3.2.25 – Fast Company
It’s easy for leaders to brand Gen Z employees as entitled. But it’s worth moving past lazy tropes to understand what Gen Z’s asking for.
Gen Z workers have been branded as demanding, unmotivated, and even entitled—a word that was used not too long ago to describe millennials. In an Intelligent.com survey last fall, 60% of employers said they had fired Gen Z workers not long after hiring them, and one in six managers said they were hesitant to hire recent college graduates.
It’s no surprise that Gen Z continues to be misunderstood, or that older employees might rely on lazy tropes as they try to make sense of a new generation. While it’s true that Gen Z employees may have higher expectations for the workplace, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing—in fact, it may just be a necessary corrective in the face of questionable leadership.
“What many have labeled ‘[quiet] quitting’ is actually a rational response to workplaces that lack fairness, structure, and alignment with employee values,” leadership strategist Jeff LeBlanc wrote recently. “Instead of writing off an entire generation, leaders should be asking: What are we doing wrong?”
As baby boomers age out of the workforce, it’s imperative that employers find a way to better understand—and court—Gen Z employees, who will be a key part of the next generation of workers. So what can employers do to not just attract Gen Z workers, but make sure they stick around?
Understand how Gen Z employees are different
Rather than typically dismissing the concerns of Gen Z or painting them as difficult to work with, companies and managers should consider why younger employees might differ from their older counterparts when it comes to their expectations of the workplace. “Gen Z grew up amid economic uncertainty, social justice movements, and an increasing focus on mental health,” LeBlanc wrote. “They don’t just want jobs; they want workplaces that prioritize psychological safety, transparency, and fairness.”
Research indicates that Gen Z is far more socially conscious than previous generations, and that these employees prize diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and employee wellness. What older employees may perceive as being demanding is actually about advocating for themselves.
This is also a generation of workers who grew up on the internet. “Gen Z is used to putting every thought out for others to like, dislike, and amplify,” wrote Amelia Dunlop, chief experience officer for Deloitte Digital. “When they show up at work, they expect their voice and opinions to be heard and taken into consideration.”Expand to continue reading ↓
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pavithra Mohan is a staff writer for Fast Company’s Work Life section, where she covers labor and workplace issues, often through the lens of race and gender inequities.. She has reported extensively on workplace discrimination in the tech industry and beyond, from the disproportionate impact of layoffs on pregnant tech workers to the growing rejection of NDAs that silence workplace mistreatment and the complicated bureaucracy of taking discrimination claims to the EEOC More