Gen Z: It’s Not Hip to Be Square

Need a Culture Boost?: Building Extraordinary and Adaptive Cultures Course Available Now!

Are you a leader, consultant, coach or trainer? Join Belongify and get certified!

What It’s About: What do you know about Gen Z, the kids born from 1997 to 2012? They are rapidly joining the workforce, and making the “what’s with those millennials?” questions so passe. Note: (see this NYT article) how professional sport organizations are starting to evolve with Gen Z in mind. Frankly, if they want future fans in the stands, it’s a matter of survival.

“The leagues’ marketing officers share a philosophy: Meet young fans where they are. That means using digital tools like Snapchat, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok as a way to get teenagers to engage with their sports and tune into games wherever they’re shown. The leagues have become fluent in the jargon of digital media and say the digital platforms attract billions of views and likes. The NFL teamed with the gamer Ninja. Major League Baseball recruited influencers to produce TikTok content for the World Series under the hashtag #mlbcreatorclass. The NBA co-founded the professional NBA 2K esports league and tied it to individual franchises.”

So What?: While no group wants to be put on a box, additional considerations about Gen Z trends include:

• The first generation that has never known a world without the worldwide web.

• The first generation that has never used a phone with a cord.

Great research conducted by Deloitte concludes:

“Gen Z will soon surpass Millennials as the most populous generation on earth, with more than one-third of the world’s population counting themselves Gen Zers. Its members are on the verge of entering the workforce and spending money on the products, services and solutions that you produce, provide and create. The generation is entering the workforce at a time when the overall workforce is shrinking. Understanding what matters to Gen Z will be critical to the success of companies in attracting the members and organizations in the future.

While money and salary matters a great deal to Gen Z, there are many other values it holds dear. It’s important to Gen Z to work at organizations whose values align with their own.

Diversity matters to them through many dimensions, and isn’t just isolated to race and gender, but also related to identity and orientation. Combining this with their preferences on how they work, where they work and who they work with means that companies will need to fundamentally change how they organize, hire, retain and develop talent. To attract and retain the best and brightest of the generation will require a different mindset. Employers will need to understand the behaviors and tendencies of a generation that expects much more personalization in how they are treated by their employer. Rather than try to fill cookie-cutter roles, instead develop the profile of a great employee, establish internal apprenticeship programs, or hire smart, talented people and then match them.”

Now What?: We have a Gen Z grandson, and therefore I've got additional motivation to better understand Gen Z. Additionally, there are now five unique generations online in the workplace, and each has a perspective I need to be aware of. One reason I’m now streaming on Twitch is to better understand how these kids apply that platform beyond gaming. I’m likely to always be thought of as square by a Gen Zer, but I’m going to work hard to learn from them, and ideally still be relevant. What about you?

One Millennial View: [This is mostly satire]. Alright, well maybe I’m just a disgruntled Millennial who entered the workforce on the tail end of a recession, where we had almost zero power and we were scrambling for whatever jobs we could get. However, as much as I appreciate that highly experienced individuals want to adhere to the desires of talented Gen Zers, these are still the kids who ate Tide Pods, and until you’re 25 years old, your brain isn’t fully developed. Gen Zers can “want and demand” all day long, but they still have a lot to learn. Of course, I’m kidding around, but if we’re rolling out the red carpet for these children, I hope leaders maintain some authority and make sure they don’t scuff it up. After all, we walked miles to school, uphill both ways, with a corded phone and no Internet.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Gen Z: It’s Not Hip to Be Square

Search Blog Posts:

Follow Us: