Whether it's in professional journals, daily newspapers, or blog posts, you can find articles everywhere about the unique characteristics of Generation Z, which is just now entering the job market for the first time. Various articles attribute specific traits to them, such as being lazy, noncommittal, erratic, picky, and more focused on work-life balance. Interestingly, diverse attributes were previously assigned to Generation Y, who were said to display an exaggerated search for purpose and a constant mode of questioning (Why?). Whereas Generation X was characterized as diligent, dutiful, consumer- and career-oriented.
It is true that people of different ages have different needs and priorities. Depending on the phase of life and age, our priorities shift. This is sociologically referred to as the age effect.
It is also true that a survey on the importance of work conducted in 1980 yielded very different results than the same survey today. Since 1850, working hours have been decreasing, along with the desired amount of working hours. This is a societal change known as the period effect. Other period effects include significant events like digitalization or the pandemic. Surveys conducted before or after these major events yield different results. For example, the topic of "desire for remote work" has significantly changed due to the pandemic, but this applies to all generations equally.
If the attributions we find in so many articles for Generations X, Y, Z, etc., were correct, people with specific birth dates would have to prioritize the same things in their lives regardless of their age when surveyed. Additionally, we would have to account for overall societal development and the impact of significant events. According to sociologist Martin Schröder, this cannot be proven. Therefore, there is no generational effect (or sociologically speaking, no cohort effect).
However, this does not mean that people of Generation Z, who are now entering the job market, have the same needs as we (Generation X) did 25 or 35 years ago. But this is not due to a generational effect; rather, it is due to overall societal development.
Leadership positions today are predominantly occupied by people from within Generation X or Y, who are encountering young and newly trained applicants and employees from Generation Z. Therefore, people from Generations X or Y face the challenge of addressing the behavior of young people within the context of overall societal development, not solely based on their own memories and experiences as young professionals.
Job Market in favor of the employee: The people of Generation Z, who are currently entering the job market for the first time, find an abundance of vacant positions. They can choose their apprenticeships and other jobs. They have a very large choice! This sometimes makes it very difficult for them to make a decision, and once they have decided, they may immediately think about the next possibility. As a result, they will likely not stay in one place or one job for long. The labor market situation is very different from that in the 1980s or 1990s. When there are as many opportunities in the job market as today's entrants encounter, it is completely understandable, in my view, that they would want to try out at least some of these opportunities and thus switch more quickly.
Education, Training, and Holistic Awareness: Today's young people also have a much broader horizon than people of Generation X did at the start of their careers. Supported by the internet, access to virtually endless information, and social media, which offer information daily, hourly, even minutely without having to search for it, Generation Z is informed or even educated in a way that previous generations enjoyed the benefit of only at a much older age. This means that Generation Z takes many more perspectives into account into their decisions, which we, Generation X or Y, did not have access to at the corresponding time. This makes young people more selective because they are more informed. This also includes the topic of mental health. Generation Z has much more information about this than we (the older ones among us) had. The logical consequence is that today's young people pay much more attention to their workload, the purpose associated to work, and the work environment itself.
My personal conclusion is that companies today have to undertake significantly more effort to attract committed and competent young people than they did 20 or 30 years ago.
How can companies and business leaders make this effort:
- Offer an appreciative application process, whereas for a bad experience this quickly spreads among Generation Z
- Listen to young people
- Take young people's needs and desires seriously
- Be able to explain the "why" or the purpose of the company's actions
- Not only communicate sustainable business practices on the company website but also implement them
- Do not expect new young employees to stay with the company for 5, 10, or even 15 years, yet value them nevertheless
- Provide a fear-free company culture where questions and mistakes are allowed, and thinking outside the box and being different are encouraged
- Offer good leadership with clear, appreciative communication
- Provide personal and professional development opportunities, even if it leads to employees outgrowing the company and thus being lost to the company in the medium term
- Facilitate knowledge exchange between young and older employees
- Offer flexible working time models
These are indeed many points, but they serve all employees of the company, regardless of age, and foster the company's long-term competitiveness.
To conclude: To return to the aspect of emotional maturity and holistic awareness, I am convinced that young people today enter their professional lives with greater maturity and a more holistic awareness, which allows them to articulate their needs much better than we (Generation X or Y) were able to at the start of our careers. Therefore, the demands of Generation Z may seem excessive at first glance. However, if we look closer, we might realize that we simply took longer to recognize and articulate our needs. Indeed, I now observe that a significant number of people between 45 and 55 years old are looking for purpose in their work, are taking a sabbatical, or are reducing their working hours to 80%. In my view, Generation Z is several decades ahead of us.
Definitions:
- Generation Z or Zoomers: 1995 to 2010 (currently 14 to 29 years old)
- Generation Y or Millennials: 1980 to 1995 (currently 29 to 44 years old)
- Generation X: 1965 to 1980 (currently 44 to 59 years old)
- Baby Boomers: 1945 to 1965 (currently 59 to 79 years old)
This text first appeared in my newsletter "It's innovation Wednesday". It is published every three to four weeks. For subscription click here