Generation Z: Create a Culture That Inspires!

Did you know?

According to The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 4 in 10 Gen Zs and nearly a quarter of millennials would like to leave their jobs within two years, and roughly a third would do so without another job lined up, signaling significant dissatisfaction levels.

This Great Resignation signals a breaking point, and an opportunity to reassess how we work .

What are some common trends we hear today?

• Leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call - Those impromptu encounters at the office help keep leaders honest. With remote work, there are fewer chances to ask employees, “Hey, how are you?” and then pick up on important cues as they respond. But the data is clear:?our people are struggling.?And we need to find new ways to help them.” - Jared Spataro, CVP at Microsoft 365
• High productivity is masking an exhausted workforce - Digital overload is real and climbing Even one year in, time spent in meetings and chats sent per person each week continue to climb.

• Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energized - Gen Z is struggling more than other generations. The last year has been more challenging for Gen Z in many ways — from bringing new ideas to the table, to simply feeling engaged or excited about work.

• Shrinking networks are endangering innovation - “When you lose connections, you stop innovating. It’s?harder for new ideas?to get in and groupthink becomes a serious possibility.”- Dr. Nancy Baym, Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft

Before you get started with initiatives and engagement activities at your work place, you need to first understand the generational differences and ask what Employees want in their employers - Answer questions like, “What are the differences between these generations?”?Because that might influence how we manage them.?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution here. It is imperative that employers ask: what do our younger employees want from their workplace??How can they stay engaged and productive??if they want to build the next generation of leaders.

Once you have identified these answers for your organization, you could learn what commitments other companies are making to support a generation that is becoming increasingly vulnerable.??

So what do we need to do to attract and retain talent?

When it comes to attracting Gen Zs and millennials, getting the basics right comes first.

Pay, feeling the workplace was detrimental to their mental health, and burnout are the top reasons millennials and Gen Zs left their employers over the last two years.?

Mental Health & Burnout

According to LinkedIn, 66% of Gen Z want a company culture built on?mental health ?and wellness.?Stress and anxiety levels are high among Gen Zs and millennials and are unlikely to ease as global threats continue to affect their daily lives and shape their long-term view of the world. A culture built on mental health and wellness goes beyond offering a meditation app; it infuses mental health throughout the organization through policies and programs that take care of your people.?

Providing better mental health resources is a critical first step—from supportive leaders, to educational resources, to company-sponsored counselling or therapy. To ensure that people feel comfortable accessing these resources, business leaders must make a consistent and vocal commitment to designing stigma-free work environments that value well-being, where workers feel able to speak up about their needs without fear of judgement.?

The trust needed for people to open up and seek help rests on the everyday behaviors and accessibility of their managers, which is why business leaders must act on building empathetic leadership skills, and helping managers learn how to recognize and help with mental health challenges. Organizations should also take a broad view of their employees’ well-being. Disruption is here to stay, which means it’s important for employers not only to try to help reduce stress and anxiety levels, but also to help address their root causes. This includes showing people how to set boundaries to protect their work/life balance and supporting them in doing so. It also means having a clear purpose and giving employees the opportunity to address societal problems through their work.

If you're struggling to inspire the millennials and Gen Z employees in your workplace, consider starting with:

Leadership-level conversations that address these factors in your culture.

If your organization has not addressed these issues, it's time to start having these conversations with your leadership team. They aren't topics just for "young people." Each topic is also relevant for older generations. Your leadership team may not agree that these items matter. That itself is a conversation worth having.

Coach your managers to communicate and deliver on your organization's promises.

You may already have programs and policies in place to address these items. But those efforts fall short if your front-line employees aren't aware of them. Employees experience your organization through their manager.?If your managers aren't doing it, it's not your culture.?It is imperative that managers are trained to care about employees as people and set expectations of ethical and inclusive behavior.

Integrate these themes into every stage of the employee life cycle. Leaders need to take a hard look at their current talent strategy to see how it stacks up against the wants and needs of today's young workforce.

It can't be addressed in a one-day event or by just organizing some engagement activities at work. They require full integration into your culture, and your employees must?experience?them in real-life interactions with your organization.

You can refer to this interesting course - "Attracting, Hiring, and Working with Gen Z” on LinkedIn learning by Sophie Wade , it covers how to use empathy to understand this unique generation, best practices for attracting with Gen Z candidates, and shares how to create a work environment where this unique group will feel safe and be productive.

Reference: The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, HBR - Gen Z Employees Are Feeling Disconnected, The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready? - Microsoft & Gallup'4 Things Gen Z and Millennials Expect From Their Workplace.

Thanks & Regards,