Born between 1990 and 2010, Generation Z is slowly but surely finding its place in today’s turbulent society. In the US, Gen Z makes up more than a quarter of the population. Many Gen Zers are still in education, while some have entered the workplace with different ambitions and attitudes to the world of work.
It is easy to argue that Gen Zers are very much the same as the previous generation, the Millennials. However, various sociological studies confirm that this is not quite the case. Of course, the latest generation is light years away from their parents and grandparents’ generations.
Baby boomers often pride themselves as having been influenced by authors, thinkers and philosophers in their formative years. Today, Gen Zers are more likely to be influenced by bloggers, reality show stars, sparsely-dressed Instagram models and YouTube celebs. No wonder the new profession of ‘influencers’ is continually urging followers to subscribe on social media and to press the ‘like’ button for any item they post.
Many consider this trend as an indication of an educational emptiness and degradation of social values. It is not. If today’s politicians and community leaders do not inspire Gen Zers, it is because older generations have not given them the goals that would make them truly happy. It is a good thing that Gen Zers feel disillusioned even if it means that we have failed to create the kind of world that gives them hope about their future.
Young people have little respect for academic titles, politicians or powerful and super-wealthy individuals. This is very different from previous generations who often define themselves by the title they pin in front of their names or their wealth.
It may come as a surprise to many that research has found that Gen Zers like their privacy. This helps to explain the surge in Gen Zers moving away from Facebook and towards incognito media such as SnapChat, Secret and Whisper. This must be sobering for baby boomers who think they have embraced modernity because they want their friends to know how cultured they are by posting borrowed words of wisdom on Facebook.
Employers need to live with what they may perceive to be skill weaknesses of the Gen Zers while optimising their strengths
The workplace is another environment where the Gen Zers exhibit their different way of seeing the world around them. This generation of young people grew up in the aftermath of the Great Recession that hit the world after 2008. One would have thought that this challenging period would have made the youngest generation pragmatic, risk-averse, non-entrepreneurial and motivated by job security.
While salary is still the most critical factor in deciding what jobs to take, Gen Zers value salary less than other generations, including Millennials. If given a choice, most youngsters of this generation would rather accept a more exciting job that paid less than a better-paying but tedious job.
Employers need to live with what they may perceive to be skill weaknesses of the Gen Zers while optimising their strengths. Various research studies confirm that this generation’s grasp of writing is weak and their written work may need to be proofread several times before it is accepted as fit for public consumption.
To compensate for this, Generation Z communicates visually across multiple screens like TV, phone, laptop, desktop and iPad. They learn more from live-streaming technology rather than textbooks or conference handouts. This trend contrasts with the way Millennials function.
Millennials communicate with text, while Gen Zers typically communicate with images like emoticons. The latter have an urge to succeed in what they do and are often described as realists. Millennials want their employers to discover them and they think of themselves as optimists.
Gen Zers are not impressed with promises that they will make progress in their careers if only they have the patience to wait. They want to know where their company can take them and how it is going to take them there. Like most generations, they want to make a difference in the world they live in and will only be impressed if their employer allows them to do this.
Generation Z has the potential to correct the multitude of mistakes that previous generations made. They want to be good global citizens. For them, actions matter more than business and political rhetoric. This is why companies need to demonstrate more commitment to a broader set of societal changes such as sustainability, climate change and the elimination of hunger.
It is no wonder that Gen Zers get little inspiration from today’s leaders.