Understanding Generation Z

How the Next Generation Is Transforming the Workplace

Who is this GEN Z'ers

• Gen Zers – born between 1995 and 2012 – are individualistic, independent and technically astute.
• Gen Zers are 72.8 million strong.
• Gen Z lives and operates in a world where physical and virtual life are united.
• Gen Z was raised by Gen X whereas Millennials were raised by baby boomers.
• Gen Zers want to form partnerships with their employers to address world problems.
• The Great Recession, terrorism and the September 11, 2001, attacks have made gen Zers sober realists.
• Gen Zers access digital devices constantly to stay on top of latest events.
• They are the do-it-yourself generation and rely on YouTube to learn how to carry out new skills.
• Gen Zers are extremely competitive. They always want to come out on top.
• As boomers accommodated generation X, who made room for the millennials, companies and older workers must welcome gen Z.

Gen Zers

Members of the generation Z cohort (born 1995-2012) are competitive, career-oriented, grounded, idealistic, realistic, technically savvy, individualistic and independent. They’re straight shooters and great do-it-yourselfers. They worry about safety, security issues and the environment.

Gen Zers are fans of a new rank of superstars who come from the Internet and YouTube, including “Kid President, Dude Perfect and PewDiePie.” They hope to form partnerships with their employers to improve the world, even though studies indicate that gen Z’s members have short attention spans. Employers and older employees must look beyond such generalizations and nurture individual up-and-comers.

Speaking in general, members of generation Z share these characteristics:

They’re “Phigital”

Gen Zers do not distinguish between the physical world and the virtual; they think of the world as “phigital.” They’ve been connected to the Internet their entire lives. They consider advanced technology and the digital world essential.

91% of gen Zers say the level of a company’s high-tech sophistication will be an important factor in deciding where to accept a job. Because gen Zers are digital natives, they’ll be logical candidates for new corporate positions in a world gone digital.

To help your generation Z employees be most effective:

• Recruit them using new, advanced tools they’ll identify with, like JobSnap.
• To connect most effectively with gen Zers, work with the right digital tools.
• Gen Zers communicate using a new lexicon. This includes terms, phrases and imagery that will be inscrutable to older workers. Become comfortable with these phrases.
• Gen Zers prefer face-to-face communication.

They Customize Their Lives

Gen Z has grown up in a world where they can customize everything. Gen Zers rely on Facebook pages and Twitter handles to establish their personal brands. Gen Zers prefer not to check off boxes; instead, they “want to fill in the blanks.” They hope to work where they can develop their own job descriptions.

To elicit the best work from your gen Z employees, be aware that:

• Gen Zers work hard to develop their personal brands, which matter to them greatly.
• Gen Zers prize individuality, so personalize your recruiting efforts. Help them design their career paths.
• Organizations should make sure to include mentoring and coaching in gen Z professional development programs.
• Gen Zers can trap themselves in “echo chambers.” Introduce them to new ideas and different points of view.

“Realistic”

September 11, 2001, is an organizing reality in the lives and thinking of generation Z members, as is the Great Recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Both events affected this generation’s outlook. They despise the scourge of terrorism, and the general uncertainty of society undermines their confidence in the future.

Gen Zers are realists who expect the world to be a tough place. Reflecting on the events they’ve witnessed in their short lives, gen Zers identify with Katniss Everdeen, the besieged heroine of The Hunger Games. Broadly speaking, gen Zers are brave and bold. They don’t run away and cower. They approach life soberly and seriously. Even the youngest gen Z high school students carefully plan their future careers. That’s why savvy companies reach out to gen Zers by “funding curriculum” and sponsoring “field trips,” not just in college, but also in high school.

Career Preparation

To help gen Zers prepare for their careers:

• Make sure that your gen Z children are realistic about the choices they will make in the future, including their plans for education after high school and for their careers.
• College is not for everyone. Some gen Z kids may do better by attending trade school or other noncollege institutions.
• Investigate whether your area has any public-private partnerships in which your gen Z children can participate.
• Encourage your gen Z employees to focus on developing skills rather than on attaining a specific job title or rank.
• Make sure your gen Z workers understand that results count, not “feel-good gestures.”

“FOMO” – “Fear of Missing Out”

Gen Zers share a fear of missing out “on anything.” As a result, they’ll work overtime to stay on top of the latest, most exciting trends.

