Centennials: Coming Soon to an Office Near You

Author: Georgina Barrick

As a Generation X leader, I’m very interested in understanding the generations that share my workspace and have, over the past 2 months, explored Generation X and Millennials.

I’m now on a journey to get to grips with Centennials – or Generation Z – who will be entering the world of work over the next 5 years.

Born after 1997, these curious beings are currently aged up to 20. Although they’re still young, it already looks like they’re set to be very different to the pampered, entitled Millennials – which may come as something of a relief to Generation X leaders. Of course, we’ve noted that, as Millennials mature, they too will be shaped by experience and environment and will undoubtedly evolve.

In their short lives, Centennials have been exposed to more uncertainty than many other generations – and it’s affected them deeply…

They’ve grown up in the shadow of 9/11, the rise of global terrorism, the subprime crisis and recession of 2008 and the devastating tsunamis in Asia and Japan. They’ve witnessed the election of America’s first Black president, Wikileaks, the legalisation of gay marriage and the more widespread acceptance of transsexuals.

In South Africa, Centennials are the first generation to be born into a fully democratic South Africa – they don’t see colour and don’t use racial identifiers.

This is the first generation never to know life before the internet and social media.

As a consequence, Centennials are true digital natives who have grown up with always on, always available technology. They don’t understand a world where you can’t pause live TV, where ad breaks interrupt your favourite show or where you had to buy a CD, rather than downloading your current favourite song off iTunes or streaming it from Deezer. They don’t know what a ‘tickey box’ is, have never used a rotary dial telephone and can’t understand why you would buy a mobile phone that only makes calls or receives SMS’. They’re hooked on smartphones, shy away from Facebook and screens are a natural extension of their bodies. They were born knowing how to ‘pinch and zoom’.

Technology fits seamlessly into their lives and they are fully accustomed to the sensory overload that comes with being ‘always on’.

All of this has shaped them.

They’re pragmatic, serious, resilient, self-aware, self-reliant, self-assured, innovative and goal-orientated. Living with constant uncertainty has made them more vigilant, has tempered their career expectations and has redefined their understanding of success, making them more satisfied with what they already have. They favour financial security, are focused on education (particularly self-education) and understand that they must work harder to achieve the same results.

They’re a lot less judgemental than other generations. Being gay, transsexual or different in any way is accepted. They’re clued up on environmental issues and their impact on the planet, but have eco-fatigue.

Because they live their lives online, Centennials value their privacy in the surveillance age. They understand the impact of a careless tweet and will disconnect from data so that they can’t be tracked.  

Centennials are growing up – and older – much younger than we did – because they have to.

How do we prepare to welcome them to the world of work?

For a start, we can expect them to be emboldened and empowered.

Because they’re confident and self-reliant, they’re not likely to wait, or rely, on leaders to fix issues.

They’ll find a video or podcast online and fix the issue themselves.

This will also make them impatient with outdated rules and institutions. Expect them to find a work- around for rules that get in their way. Be ready to give up control and work with them to drive your strategy and vision.

Expect their legendary pragmatism to temper, or lower, their expectations around work and their working environment. They have fewer opportunities than previous generations, which makes success harder to come by. As a result, they’re more likely to be satisfied with what they have, less likely to be demanding and – perhaps – more loyal.

Something not to be taken advantage of.

Expect them to be smart. Centennials are highly educated, with a higher percentage likely to graduate from university than in any previous generation. They’re also self-educators able to unpack complex concepts using online tutorials. They’re used to filtering large volumes of information quickly. This means that they won’t appreciate the current vogue for dumbed-down ‘140 character’ information sharing. Expect to relook at how you train, share information and communicate with them in the workplace.

Early indications are that Centennials will be easier to manage than Millennials and it will be interesting to see the interplay between these two generations. I have no doubt that their entry into the world of work will challenge and shape us all and I look forward to the experience.