Gen Zers are the fastest-growing component of the nation’s labor pool. It stands to reason that any business will hire a growing number of people in their early twenties as they continue to replace aging Boomers. “Gen Zers are the incoming workforce, whether management from previous generations likes it or not,” pointed out Dr. Zachary Ginder, executive director at Pine Siskin Consulting.
Customers, too, are looking more like Gen Zers every day. “The new generation has been educated differently and thinks differently from the majority of the population,” commented Michael Gibbs, CEO at Go Cloud Careers. “It’s necessary to have people on your team who can communicate with them in their language and with their way of thinking.”
The Gen Z generation is transforming along racial and ethnic lines. “Brands must understand the massive demographic shift toward multicultural America that Gen Zers represent,” said Natalie Griffith, director of product and content at Collage Group. “While it may be obvious that focusing on this cohort will attract Gen Z dollars now, it also future-proofs a business as this shift toward diversity is here to stay.”
Promoting Stability
Given the inroads that Gen Zers are making in the workforce and the public at large, it follows that businesses large and small must take steps to manage the new generation effectively. While dealing with the younger generation can be challenging in any era, Gen Zers represent a new mindset that is especially tough to get a handle on. “I have to say that I speak with a lot of managers who are scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to connect effectively with post-millennial folks,” said Ginder.
One big problem, admitted Ginder, is that managers often try to apply communication styles learned from previous generations and expect the same results. “But, again, we’re talking about a totally different group of folks here that grew up with different influences and cultural values and norms.”
A good starting point, added Ginder, is to understand the anxiety felt by people in their twenties, due largely to their experiences with the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. “In their early impressionable years, Gen Zers saw their parents lose their jobs, get upside down in their mortgages, and maybe even lose their homes.”
It’s no wonder that Gen Zers are a little more cautious than previous generations and can look with skepticism at the promises of prospective employers. “Driven by anxiety, Gen Z mostly seeks a stable 9-to-5 job that pays the bills,” said Griffith. “This point was recently corroborated by survey data from Handshake, an employment site for Generation Z, which asked 1,800 new graduates what they wanted most from their future employers. The overwhelming majority—85%—answered ‘stability.’ Pay and benefits also ranked high, but both of them, in my estimation, are proxies for the same thing. The desire for ‘a fast-growing company,’ on the other hand, garnered only 29% of the vote.”
As a result, it makes sense for prospective employers to accentuate the longevity of their firms and the dedication to career support that can go hand-in-hand with long-term employment. And this is all the more the case due to the unsettling tendency of the young generation to job hop. “Gen Zers are likely to switch jobs faster than previous generations, who would typically stick things out a lot longer before deciding to move on,” explained Ginder. “This has a lot of financial implications, since the cost of turnover can exceed 20% of a position’s annual costs.”
At first, a tendency to job hop may seem to contradict a desire for stability. But the fact is that an aggressive series of career moves can provide more stability than can passive dependence on a single organization. “Gen Zers don’t just look at the current job, but at the next job and the job after that,” said Bob Verchota, senior consultant at RP Verchota & Associates, Minneapolis. “And they don’t think anything about working in a gig environment. They’re fine with that. They may have six gigs going at once.” Another thing: Many Gen Zers have gigs on the side, and management has to be comfortable with that.
Being Transparent
Employers can also reduce the incidence of job-hopping by being transparent about the nature of the positions being offered to candidates. “Success is about managing expectations,” said Ginder. “Be extremely transparent with job descriptions, what the hours are, the positives and negatives of the organization, what advancement’s going to look like, how feedback works, and information about the organization’s communication styles.”
Transparency needs to begin long before a candidate even thinks of applying for work. “We’re living in an information age, and this is our most technologically-savvy workforce so far,” said Ginder. “Everything from a company’s reputation to its organizational culture can be found online. So that is important for getting the Gen Zers to actually apply for the job.” Companies must take pains to polish their images on social media and review sites such as glassdoor.com.
That same transparency needs to be provided on the job itself. “With Gen Zers specifically, there’s a lot more desire to know,” said Gibbs. “Transparent communication tells them they are valued, that they are worth communicating with, and that there’s a level of respect. And if they receive that respect, they will in turn respect the manager.”
Transparency goes two ways: Gen Zers also want a seat at the table when it comes to authority. “Traditionally, early-career professionals have felt their voices would be dismissed because of their inexperience,” noted Ginder. “With this new generation of post-millennials, though, we’re talking about folks who have a real focus on respect and inclusion in the workplace. That means they want to be able to have a voice when it comes to decisions. They want to understand the process and procedures for how things function.”
