Decoding Gen Z

Having worked for close to 15 years – with generations of people – it’s the Millennials and Gen Z’s have inspired me to great deal. These young brigades think differently and bring lot of value to table – only if we could spot the value. As millennials continue to join the workforce in droves, companies must be ready to work with these young people, whose values differ greatly from their generational predecessors. In order to maintain employee retention and productivity while improving company services, businesses must understand the importance of the millennial generation workforce.

Who are Millennials?

Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a millennial, which means any worker between 22- and 37-years old is as of 2018 is considered a millennial employee. Millennials also represent the largest generation within the current workforce. Millennials not only represent the largest share of the workforce, they currently represent 20% of leadership positions — a number that is expected to rise. Like all generations, they have unique traits that set them apart. Since this generation is so new, there are a variety of findings of this generation. Based on my experience and opportunity to have worked with many such exciting and buzzing millennials; I have tried to list down the most distinguishing traits this generation group has to offer:

Who are Gen Z’s

Generation Z, Zillennials, The iGen, Founders, and Centennials are all nicknames used to describe this generation. Generation Z is the generation that comes after the millennial generation and was born with the Internet, technology, and social media in their hands. According to demographers, Gen Z is composed of those born between 1995 and 2010. This means that the oldest members of this generation are now entering the workforce.

1. Phigital – they are digital natives meaning their physical and digital worlds are combined. According to research more than 90 percent of Millennials want to work for technologically-sophisticated organizations. More we engage them with there are of interest – more productive and happy they will be.

2. Social media fluent – Approx.45 percent of teens say they are online ‘almost constantly’ with Youtube, Instagram, and Snapchat being the most popular platforms. Only 9 percent of Millennials say Facebook is their preferred social media platform and only use Facebook to keep up with parents or as a tool to use for group chats.

3. Subject to fear of missing out (FOMO) – this is also attributed to social media. This book found that Generation Z uses social media to stay up on trends. However, this can leave many Gen Z fearful of missing out on the latest trends and news.

4. They embrace diversity – In fact, Millennial is the most racially diverse generation. They also view their diverse mind-set as a competitive advantage and strength from the older generations. The number one cause that Millennial want to see their employers support is equality. Fact that we are driving the Diversity as a program – would not be the area to invest in future – hoping this new gen will make Women Empowerment a reality.

5. Passion and growth go hand-in-hand – 84 percent want to focus on career progression and growth when job searching. With past generations, passions and career growth were two separate things. This generation wants work that is also fulfilling and in line with their passions.

6. They want to make an impact on the world – According to TIME, 60 percent of the 14- to 18-year-olds surveyed having an impact on the world” is going to be important to them in their jobs. Being so connected to the world makes them socially aware and justice-minded.

7. Entrepreneurial – According to Forbes, Millennials and Generation Z’s are 55 percent more likely to want to start something of their own than millennials, showing their desire for financial success. In addition, about 61 percent of high school students and 43 percent of college students would rather be an entrepreneur instead of an employee when they graduate college.

What their workplace will look like

Millennials grew up during the recession, one of the greatest economic instability since the Great Depression. This has significantly impacted the way that they view the world. They understand that losing a job is a real threat. While Millennials, bounce around from job to job, Generation Z craves job stability and knows that it will take a lot of work effort to achieve that.

So what does the workplace look like with this new generation? Below are some of the top things Gen Z will bring to the table:

• Face-to-face communication – Millennials and Gen Z craves face-to-face communication. This also includes virtual face-to-face communication like Skype, Zoom, and FaceTime.
• Authenticity – They have grown up in a world with ads in their face and their privacy misused. That resulted in a mistrust of advertisement and companies who misuse data. In fact, Generation Z trust recommendations from either a friend or a family member over a brand or an ad.
• Traditional Benefits – Here’s something differentiates millennials from Gen Z. Unlike millennials who want a cool office space or nap pods, this generation is more concerned with traditional benefits. They have seen their parents take financial hits, so traditional benefits like health plans are more important than having a ping pong table. According to a study by Monster, Gen Z’s “must haves” for their first job are health insurance (70%), a competitive salary (63%), and a boss they respect (61%).
• Forget long emails – communicating over email will be different with this generation. Research has shown that teens send the fastest, shortest messages than older generations. Emailing is not a communication channel that this generation uses outside the office, so they will treat it the same as their other channels. Short messages will soon be the new norm of emails.
• Customized career paths – this generation wants individualized career paths and performance-based advancement opportunities. No more will there be a one-size-fits-all career path. They want to experience multiple roles, so rotational programs will be highly valued. They may even create their own job descriptions!
• Flexibility is important – Millennials and Gen Z both prefer to work from the comfort of their own home or somewhere where their space is defined. This generation is more focused on individuality and flexibility and their work environment should also reflect that.