Gen Z – Risks and Opportunities

By Emily Berridge

Reports abound on the shifting of employees’ expectations since the pandemic. Our own research illustrates an overall shift in importance towards work life balance and providing a positive working climate in employees’ expectations of the workplace in 2022 (for a recap, read the article here).

Media coverage on shifting employee expectations shows a shift in priorities for younger workers, particularly Gen Z’ers. It highlights that younger people now would rather work flexibly than have more money (see here, here and here…need I go on?).

Critics of Gen Z maintain that the above coverage equates to a lack of ambition and that flexible working is a luxury, to be cast aside in the current economic climate. Gen Z’ers will be made to see that flexibility doesn’t matter as much as having money when approaching a recession.

One article predicts that as the economic hardship persists and deepens, feelings of job insecurity are likely to shift these behaviours back to favouring compensation and benefits and remind those terribly irresponsible Gen Z’ers that “flexibility is a luxury and not a given.”

The tone of the article aside (it is not just Gen Z’ers who have experienced these lightbulb moments about their working lives FYI), the conclusion they draw is clear: “now is the time for both employees and bosses to find a middle ground that’s neither worshipping of presenteeism nor the ‘quiet quitting’ trend running riot through social media.”

As an employer, it may be tempting to read the above and begin to feel less panicked about employee retention at your company. It may make you want to delay any changes to your employee experience programme that you had planned. The cost-of-living crisis and a looming recession surely means they are more likely to stay put for a while, right? Arguably yes, but is that really such a good look? Do you really want your employees to stay because they have no other choice?

Here is why that is a bad idea and what you could be doing instead:

• Any problems you have with employee retention can often be the canary in the mine for a larger problem, leading to financial and competitive disadvantage. Companies with strong Employer Brands have also been shown to survive the vagaries of the economy better.
• Any relief from your employee retention problems is likely to be temporary; not improving your employee experience because of complacency only kicks the can down the road. The impact of the pandemic on the working world was such a seismic event that current economic circumstances are unlikely to reverse the trends we have seen completely. Though high staff turnover does not show in profit and loss indicators, it is nevertheless a big cost to your business and should be considered.
• Even if your employees do not jump ship right now, ‘quiet quitting’ may become even more of a problem, because whilst leaving means economic uncertainty, disengaging carries less short-term risk.
• Experience shows us that organisations who do not keep track of their employees’ expectations are more likely to lose out later.

Now is the time to make those changes and find that middle ground the article mentions. Employee trust, loyalty and advocacy are outcomes of their employer meeting their expectations. Satisfaction surveys will not work; satisfaction is not a reliable predictor of trust, loyalty and advocacy. A new approach is required.

It starts with capturing employees’ ideal expectations. This gives you a unique blueprint, a one-page map. This is the Experience Employees expect, the EX. It is the baseline of what the crucial issues are for your people.

The next step is to discover how well your organisation performs against these expectations. This powerful stuff reveals:

• Exactly how well you are currently meeting the expectations.
• The most important performance gaps that matter to your employees in priority order.
• The vital few areas you need to improve.
• How your employees rank similar employers.

During this research, you might find:

• Even though your employees are concerned about the cost-of-living crisis, they still prioritise work-life balance and want to see improvements to your culture.
• Alternatively, you might see the opposite and find that compensation and benefits are what get them going.
• You might also get valuable insights about how you can support your colleagues through the cost-of-living crisis.
• All they really want is for you to get the basics of the employee psychological contract right, delivered as promised!

The point is you asked. And your business, and your employees will be better for it.

And finally, here is a thought for you to consider. Looking ahead, is work, as we know it now, in 10 years’ time going to look anything like it does today?