Millennials & Gen Z at the office

Each new generation brings its own challenges, preferences and priorities that help shape the workforce. These concerns can create a tremendous impact on the economy and the trends of the preceding generation workforce. If you are a business owner, manager, supervisor or even an employee its important to understand how is Generation Z different from Millennials? What is the difference and similarities in aspirations and concerns for the future? How do they prefer to work? What do they want out of their career? It is beneficial for the organization to understand the trends of the upcoming generational workforce to stay ahead of the game and mostly your competitors.

The newest and youngest workforce generation is Gen -Z which consist of the workforce born between the late 1990’s and 2010’s. The antecedent workforce…Millennials, rage from birth year from 1980s to 1990s. Millennials make up most of the work force today since this generation began entering the workforce in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For this reason, it is important to understand the difference and similarities of Gen-Z and Millennials to create a cohesive work group regardless of generational differences. Today Millennials might be training Gen-Z on how to send a fax but in a couple of years the tables will turn, and Millennials will require to adapt to their work style or get out corporate the way.

Gen- Z sets the oldest of the threshold at the age of 32 and the youngest at 12. What do we know about this upcoming work force? They are entering the workforce during a time of traumatic events like war, civil unrest, and rising gun violence. Gen Z has been dealt a difficult hand, and it’s defining how they engage in work. Similarly, Millennials have been surviving from the same trauma for decades such as Columbine High shoot, 9 /11 and let’s not forget the 2008 housing crisis.

Below are a few key similarities from Gen-Z and Millennials behaviors in the workplace:

Real Social and Organizational Responsibility:

To win the hearts of Generation Z, companies and employers will need to highlight their efforts to be good global citizens. And actions speak louder than words with them.Companies must demonstrate their commitment to a broader set of societal challenges such as sustainability, climate change, and not

just the cliché end world hunger. To a lesser extent, Millennials react to the way companies interact with their employees. These generations do not value organizations that live by the " strictly if need-to-know basis" for business communications. Both want to know what’s going on within the organization and expect transparency from their employers. They want to know what challenges they’re facing instead of being kept in the dark. Both generations what to be part of a greater purpose than themselves.

Money isn’t everything

Many millennials grew up watching their parents put all their time and effort into a job, only to lose it during the great recession. Both events influenced their views of work and life balance. Both Millennial and Gen-Z employees crave balance between their work and personal lives. Many of them choose flexible hours and the ability to spend time with family and friends over a high salary. This is something small business owners can use to their advantage when competing with deep-pocketed companies for talent. Both generations prioritize health and work-life balance and have an increased support for mental health.

Their loyalty is Volatile

Millennials are a loyal group when a company does right by them. However, they wouldn’t think twice about leaving a company if another one offers them a better opportunity to learn, grow, or balance life and work. Equally, Gen -Z want to work for a company with a mission and will leave a company that doesn’t include them. They not only know what they want; and they are more likely to seek out new opportunities to get it. Such belief has even created a trend called "Quite Quitting". Quiet quitting means remaining in one's workplace while not actively going above and beyond.

Key Differences:

Workplace purpose

Gen Z will have the ability to demand greater personalization in how they move along their career journey. They prioritize flexible working arrangements. For organizations to attract and retain the best and brightest of the generation, it will require a different mindset. That means developing robust training and leadership programs, with a real and tangible focus on diversity. Companies can prepare for these demands by establishing internal mentorship or apprenticeship programs, partnering with educational institutions to attract female candidates for less gender diverse roles such as tech roles.

Career Growth

Although Millennials and Gen-Z employees are equally likely to taking a more attractive alternative job opportunity, Millennials are still attracted to career growth within the same organization. This is good news for employers because it gives them some type of leverage on retaining Millennials. LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report states that 93% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. Career growth provide a sense of continuing training and development, value in the workplace, compensation growth and a sense of direction.