimentary schooling and only a small share went on to university. For a good chunk of them university was free, too.

When it was time to get a job, there were many Baby Boomers competing for relatively few jobs. The strong competition for employment helped to keep wages down. Securing employment was a big success. Once you scored a job you had to work hard to keep it.

To make up for relatively low wages, Baby Boomers became the first generation where women entered the workforce at scale. Australia went from one household income to 1.5 household incomes. This rapidly increased the........

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