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The generation a person was born into does not actually revealanything about how to manage them in a workplace or their abilityto retire comfortably, according to a pair of new studies.

Instead of stereotyping or generalizing workers because theywere born in the baby boomer or millennial generations, employersneed to pay individualized attention to those workers' needs,says a report from the National Academies of Sciences,Engineering, and Medicine.

"Much of the research that's been done to date on thedifferences between 'Gen Z' or 'boomers' in the workplace hasserious limitations, and can mislead employers about what theirworkers actually need," said Nancy Tippins, a consultant whochaired the committee that wrote the academies' report, in apress release.

Similar sentiments were found in the report compiled by retirement plan recordkeeperEmpower Retirement, which bluntly stated "… generations are auseless framework for understanding what plan participants need andhow to reach them."

In fact, 80% of the employees surveyed said their viewswere shaped by experiences and personal characteristics — not bythe generation in which they were born. And eight in 10actually said that they feel a "stronger connection" with groupsthat align with their lifestyle but who are not of theirgeneration.

"Financial planning and goals should meet people where they arein life, consider their life experiences and personalcharacteristics, and then lay out a strategy that helps get them totheir savings goals," said Edmund F. Murphy III, the president andCEO of Empower Retirement, in a press release.

Disruptions or changes bring new financial needs andchallenges at every age. It is not just millennials who become newhomeowners or boomers who face a medical crisis – "all ofthese big moments occur in every generation," the report says.

The report from the National Academies noted that other studieshave established that there are no common generational traits.The research that has been done is "based on datacollected at a single point in time, such as through a survey, andcannot reveal how generations' attitudes or values have changed orstayed the same."