Baby boomers are the most unpopular demographic in the workplace, according to the latest Leadership, Employment and Direction Survey.

The 'Generations' survey found that only 4% of Generation X and Y staff want to work with boomers, both preferring their own generation at 57% and 53% respectively.

Generation X reportedly found their mature colleagues to be inflexible and set in their ways, while Generation Y can't handle the boomers' ineptitude with technology.

Strangely, the survey even found that baby boomers themselves do not want to work with other boomers, with four out of five saying their peers were self-obsessed and determined to do things their way.

Generation Y were found to be the generation that most groups wanted to work with.

The research, commissioned by Leadership Management Australasia, surveyed 774 workers spread across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

However, Alison Monroe, managing director of specialist ageing workforce consultancy SageCo, said the small survey sample applies very broad generalisations to an age group that encompasses over a third of Australia's workforce.

"Certainly there are instances where mature workers can be inflexible and set in their ways, but equally there are mature workers who are highly engaged, dynamic, flexible and innovative," she said.

"I think that for every Gen Y that is dynamic, high potential and smart, there is one that is underperforming and unproductive.

It cuts both ways." Monroe said that if there are mature workers who could be said to be inflexible, employers need to ask what part they play in that.

"If they haven't been investing in their mature workers over time, if they haven't been developing them or giving them opportunities to develop and learn, then what we're doing is unskilling our mature workers over time so we end up with a pool of workers that are not as marketable as they could be or should be," she said.

"There are unique elements within each generation and employees should be cautious not to apply huge generalisations to their own workforce generation.

I think that employers need to take stock of what ownership they take of skilling workers over time."