Gen Zers know great methods, devices and technology for finding out what is going on in the world, including sophisticated mobile devices, computers and TV sets. For gen Zers, life moves quickly from one screen to another. Everything is always just one click away.

Jonah Stillman says, “Being connected to information and our peers is like breathing air to us. If we don’t feel connected we feel as though something is wrong.” The trouble is that no one can stay plugged in around the clock. Everyone must occasionally log off and do something besides interact with a screen. When they do: FOMO hits.

To motivate gen Zers at work:

• Understand that FOMO matters to them.
• Try to keep distractions that interfere with employee attention spans to a minimum.
• Teach gen Zers to break major projects down into discrete subsections and work on each section sequentially.
• Gen Zers are big risk takers. Make sure to take savvy advantage of this tendency to benefit your organization.

“Weconomists”

Gen Zers believe in the strength of the collective, the power of “we.” They are proponents of the “sharing economy,” which calls for “people sharing their goods and services with each other.” Gen Zers encourage the companies that employ them to be proactive in coordinating with governments and outside groups to help mitigate society’s problems.

Gen Zers can thank millennials for introducing the concept of the sharing economy, the only economy gen Zers have ever known. In the future, expect gen Zers to promote the “‘we’ concept” in rewarding ways.

Meanwhile, at work:

• Understand and accept that gen Zers will want to “skill share” with their colleagues.
• Gen Zers will want your company to do good as well as to maximize profits.
• Gen Zers will efficiently tap into the sharing economy.

Do It Yourself 

Gen Zers use YouTube to teach themselves how to do new things and carry out new skills. They are now the ultimate “DIY” generation. Notably independent, they’re always ready to travel down paths they create for themselves. They have faith in themselves to handle things well. They have a common attitude, which is: “If you want it done right, then do it yourself!”

Fully 42% of gen Zers say they’d rather complete a project independently and be recognized for their work than work with others on a project in which everyone receives credit. Gen Zers’ DIY orientation means they will push their companies to stop outsourcing and to handle things in house.

To deal with gen Z’s DIY impulses:

• Be open to the resources Gen Zers want to share. They love “new sources of information and expertise.” 
• Remind gen Zers to be careful that the people they put forward really are experts. Educate them about how to qualify or establish people as authorities others can trust.
• Gen Zers are naturally entrepreneurial. Encourage this orientation. They’ll be happier workers, and your company will benefit from their gung-ho spirit and novel ideas.

“Driven”

Gen Zers’ parents taught them that the world consists of winners and losers. This is why Gen Zers are so competitive and always striving to come out on top. This is not the way baby boomers raised their millennial children. Millennial kids grew up with participation trophies and a collaborative ethos. In contrast, gen Zers want to win, and they feel tremendous internal pressure to achieve ambitious goals.

Gen Zers are like the boomers, a remarkably competitive generation. Because they are so driven and because they move so fast, gen Zers present a major challenge to the managers who supervise them. Gen Zers’ natural tendency will be to make decisions quickly instead of taking the time necessary to think things out carefully and collaborate. Convey this necessity to your gen Z employees.

To manage gen Zers:

• Applaud their desire to come out on top.
• Help them understand that winners must be good team players.
• Gen Zers may sometimes move too fast. Become a moderating influence.
• Gen Zers must accept that human beings aren’t perfect – including themselves. They must be ready to learn from what went wrong so they will not repeat mistakes.
• Foster their professional development.

Accommodation

Gen Z is the workplace’s coming reality. Many older workers suffer “millennial fatigue.” Some older workers can’t tell the difference between millennials and gen Z. They see the rush of new generations at work as one massive youth wave.

Older workers may wonder whether the need to accommodate younger workers will ever end. This occurred when generation Xers moved in on the baby boomers and when millennials moved in on the generation Xers.

Expect a certain amount of discomfort at the nexus points of older and younger employees. You can’t ignore the influx of a generation of 72.8 million workers.

The good news for any worn-out – and eventually, displaced – senior employees is that they can trade in their exhaustion for happiness and their frustration for satisfaction. Gen Zers are impressive young people. They will eventually make things much better for everyone. The experts expect them to “light the world of work on fire…in a good way.”