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Trouble Makers or Trailblazers?

Are Gen Z problematic in the workforce? Or are they just a different problem to those that have come before them.

I hear a lot about how problematic Gen Z are in the workforce. When I talk about Gen Z, I am talking about those that are working – 20 – 28 year olds. Millenials, those currently 29 to 44 (me included), were always labelled as a problem in the workforce as well – but for a different reason. 

Baby Boomers in particular have been of the mindset where you go to work for one company, rise through the ranks and achieve success in that way. This has shifted with later generations; Millennials in particular are much more likely to move to a different company in order to earn more or get promoted. 

But this was not the reason we were labelled “difficult”. We brought a level of ego to the workforce that was new and challenging. Millennials expected to be able to talk to anyone in the organisation – we really wanted that access and to be able to speak to anyone in the organisation including the CEO. 

Such a different mindset from what had come before, where the organisation was very hierarchical and you didn’t speak outside of your position in that structure. I can understand why this shift was hard and labelled as a problem.

But now the original trouble makers are now calling out the next generation as the problem children in the workforce. And for a very similar reason.

The ego is still there, but the direction of that ego has shifted. Now, instead of wanting access to the CEO, the newer entrants to the workforce are expecting the CEO to want to come to them.

This inflated sense of self is not the only reason Gen Z are causing organisational ripples. In my personal experience, Gen Z are bringing an expectation of expertise that is not matched by experience. 

I teach at university, and I have had young interns and team members. One thing that I see consistently across the younger demographic is that they talk the big talk, but often are unable to follow up with the knowledge and expertise needed. There is an assumption from this young generation that their social media and tech knowledge is going to see them through. 

But there is more than just a misplaced ego resulting in the label of Gen Z as disruptive in the workforce. There is the strong desire to prioritise wellbeing over work. 

I have recently asked all my current students, about 60 of them, what sort of roles and positions they were hoping to go into after they graduated. Every single one of them said they had no intention of working full time. The reason – their mental health is more important than getting the extra income, especially as they perceive that they will never be in a position to own their own house. 

After further investigation, the consideration for full time work is only there if there is extreme flexibility. I am not just talking about a few days work from home a week. It means working a few hours on a Sunday afternoon so that Wednesday morning is free. It means starting at 5am to finish in time for a late lunch and afternoon off. It is a true reinvention of what flexible work really means. 

Gen Z are not limited by conventional thinking about what should or should not work. 

Those of us that have been in the workforce for a while can’t see this – we make statements like “what if there is a meeting on at that time” but we are being left behind. Gen Z are not the problem children they are being made out to be – they are the trailblazers of what true freedom and flexibility in the workplace looks like. If the 4 day work week is going to become the norm, it is Gen Z that will be the catalyst. 

I don’t think this will come about by force either. It will be a natural movement towards breaking the full-time framework in order to prioritise lifestyle. Gen Z will show us that exaggerated flexibility is possible, and possibly even better for us.