From Millennials to Gen Z Within the Workplace?

By: Caroline Anzilotti

What is Gen Z? How has this generation evolved and how will they succeed?

Gen Z will soon pass millennials as the most populous generation on earth. The impact of their entry is rapid and extreme, from its effects in the workplace, retail, consumption, technology, politics, and culture. This generation has a whole new perspective on careers and how to define success in life and the workplace. By 2025 Gen Z is predicted to make up nearly 30% of the labor force, according to the World Economic Forum. 

Gen Z’s behaviors and impacts

While you may think salary is the most important aspect of the workplace, for Gen Z it is not. Gen Z values salary less than any other generation. If given the option of receiving a better-paying job but doing boring work or receiving a lower-paying job but enjoying what they do every day, Gen Z is likely to pick enjoying their job way more than what the pay will be. 

The future of work

As you look at the preferences and behaviors of Gen Z as they continue to enter the workforce, you have to look at how the workplace is changing and evolving. The future of work will need to be a figure with many talents, interests, and areas of knowledge. It will require interpersonal communication, emotional intelligence, presentation, public speaking, and business writing skills. 

How to take action as Gen Z continues entering the workplace?

To take action and allow Gen Z to have the capabilities of working in today’s society, employers may need to look at taking certain steps. These can include things such as:  

• Training programs and skills programs to learn the workflow, along with coaching and mentoring to gain new opportunities. 

• Integrating new advances in technology that Gen Z has been exposed to such as learning technologies and AI tools.

• Keeping up to date on regular assessments and using peers to evaluate one another to share knowledge across different generations 

With social media and the internet being largely exposed to Gen Z, this allowed more global connection, especially after the pandemic. The “new normal” of hybrid and remote work, caused lots of new changes to the workplace. Gen Z wants and expects the workplace to be much different than the millennial generation as the world has continued to evolve. The global perspectives have influenced their outlooks on work and life, creating more diversity in experiences and perspectives.