Gen-Z To Take Over The Workplace

It’s time we take a closer look at Generation Z

It’s time we admit we got millennials all wrong. They were supposed to be the lazy, entitled generation on whom we could not count for more than a year of their time. They were supposed to be stubborn children who wanted positive reinforcement—even when the occasion did not warrant it.
 

 
But we were wrong, and it makes perfect sense. Any sharp age or generation gap makes you wary of those above and below you. Millennials proved most of our suspicions wrong. While they still tend to job hop when a company does not fit all their needs (culture, room for advancement, open communication), today 83% of managers are millennials. They revitalized the workplace by entering into it casually (dressed) and with a goal of fitting in and doing well while making the office a place they wanted to be. It’s because of millennials offices keep beer on tap and craft coffee brewing all day long. It’s also to their credit that office design has changed, making the space more adaptive and functional for different types of personalities and projects.
 
So, now that what we’re coming to terms with the misconceptions of our millennial workforce, it’s time we take a closer look at Generation Z. Once again, the stereotypes are creeping in—they’re glued to their screens, they need instant gratification, they don’t value education, they don’t listen. It’s time to learn from our past mistakes as the older members of Gen Z are ready to enter the workforce and prepare ourselves with the tools to effectively manage them.

Always On

Gen Z is comprised of people born between 1996 and 2010. Their youngest members are only eight years old. Think about your kids—maybe your grandkids—and how they know how to use the technology in your home better than you. This generation has always known a screen beyond the plasma television that was born around the same time the generation was.
 
Anytime I’m in a mall or coffee shop when a group of teenagers walks in, I marvel at the fact that they travel in packs but never look up from their screens. It’s easy to see this as a drawback. They must lack real communication skills if they cannot look up and talk to their friends, right? Well, there is an extent to which this is true. Growing up in an online-dominated world, communication is more abrupt, quick and to the point; it lacks finesse.
 
However, there is a benefit to the always-online generation joining the workforce. They are the first generation to almost always have a smartphone in their hands. They never transitioned from a Motorola RZR to Blackberry to iPhone like many of us did; which means they know the device and the technology that’s developed with it in mind better than anyone. As more businesses rely on apps like Slack and HR tools to manage hot-desking, meeting locations, and more, the easier it will be for this generation, which will soon dominate the workforce, to navigate office life. Their tech savviness will be an asset not only for themselves but for the rest of the office who might need guidance. Peer-To-Peer learning is just a bonus

Instant Results

Through push notifications, faves, and retweets, Gen Z is accustomed to instant gratification. But immediacy is not actually the goal; it’s just a benefit. What this generation is looking for is a curated experience. They want the companies they’re applying to and working for to mean something—they want to feel connected.
 
This, of course, begins with the hiring experience. New tactics will need to be employed to target the right candidates and, more so, for them to target your company. It’s rare to now find a company that does not use an HRMS like Greenhouse or Workable that creates a seamless experience once an application hits your inbox. But in the off chance your business has not yet invested in this software, now is the time. Gen Z is looking for a simple, mobile-friendly way to find jobs—and timeliness in response to their application is crucial. Fortunately, innovations in hiring technology now employ AI and analytics to match candidates with the right job, without it taking hours to get to that page.
 
Similarly, this is the generation born on reviews. Before they go anywhere, they check Yelp for the number of stars an establishment has—even when choosing a laundromat where they’ll wash their own clothes. Hand-in-hand with reviews are the number of followers a page, or company has. These numbers are meaningful to them—70% of candidates look for reviews of the company they’re interested in working for. They want to know their peers had a good experience, but, and maybe more importantly, they want to know their work will have meaning. Actively curating your company’s brand to highlight not only the product you’re producing but the diversity of the workforce and experience, as well as how socially conscious your company is, will draw in high-quality candidates from Gen Z.

Bad Education

College is expensive. It’s a repeated talking point by politicians, by graduates who cannot pay off their debt, and by the students grappling with the decision to go into debt for a formal collegiate education. Seventy-five percent of Gen Z believes college is not the only way to receive a good education. This generation grew up learning from YouTube tutorials and Skillshare classes and have never lived without a formal gig economy. They put stock in the fact that a degree from a four-year college is not necessary to success.
 
So how do businesses adapt to that? Well, many already are. Walmart offers online management, accounting, and other professional development courses to their employees who wish to advance but do not have a degree. These types of courses have always been marketed to businesses like Walmart or McDonald’s, where workers are primarily hourly and unskilled, in the antiquated definition of that term. Now, all businesses must grapple with how to educate their employees on-site, not only with the training that’s always been offered to new hires, but with access to on-demand and mobile-friendly education that’s can be viewed in 15 minutes or less—here is where we most see the need for instant gratification mentioned above.
 
Not only does Gen Z want to hit the ground running after high school, but they want their future employers to understand they’re willing to learn and don’t need to do so in the confines of a 9 to 5. They’re prepared to view on-demand lessons after formal work hours if it means they’ll have the opportunity to advance. Similarly, this always-connected generation wants more than screen-learning. Face-to-face feedback from managers and other colleagues, they believe, is crucial to their success and ability to take on new, or multiple, roles within the company. They want to make their own mistakes, but they also want to learn from them from a more senior employee.

Get Ready

It may seem like you’re arming yourselves for war, or at the very least an uphill battle. And yes, seeing an influx of younger members of the workforce is a little scary. We just got used to millennials completely overhauling how we work and now there’s another generation ready to unsettle us once more. But, as so many businesses were un- or under-prepared for millennials, now we can predict how Gen Z will change our companies and what we’ll need to do to accommodate and acclimate them.

Author Bio

Jeff Revoy, Cofounder & Chief Commercial Officer at SpaceIQ, a workplace operations software platform that helps companies of every size efficiently run their workplace by optimizing their workplace real estate, operations and experiences.  Connect Jeff Revoy Visit www.spaceiq.com