Advice on how to work with Gen Z is plentiful. Mainstream media, consulting firms, research organizations, and others have been working overtime to help business leaders maintain order with a new generation that is digitally native and not afraid to stir things up in the office.
Of course, not all people born at the same time share all of the same characteristics, and some of the blind spots of media and consulting firms persist in these evaluations.
We decided to talk directly with Gen Z professionals to get their perspective, particularly as Gen Z from historically excluded backgrounds say that misconceptions are plenty when it comes to the discourse around their behavior.
“Just like any other generation, we want stability. We want pay, especially as a generation who’s coming out of a pandemic and had to deal with a lot of economic unrest,” offers Maia Ervin, 27, chief impact officer at JUV Consulting, a group that helps brands better understand Gen Z. “We’re all motivated by different things.”
Afshan Nasseri, founder of Aam Creative, a multicultural digital agency and studio, manages a team that is majority Gen Z, sees many negative connotations when media talks about her generation, including work ethic, entitlement, and lack of reliability. She said she sees where some of this sentiment is coming from, but adds that being more informal and willing to break boundaries is not always a bad thing.
“I can kind of see both sides. I think Gen Z tries to shake things up, so a lot of people are very flustered and shocked by that. But I think Gen Z also grew up in this environment of immediate gratification, and I think we kind of yearn for that when it comes to our workplace too,” she said.
“While Gen Z is perceived as being difficult or unprofessional by the millennials and boomer standards, I find [us] to be bold and honest,”says Sonya, aged 25, a consulting professional.
“I think one thing that gets lost in the conversation about the Gen Z workforce is about how much our careers are influenced by factors outside of our control,” says Sophia, 25, a finance professional, pointing to high costs of living, housing, and education, alongside multiple stock market crashes and a pandemic.
WHAT THE DATA TELLS US
Because they’re the first digitally native generation, having lived through the maelstrom of (mis)information available on the worldwide web and the mental health effects of the social media era, and because they’ve had formative years negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gen Z reports higher rates of anxiety, stress, and depression than previous generations. According to Gallup, caring for their wellbeing is the top ask that younger employees have of their leadership.
This means prioritizing mental health and making sure that this prioritization is on the mind of anyone with direct reports. Jenny Fernandez, Kathryn Landis, and Dr. Julie Lee, a group of professors who have written about Gen Z note that “organizations and leaders must create a culture, practices and resources that support Gen Z’s mental wellness.”
Ervin adds that mental health is particularly fragile due to the effects of social media, and that those who are not innately familiar with corporate culture can often feel like they’re at a disadvantage at work.
“These are things that were never taught to me,” she explains. But the fix is transparency: “So if these are expectations, let's get them written down.”
“[S]hift your managing and communication style from a ‘need-to-know’ policy to an ‘open-access’ one,” Fernandez, et al. write, also emphasizing the importance of transparency with this generation.
Offering “culturally responsive resources” and considering how employee resource groups (ERGs) can support mental health needs is especially important for employees from historically excluded groups, along with younger employees.
For the historically excluded, their experiences tend to be different than the majority, as they may experience greater challenges and barriers, including lack of access to opportunities, increased likelihood of microaggressions, or other forms of discrimination. In fact, according to State of Inequity: Building a Brighter Future for BIPOC at Work, a recent report by Hue, Black, Indigenous, people of color with three to five years of work experience are nearly twice as likely to not have the same opportunities to succeed as others as their company. As a result, anxieties and other negative mental health effects may be amplified.
For Yaa Champong, an intern at a medical technology company, “Something I have become hyper aware of is my identity and how I present myself. As a Black woman in the STEM/Healthcare field with nose piercings and big hair, oftentimes I worry that I need to tone it down. None of these things take away from my intelligence or work ethic but the stigma amongst older generations surrounding the professionalism of some of these things causes me to be concerned.”
The issues Champong brings to light include psychological safety and personal authenticity. It adds a layer of further challenge when trying to thrive professionally when you can’t be yourself at work.
“There’s a misconception that Gen Zers who are in the workforce are lazy and do not want to actually put in the effort at a job,” Champong said. “I find that it’s quite the opposite…we have seen what the [other generations] have gone through and we simply do not want the same for ourselves.”
THE MOST DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE GENERATION
Gen Z is the most diverse generation in US history. One in four is Hispanic/Latine, 14% are Black and 6% are Asian, according to the Pew Research Center. And yet, the vast majority of articles and guidance on Gen Z don’t address their experiences through an intersectional lens, meaning the additional burden faced by being a member of additional marginalized groups.
“Whenever we talk about a cohort or generation of people, the folks who are the most marginalized are often left out of the conversation,” Ervin explains. It “often feels like there's context missing. Of course, there are going to be commonalities…but coming from being a first-generation low-income student growing up in Queens who shared a bed…who’s queer and Black, my experience, of course, is going to be different.”
So where do we go from here, and where can employers start, to focus more on the needs of Gen Z professionals?
According to the State of Inequity report, it’s about starting the journey sooner than later. The first step? To “foster a culture of well-being that values and respects all employees regardless of their heritage or identity [by applying] culturally informed language, leadership, and policies.”
