Summary: For Gen X and millennials, Gen Z’s attitude to work might feel foreign. Instead of asking why our younger employees are so difficult, it’s time to start getting curious and find out what they’re showing us.
One of the most common questions I’m asked at the end of my keynotes is: “How do we motivate and engage Gen Z employees?”.
That’s the polite version, by the way. There are also versions with the words ‘work-shy’, ‘entitled’ and ‘naïve’ in them. Subtly or not, the question asker is really wondering: “Why aren’t Gen Z more like us?”.
I don’t much like the generalisations around generations, many of which have been debunked. But it will be the case that the prevailing culture and expectations in society in our youth and early working years will influence our attitudes and expectations.
As a 1970s kid myself I was always told the goal was to find a job for life, to make myself indispensable and to pay my dues. We grew up during the three-day week, the miners’ strike and an independence symbolised by the term ‘latchkey kid’.
Let’s get curious
If you were born and raised in the 80s or 90s, you would have been influenced by geopolitical uncertainty (9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), the digital revolution and the 2008 financial crisis.
For Gen Z, born in the late 90s until around 2012, Covid was a huge influence. Many had their education and burgeoning social lives disrupted. Some were raised in households financially impacted by the pandemic.
Add information overload and technological hyperconnectivity to the mix and, inevitably, you get a different set of expectations and responses than your Gen X parents.
Most of my audience today are Gen X (born between about 1965 and 1978) or millennials (born from 1979 to around 1996). And what they are remarking on is an attitude towards work which feels foreign.
- “Why are Gen Z so fragile and lacking in resilience?”
- “Why is it so hard to get Gen Z to come into the office?”
- “Why won’t Gen Z put in the hours and make the sacrifices I made?”
- “Why is it that Gen Z don’t seem to care as much about work or getting ahead?”
And, ultimately:
- “How do we make them?”
Take out the judgemental tone, and these are all great questions…apart from the last one.
As leaders we need to stop asking why our younger employees are so difficult, and start getting curious. What are they showing us?
That ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude of the 80s wasn’t particularly healthy or productive
Resilience
Just look at what these young people have lived through already. Young people report higher levels of anxiety, depression and emotional distress than previous generations, not because they are ‘weak’ but because of their life experience to date.
Rather than telling them to ‘buck up’, we need an appreciation of the context. How can the workplace help rebuild them, giving them a sense of safety and purpose and the skills to navigate the world?
Does work have to be a test of resilience at all? That ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude of the 80s wasn’t particularly healthy or productive. No wonder they are looking at that and saying, “No, thank you”. And they’re not wrong.
Hybrid working
Work from home has been misunderstood. It’s been seen as an employee perk, a way to walk the dog and pick the kids up from school, rather than a flexible approach that allows people to do their best work.
Do we need our people tied to their desks, to be seen to be working? Or do we need them to give their best contribution to our organisation? Our desire to control is outdated and smacks of distrust and coercion. Gen Z are telling us: “Let me work in the best way I can, rather than in the way that makes you comfortable”.
That’s not to say people shouldn’t participate in person just because it’s nicer to stay at home in their PJs. But it’s on us to make meeting time, office time and even social time irresistibly valuable.
Our desire to control is outdated and smacks of distrust and coercion
Mental health and balance
Remember ‘presenteeism’? We all knew it was nonsense, yet we left our jacket on our chair, answered calls in the evening and went to meetings so we could sit next to the boss.
And now we are demanding the same of our people.
They’ve watched us ruin our relationships, disappear on Sunday to ‘get ahead on our work’ and sacrifice our health for our work.
For most of us, our value doesn’t come from hours but from ideas. Our best ideas happen when we are rested and well and when we’ve had time to switch off from work.
And this generation may feel that, if setting boundaries around work negatively impacts their promotion prospects, it’s still worth it.
Sacrifice isn’t the same as commitment. Long hours don’t guarantee quality work. A willingness to work at the weekend doesn’t signify talent. We need to question how we measure what we claim to value.
Meaning and purpose
The industrial model was a carrot and stick based approach. If you comply with our rules, you’ll get a promotion and a bonus and a pay rise. If you don’t, you’ll be by-passed by others, performance reviewed and maybe fired.
When job security and job title were the currency of success, this worked pretty well. But in a more volatile job market where people don’t expect to stay long in a role or with a company, and with a generation who expect to be appreciated, have an impact and have a voice, these kinds of inducements don’t carry the same weight.
That goes just as much for Gen X and Millennial employees as Gen Z. Work has to meet intrinsic needs – the opportunity to make a difference, to grow and develop, to be recognised and valued.
If you’re still trying to ‘trick’ people into engagement, no wonder you’re frustrated. Your leaders have to actually engage with your people. They have to be genuinely curious, listen and empower. The promise of a promotion won’t cut it. The day-to-day experience of being able to do a job well just might.
Key takeaways
- Gen Z are a barometer of changing expectations of work
- We are all a product of our formative experiences so as leaders we need to drop the judgemental tone
- It’s time to rethink how we measure commitment, engagement and contribution, rejecting outdated behaviours and habits from the 90s and early 2000s
- Evolving how we work, how we engage and how we reward our people, inspired by listening to Gen Z, will enhance the workplace experience, and contribution, of all our employees regardless of generation
Did you enjoy this article? Why not read: 52% of Gen Zs and Millennials on a financial tightrope, Deloitte finds