Gen Zers want to enjoy some autonomy when it comes to how they get their work done. All of this can be a bit unsettling for employers. “One challenge is that a lot of Gen Zers have not had jobs prior to their first position, so they have little experience,” suggested Ginder. “It can be challenging for an employer to foster a sense of autonomy.” One way is to encourage experimentation within boundaries. There is a trend toward normalizing failure as a learning tool and as a way to move everyone forward on the skill path.
Avoid the temptation to award promotions in name only. “Gen Zers will see through title inflation,” warned Ginder. “It may be attractive at first, but because they’re a generation that values transparency, it will eventually fall flat. And then they’re going to be disillusioned and they’re going to job hop a lot quicker.”
Will these approaches help reduce employee turnover? Maybe to some extent, but no matter what the company policy, Gen Zers are unlikely to possess the same job loyalty as previous generations. “The Happy Feet syndrome may decrease a bit and maybe longevity will go up, but it’s not about loyalty the way boomers and the greatest generation people think about it,” said Verchota. “It’s really about loyalty to me, to my career, to what I want out of life, and about how I’m responsible for getting it.”
Finding Champions
Gen Zers also differ in their preferred sources for instruction. “Older generations tended to look for guidance from people who had maybe 20 or 30 years of experience,” said Gibbs. “Gen Zers, though, tend to look to their peers. So rather than having an expert tell them how to do something, it can be more effective to find a champion in their age group whom you can turn into a superstar and let them be the communicator.”
Too, Gen Zers tend to eschew reading and have short attention spans. That can make instruction manuals less effective. “It’s smart to provide video content–short bits of training that only last two to three minutes,” said Gibbs. “Provide bite-sized infotainment to help drown out other distractions such as social media.”
The Gen Zers’ penchant for technology can also make them loners. That can be problematic in a workplace where one-on-one interactions often help drive revenues and efficiency. “Gen Zers tend to be individualistic and would rather communicate through technology than face-to-face,” said Ginder. “But that’s not how an organization typically works. It’s not just a bunch of solo folks doing their thing. Most things happen within some level of teamwork.”
This is where managers can experience a lot of frustration, and the new generation will need some assistance. “It’s important to help Gen Zers build their personal skills by supporting structured team activities,” recommended Ginder. “There will have to be a lot of coaching around when it’s appropriate to pick up the phone or to walk down the hall and communicate with someone, especially during situations of conflict or where there’s a higher opportunity for misunderstanding.”
Making a Difference – Social Justice/Community Impact
If managed correctly, the growing wave of Gen Zers now entering the workforce will have a positive impact on company operations. “Gen Zers have a lot going for them,” recognized Ginder. “Research shows they’re highly achievement oriented, more educated than previous generations and more diverse. That speaks a lot to some of their qualities, but also to how we can tailor the way we work with them.”
One final characteristic of Gen Zers is of particular importance: a commitment to social justice. The wise employer will create a sense of larger purpose for business activities and then emphasize how the employee’s actions contribute to that initiative. “Management needs to regularly reinforce how each individual’s work fits into the greater good of the organization,” said Ginder. “How do the business operations have a positive social impact? That speaks to purpose, to inclusion and to social justice.”
If older generations have a bit of a struggle dealing effectively with the youngest workers, the benefit to the company over time can be worth the effort. “There is much upside potential to learning how to adjust our management practices to maximize the potential of Gen Zers,” suggested Ginder. “There’s so much there. It’s an amazing generation, as all generations are. Using the right framework and approach, the sky’s the limit.”
Are You Ready for Gen Z?
Is your business managing Gen Zers effectively? Find out by scoring 10 points for every “yes” answer to the following questions. Total your score and check your rating at the bottom of the sidebar.
Never: 0 Seldom: 4 Often: 8 Regularly: 10
____ 1. Does your company present a healthy work environment on social media?
____ 2. Do you emphasize stability in your work positions?
____ 3. Do you provide career support to employees?
____ 4. Are you transparent about positive and negative work factors?
____ 5. Do you communicate deeply with all of your employees?
____ 6. Do you encourage Gen Zers to speak up about their ideas for improving operations?
____ 7. Do you allow some autonomy in how work is accomplished?
____ 8. Do you identify champions who can effectively pass along expertise to Gen Zers?
____ 9. Do you help Gen Zers improve their one-on-one communication skills?
____ 10. Do you couch your business operations in terms of a larger social purpose?
What’s your score?
80 or more: Congratulations. You are creating a productive environment for the effective management of Gen Zers.
Between 60 and 80: It’s time to improve your interactions with young workers.
Below 60: Your business is at risk. Take action on the suggestions in the accompanying story.
