Let’s set the record straight: Generation Z is not your generation.
Experts say proactive employers are already preparing and asking questions. Do their workplace policies mesh with the preferred work styles of a generation that refuses to settle? Does their recruiting literature and company website make it clear the company is an inclusive organization that is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in promotion and in practice?
A recent survey by Robin Powered Inc., which helps companies implement hybrid work, found similar sentiments about the importance of salary. And if they are being paid less than colleagues or the market, they’re likely to find out quickly. Nearly one-third of Gen Z workers said they feel comfortable discussing their salary details with coworkers, more than millennials and Gen X .
Schnur, an intern for Third Man Records in Nashville, Tennessee, can choose to go into the office or work remotely. He likes the option. Jenna Wiley, an accountant for Outback Presents LLC, an entertainment agency in Nashville that allows two remote workdays per month for every employee, prefers to be working in-person and is content with her organization’s policy.
“I wouldn’t want to work in a job where you have to be in the office every day, or if I was not going to come to the office, they would kind of force you to take PTO,” Wiley said. “You have all the resources to work from home. I think you should be allowed to do that if you need to do it.”When Leslie Mercedes was looking for jobs after she graduated from Boston University earlier this year, she was looking for a job that would pay well but also have work-life balance.
Sam Tabor, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Gen Z doesn’t settle. “We, as a generation, value mental health and work-life balance. So, we’re looking for employers that are going to value that too and show that in their benefits,” Mercedes said. “I don’t want to just live to work. I want to prioritize my mental health, my physical health, my friends, family, travel. I want a company that will understand that and give me time away.Youssef Hasweh, 20, has had experiences in the workplace where he hasn’t felt supported as a person of color.