Managing Generation Z in the workplace is getting harder and harder for employers. Moreover, many employers believe that Generation Z is the most demanding working generation so far. They are career driven, and they expect a lot from their employers. On the other hand, employers are yet to find the best ways to attract and keep them in the workplace.
As generation Z will make 27% of the working population by 2025, it is critical for organizations to find a way to improve their work experience and make them want to stay loyal to their employers.
In this blog, we cover some of the most important characteristics of Gen Z in the workplace and suggest some of the top ways to increase their job satisfaction, engagement, and productivity.
💡 Also, learn about 11 ways to attract and retain Millennials in the workplace!
6 Traits of Generation Z In the Workplace
Generation Z will soon make up a third of the working population. Hence, companies need to understand them better in order to enable them at work and boost their satisfaction and productivity.
So let’s take a look into the most common traits found among this generation.
1. They change jobs frequently
While Millennials and older generations may not prefer frequent career change, Gen Z is different. The labor market is quite flexible today, and there are many career options for everyone.
Consequently, forecasts suggest that the Gen Z group will work a total of 18 jobs across six careers. Another research found that Gen Z could change jobs up to 10 times between the ages of 18 and 34.
For employers, this means harder employee retention. So they are tasked with making Gen Z’s working experience as enjoyable and attractive as possible.
2. They prefer diverse workplaces
When analyzing Gen Z’s workplace preferences, it is important to know that they like working in diverse organizations and teams. Some Generation Z in the workplace statistics confirm diversity in the workplace matters for 88% of this cohort.
3. They are smartphone lovers
Gen Zers don’t leave their phones out of their sight. As many as 98% of all Generation Zers worldwide own a smartphone, the GlobalWebIndex report confirms.
Knowing this, employers need to accommodate their workplace tech stack and make sure that they offer mobile access to almost everything employees need to do their jobs.
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4. Workplace tech is important to them
With the increase of Gen Z in the workplace, companies are becoming more and more digital. Furthermore, with the emergence of remote work, technology has completely transformed the way we communicate and do our jobs.
As proved by research, a whopping 91% of the Gen Z population say that technology would be a decisive factor when choosing a job.
So make sure that you follow the latest tech trends to attract and keep Gen Zers in your company.
5. Continuous learning is a must
Many Gen Z employees are ambitious, career driven, and eager to learn new things. They want to be able to acquire new skills and knowledge within the workplace.
According to previously mentioned research, 75% of Gen Z expect to learn on the job from coworkers or other people.
💡 Related: 5 Ways to Encourage Employee Development in the Workplace
6. They are stressed out
Because of their drive to grow and develop their careers, Gen Z employees are also faced with more stress at work.
More than 1 in 3 working Gen Zers find it difficult to cope with pressure and stress at work. With 91% experiencing at least one symptom of stress, they need better support from their employers.
💡 Related: 9 Ways to Boost Employee Morale in These Trying Times
If you are looking for a modern employee app to better engage your Gen Z workforce, schedule a Haiilo demo!
What Do Gen Z Employees Expect From Their Employers
In the previous section, we have learned some of the most common characteristics of Gen Z workers.
Now let’s take a look into how to accommodate their needs, wants, and preferences.
1. Employee well-being programs
In order to help employees cope with stress at work, many employers have started implementing employee well-being programs.
82% of Generation Z employees find it important to have mental health days, while half want mental health training. Consequently, almost 95% of companies increased investment in their well-being programs in 2021.
2. Better leadership and transparent work culture
Gen Z appreciate transparency at work and healthy relationships with their peers and managers. So appropriate leadership styles are important to them.
In the previously mentioned research, they were asked what they value the most in a leader. Empathy and honesty were at the top of the list.
The new generation wants their leaders to be transparent and supportive, and they expect them to listen to what they have to say.
If you haven’t done it yet, implementing regular employee surveys is a must. This will enable managers to track their employees’ satisfaction and engagement at work. Ideally, such surveys will give you valuable insights and actionable recommendations for improvement.
📹 Check out our [WorkingX 2022] Masterclass: Leadership Engagement – the new form of networked management
3. Socialization
In-person socialization with their colleagues is important to 7 in 10 Gen Zs. 73% of them report feeling alone sometimes or always, and 44% agree that remote work can make them feel lonely and disconnected.
Although a large percentage of Gen Z prefers remote work or considers it essential, making friends, networking, and finding a mentor are some of their biggest challenges. More than a fifth of Gen Zers (21%) report having no friends at work.
For fully remote companies, it may be hard to eliminate this challenge. So implementing appropriate technology such as social intranet is a must!
4. Diversity and inclusion
As mentioned earlier, Gen Zers find it essential to work for a company that cares about diversity, equity and inclusion.
So make sure that you re-assess your talent acquisition strategy and give your best to hire without bias and in alignment with the best D&I practices and your core company values.
When hiring, engage your employees! Employee advocacy is one of the best ways to leverage social recruiting to attract new and diverse talent to your organization.
5. Learning and career development
For 34% of surveyed Gen Zs, limited career progression opportunities are a reason to quit their job.
Earlier, we mentioned that Gen Z wants to be able to learn from their colleagues. However, efficient knowledge sharing is a big challenge companies face today. Knowledge workers spend 40% of their time on work about work. That’s 800 hours times 1.25 billion knowledge workers, equaling a trillion hours per year.
