Gen Z are talented but need special treatment at work

The ‘everyone wins a prize’ tenet of helicopter parenting is creating friction for older generations trying to mentor Gen Z. Leaders need patience and commitment.

Gen Z have expectations from day one and that may include more affirmations of letting them know they are doing good work far more publicly and regularly than say Gen Xers or baby boomers when they were in their 20s. Picture: iStock

Everywhere I go, every client I talk to wants to make their workplace better, more collaborative, more inclusive and, naturally, more successful. There is also an ongoing generational debate; nothing new but we do have a new generation of the workforce in our midst.

Generation Z, colloquially known as Gen Z or zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. The roughly estimated age range of Gen Z are those born from the mid to late 1990s until the early 2010s.

Gen Zs have been brought up with enormous educational pressure, such as the laser focus on the HSC and their pathway to tertiary education and, when coming into the modern corporate environment, it makes me wonder if the intense pressure we put on people adds to the expectations of their first corporate role? They have expectations from day one and that may include more affirmations of letting them know they are doing good work far more publicly and regularly than say Gen Xers or baby boomers when they were in their 20s.

Yet the real issue is more than just highlighting the exaggerated need for praise in the workplace, and is only one side of the coin. This new generation has grown up in times of mass prosperity and helicopter parenting yet is also the poster child for “recognition for participation”. There has been less push to notice real achievements from a young age so how can we expect they have learned grit. It seems we are trading off this creating of grit (or hard work for hard work’s sake) to embrace Gen Zs’ needs at work and there will be friction for older generations trying to mentor them and help them find their purpose at work too.

In Australia, let’s remember that Gen Zs have come from 20 years of economic prosperity. They don’t know what a real recession means for their job prospects. So, when they have arrived in the workplace, they want to grow quickly and rise at speed through the levels of progression – they are impatient but also open-minded.

It is up to us established workers to better understand the impact these decisions are having on the younger workforce.

This shows up in their curiosity, drive and confidence when they are looking for those “quick wins”, where they can feel a sense of impact and achievement immediately.

While this enthusiasm is very much needed in the workplace, I believe established leaders need to balance this need by teaching and role-modelling skills of resilience, work ethic and focused goal-setting, not just giving their Gen Z staff growth opportunities because they expect it.

As an employer, Maximus knows we need to be setting clear expectations of what performance is required with the right mindset. This is more evident with hybrid working where it’s important for Gen Zs to be learning on the job, and therefore the apprentice model of sitting alongside people is needed more than prior generations, including mine, have been used to.

With continuing economic uncertainty and shortage of skilled workers – we still need millions of people to fill the post-Covid gap created by migrant work shortages too – companies are being more disciplined about where they are making their investments and are therefore directing funds to growing their top talent. Rightly so, but this top-down pressure is putting pressure on the Gen Zs coming into our workspaces. It is up to us established workers to better understand the impact these decisions are having on the younger workforce. This internal pressure combined with the rising cost of living is only exacerbating the pressure on a younger workforce finding their feet professionally and growing up on our watch.

While this culminates in a high expectation of how they grow, as business leaders we need to demonstrate the art of patience and commitment. To see that through in a considered way, I believe corporates have an obligation to do a lot of work on mindset, and fundamental behaviours of time management, responsibility and work ethic to ensure Gen Zs feel engaged and committed to a sustainable career path.

Equally, we can learn from Gen Zs. They have an abundance of mindset, and superior digital capabilities that will help with fresh and new business models. As a society, we need to tap into that capacity as that is what will drive innovation and social impact.

Knowing it is my generation and others before me who have, for the large part, delivered the market growth and abundance we all enjoy, we must take seriously our long-term stewardship role for future generations to set the critical future capabilities for continued economic prosperity.

Maybe it’s time we embrace the positive opportunity of this new generation to teach us all something, new including how to bring out the best in all of us – after all, they are the future of work.

Vanessa Gavan is an entrepreneur and trained psychologist. She is the founder and joint managing director of Maximus. She is a leadership expert and has worked with clients such as Westpac, Urbis and Suncorp.