Gen Z Making Changes in the Work Environment and 13 Ways They Are Doing it
If you know someone born between 1997 and 2012, you’ve encountered people from Generation Z, Gen Z. These pre-teen to 20-somethings are rapidly changing how the world interacts with young people.
This generation of young people is standing up for what they want work and life to look like, and it’s nothing like their millennial and Gen X parents. Where millennials and Gen X adhere to a sense of loyalty to their jobs, Gen Z feels no such compulsion. They’ll change jobs at the drop of a hat to fulfill a more personal goal of job satisfaction.
Diversity and inclusion are also important concepts to Gen Z. As the most racially and ethically diverse generation in the USA, the values, morals, and backgrounds they represent flow into their workplace preferences. As such, Gen Z is making swift strides to change the environment surrounding work in the US. Here’s how they’re doing it.
1. Gen Z Embraces Change
One instance you’re not likely to see often amongst Gen Zers is an adherence to sticking with one job. Older Gen Z workers will change jobs quickly if they feel a need to, and it doesn’t always have to do with money, either.
They’ll put that job in the rearview mirror if they feel disrespected or like they’re nothing but a number to their boss or company.
2. Gen Z is Pragmatic
As the first generation with almost limitless technology, Gen Z doesn’t feel the same level of deference to those in authority as past generations. They aren’t going to “take your word for it” just because you say so.
Gen Z also doesn’t feel bad about questioning everyone, including their peers and parents. They’ll point out your mistakes, misinformation, and misguided advice. They have no problem advocating for what they want and need and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.
3. Gen Z Wants to Make a Difference
For the Zed generation, making a difference is changing how the world works. Whether in politics, education, or work, Gen Z isn’t satisfied to just talk about making a difference.
This newest adult generation is holding a complex set of cards. Climate change, geopolitical unrest, social injustice, and life in general are all vying for their attention. Gen Z is interested in truly finding ways to help clear these challenging topics. Employees want to know their concerns matter to their bosses, if not on an individual level, at least as a whole.
4. It’s All About Collaboration and Teamwork
Welcome to the collab generation. In the past, we’d just say, “So-and-so and I worked together on this piece.” Gen Z, always striving for their own voice, is the collab (short for collaboration) generation, and for good reason.
With the invention of podcasts and other digital products and services, it has become easier than ever for people to work together, no matter where in the world they are. You name art, music, healthcare, trade skills, and you’ll likely find a collaboration to fit it. For Gen Z, teamwork makes the world go round.
5. Consensus Rules
Gen Zers don’t like “top-down” models in the workplace. They work best when leadership can step back and let someone else take control for a bit. Flexibility in your leadership model can help you adjust to the Gen Z workforce.
They also value transparency, consensus, and service leadership. The youngest global workers value instances like admitting when you’re wrong, showing steps of improvement, asking for help, and serving the group’s best interests.
6, Mental Health and Work-Life Balance
For Gen Z, the “always on” work model never stuck. The 9-5 grind quickly gave way to flexible work schedules, a focus on mental health, and a positive work-life balance. They will pick a lower salary with a flexible schedule over the regular 40-hour week at maximum pay and be very happy.
As employees, Gen Z is sensitive to an “always working” mentality that doesn’t meet their needs. They don’t want to work constantly and will always prioritize the human experience and life outside of work.
7. Trust, Authenticity, and Loyalty
Gen Z are the children of Gen X and early Millennials who grew up with companies that valued their bottom line over employee retention. Employees who climbed up in pay and pension time often received a pink slip, effectively firing them in favor of hiring three newbie employees starting on the bottom floor. Money was more important for Gen Z; working with real and authentic people matters. They want to be able to trust who you are as a person, not just what you say, as honesty and openness are high on their list of importance.
Raised through the 2008 financial fallout and COVID-19, Gen Z embraces the gig economy and entrepreneurship. Their views on loyalty to your company aren’t nearly in line with their parents’ views. There is no “career path” they won’t give up for something more aligned with their whole-person outlook.
8. Communication and Transparency
For “Zoomers,” communication and transparency are essential to their work life, and they don’t need to chase a big salary. Years ago, scoring a Silicon Valley job with a big tech firm was the quintessential “golden ticket” to your best life, and most Millennials would snatch up those jobs.
Fast-forward a generation, and Gen Z snubbed the tech industry, increasingly dissatisfied with the top five giant tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft). Gen Z looked for work elsewhere, which made it difficult for large tech companies to find younger talent. Instead of a fat paycheck, Gen Z looked at the adverse effect of tech jobs on mental health, mass censorship over disinformation, and spreading misinformation and said, “Nah, I’m good.”
9. Economic Security
Economic security is a high-priority item for Gen Z. 67% of Gen Z expressed a willingness to relocate for a better job opportunity, and 58% said they’d work nights and weekends to achieve a higher salary. However, college and the crippling debt that usually comes with it are not so important.
Gen Z indeed grew up in the technological age where smartphones were commonplace. However, 90% of Gen Zers value human interaction and connection when considering at-work communication. While their Millennial counterparts were quick to grab any job that came their way, 54% of Gen Z take serious consideration with the money offered when considering their first job.
10. Possess A Strong Entrepreneurial Spirit
With a strong gig economy, Gen Z has had access to freelance and contract work from the start. Also, because they are more open to unusual or abnormal work schedules, flexible working options, and value-driven work environments, Gen Z is okay with going out independently. However, don’t expect Gen Z to start by scraping the bottom of the barrel. This generation will expect pay rates that match, at the very least, a livable wage and will gladly move on to the next opportunity to strengthen their annual income.
Perhaps more than any generation before them, Gen Z embraces the entrepreneurial spirit with vigor, willing to invest the time and energy to build an online audience through platforms like YouTube, TikTok, X, and Facebook to create the work-life balance they desire.
11. Digital Natives
As we’ve mentioned, Gen Z is the first generation born in the technology age. They’ve never been without computers, smartphones, and the internet. Concepts like the card catalog at the local library are alien to them, and you can forget the print version of Encyclopedia Britannica.
As digital natives, Gen Z as a whole is tech-savvy. They aren’t likely to run across a general technical issue they can’t fix or at least research how to fix. As an early Millennial parent of three Gen Z children, I fall behind in understanding emerging technology interfaces, and even something as commonplace as texting is still a frustrating ordeal. This newest adult generation will push the envelope of what technology can do even further than Boomers like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
12. Work and Identity Are Completely Separate
If you start a casual conversation with a Gen Xer or Millennial, one of the first things you’ll likely hear about is what they do for a living. It’s ingrained in our identity and holds a certain amount of status. We have instant respect fordoctors, lawyers, scientists, and generally, anyone who does a job we can’t imagine doing ourselves.
A Gen Z person does what they do for a living, and they may look at you like you’ve grown two heads if you ask about it. For this newest workforce, their job has very little, if anything, to do with who they are. They aren’t interested in talking about the weather or what their Gen Alpha siblings are learning in school. They want you to be interested in their interests, even if you don’t share them, and they can spot fake accolades a mile away. To Gen Z, authenticity is paramount to good, genuine relationships.
13. Empathy Matters
Much more than their Millennial, Gen X, or even Boomer bosses, Gen Z values empathy in the workplace. Mutual trust and respect are a priority for these young adults. While their older counterparts may value productivity and output, Gen Z wants people to consider their whole person.
If you’re a Millennial or Gen X boss, consider questioning your Gen Z employees about how you can utilize empathy in the workplace to help them feel valued and seen.
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