Ensuring efficient and easy knowledge sharing with the right communications technology is critical for improving your employees’ experience at work!
6. Easy access to company information
Employees spend 25% of their time looking for information they need to do their jobs. And this is one of the biggest productivity killers in organizations. Like in their private lives, Gen Z wants important company information at their fingertips.
This is why companies are investing in social intranets more than ever before. Such technology enables them to serve the right information to the right employees at the right time and, therefore, significantly improve readership and engagement with the company’s content.
💡 Related: How Does Information Overload Affect Your Business & How to Stop It?
7. Better onboarding
According to previously mentioned research:
- 62% of Gen Z employees agree that the onboarding they received has equipped them with the resources and skills to do their new job well.
- 67% agree that onboarding made them feel welcomed and valued in their new company.
- 62% agree that onboarding has reduced their anxiety as new employees.
Onboarding is the very first step for ensuring employee success in the organization. So make sure that you have a structured employee onboarding program with designated onboarding materials, videos, and guides.
Also, consider implementing an internal employee newsletter and a designated channel to introduce and connect newcomers with the rest of the workplace.
8. Mobile-friendly technology
In the previous section, we talked about Gen Z’s obsession with their smartphones. Employers need to give their best to provide mobile access to important workplace tech stack.
For example, 62% of Gen Zs want to access and complete training from their smartphones. Furthermore, more than 80% of the world’s workforce is mobile, frontline workers whose jobs don’t require a desk, computer, or email.
Mobile-friendly technology is a must for those organizations that hire blue-collar workers!
💡 Related: Who Are Frontline Workers and How to Set Them Up for Success
9. Social recruiting
If you are struggling to attract and hire Gen Zs in your company, consider social recruitment efforts.
According to research, almost half (48%) of Gen Z employees found their current jobs on social media. To strengthen your employer brand even further, encourage employees’ involvement in sharing the company’s social media content and job openings on personal social channels.
To make this process effortless, consider implementing an employee advocacy solution.
These tools make it easy for employers to distribute the company’s content to various internal communication channels and for employees to share it externally with a few clicks.
10. Employee advocacy
Don’t limit employee advocacy to social recruiting only. Happy Gen Zers can be your best brand ambassadors!
66% of Gen Z employees say they would share their company’s social media content (e.g., job postings, employee spotlights, team events, news articles) on their personal social channels.
Make sure that you implement a formal employee advocacy program because this can be one of the most efficient ways to boost your company’s brand awareness, sales, and talent acquisition efforts.
Interesting Facts About Gen Z In the Workplace
Many organizations are trying to understand Gen Z’s workplace preferences and expectations. Hence, there is plenty of research out there with interesting finding about this generation. Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting ones.
- Generation Z currently make up 30% of the world’s population and are expected to account for 27% of the workforce by 2025
- Gen Z could change jobs up to 10 times between the ages of 18 and 34, based on a survey of U.S. students
- Some 42% of Gen Z workers value work-life balance, remote working and flexible leave as their top priorities when looking for a job, according to a recent U.S. survey
- According to Handshake, 70% of Gen Zers put pay/salary as a top aspect they want from their next job
- One in two members of the class of 2023 says current economic news has impacted their career prospects, according to Handshake’s 2023 Network Trends Report
- According to McKinsey, only 41% of Gen Zers expect to own a home one day
- According to a survey from Tallo, 69% of Gen Zers would be more likely to apply to a job with recruiters and materials that reflected an “ethnically and racially diverse” workforce
- Gen Z says they need more money than other generations to feel financially secure
- 58% of Gen Z report they have two or more unmet social needs, such as “income, employment, education, food, housing, transportation, social support, and safety,” according to McKinsey.
- 86% of Gen Z job seekers say they plan to participate in a company’s DEI or employee resource group (ERG) committee or contribute to a company’s DEI strategy
- Gen Z tends to lean towards working from home — and one in five of them have never worked in person, according to Skynova
- Gen Z is 77% more likely to click on a job opening that mentions “flexibility” than one that doesn’t, according to Axios
- According to Gallup, 54% of Gen Zers are not engaged, which is slightly more than prior generations
- According to Gallup 68% of Gen Z and younger millennials report feeling stressed out most of the time at work
The Role of Technology In Enabling Gen Z In the Workplace
By now, you have learned that Gen Z appreciate appropriate and latest workplace technology. Many find it challenging to work in organizations that operate using traditional methods instead of digitalization and automation.
But more importantly than just implementing many different tools, the workplace tech stack must be well integrated.
Previously mentioned research by Deloitte showed that most workers toggle between apps 10 times an hour, costing organizations 32 days per worker per year of workplace productivity.
As nicely put in the research:
To go from looking digital to living digital, the workplace must be redesigned to operate in synchrony and connect all workers to those that they work with when, where, and how they need it – regardless of location, device, or time zone. Making the shift requires connecting worker experience to business outcomes. By putting workers at the center of design, it becomes possible to create a digital workplace that transforms how people collaborate, get work done, and ultimately do business.
If you are looking for a modern employee engagement and social intranet platform to connect your Gen Z workers and drive their motivation and productivity, schedule a Haiilo demo today!
