Just when you think you’ve got your millennial employees figured out, there’s a new generation of workers to shake up your workplace paradigm: Generation Z. They’re the millennial workforce’s younger sibs, and they’ll be entering the job market before you know it, so learn all you can about managing Generation Z before they enter your workforce.
The Biggest Generation
While Generation Z is just beginning to trickle into the workforce, they’ll be making waves when they enter in full force in the next five years. Born between 1995 and the early 2000s, Gen Z is the U.S.’s largest workforce demographic, according to Census statistics, making them more populous than both the millennial and the baby boomer generations.
They’ll Be Less Autonomous in Some Ways…
Managers often lament the tendency of millennials’ need for hands-on management — that’s not likely to change with Generation Z. Like millennials, the Generation Z workforce will most likely never have lived on their own before entering the workforce. They’ll be less likely to own a car, or even to drive at all.
…and More Autonomous in Others
Several studies have found that post-millennial workers will be more likely to explore entrepreneurship than previous generations, and want more options for self-direction in educational pursuits. They value education highly, and consider college important to their futures.
They Want Real-World Training and Experience
Managers take heart: A Northeastern University poll of Generation Z respondents found that they overwhelmingly appreciate internships, externships, and on-the-job experience — over 75 percent of those polled thought that universities and colleges should be more integrated with employers.
They Are Socially Conscious
Take a look at your policy and procedures manuals before Generation Z comes in because they’ll be your workplace’s police force when it comes to equal rights for all employees, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or other affiliation.
They’re More Connected, but Value Interaction
Generation Z is widely hailed as the first generation to grow up bathed in Wi-Fi, and for employers, that can seem like a blessing and a curse. That Northeastern University study found that more than half of Gen Z respondents preferred interacting with friends in person than through devices, even when it was difficult, such as breaking up with a significant other.
Still don’t think you’re ready for Generation Z? Let Staffing Partners’ staffing experts ease the transition. We make hiring temp and temp-to-hire workers of any generation a breeze — contact us today!
