It seems to happen as each generation enters the workplace. Workplace culture shifts as the trends, styles, preferences, and identities of a new generation begin to meld with those of previous generations.
Stereotypes abound. Many of us remember the famous clashes between Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. Still others recall what it was like to have Millennials enter the work force, quickly dominating the office by the sheer size of the cohort. And now, as Generation Z moves into cubes and pops in their AirPods to take a call, employers are looking at ways to create welcoming environments for a new generation who might see things a little differently.
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) were largely raised by parents who survived the Great Depression and World War II and made up the largest cohort of workers in America for several decades. Generation X (born 1965-80) first came to life in the workplace defined as “slackers” and, though a small generational cohort by number, turned into a powerful force in entrepreneurship and tech. Millennials (born 1981-96) had formative experiences during their lives that included times of great strife, 9/11, the Columbine school shooting, technological change, and a dramatic recession.
And now it’s Generation Z (born 1997-2012), its oldest members now just 28 years old, taking a desk and chair at cubicles all over the U.S. Or perhaps it’s in bedrooms, living rooms, and coffee shops. In the contemporary business world, the workplace can be virtually any hot spot where a laptop or cellphone finds a signal. The most diverse generation by far, this group of digital natives will be the largest group in the workplace by 2035, according to a recent Glassdoor forecast.
Gen Z has never known an analog world. Early memories may include watching their parents check messages every five minutes on their Blackberry, watching The Princess Diaries on Blu-ray, or running home from school to play Call of Duty on their Xbox or PlayStation.
“This generation is digitally native,” says Amy Reddy, a human resource professional with 25 years of experience; she most recently served as vice president of talent at Merus, formerly known as Al. Neyer. “They’re used to having information at their fingertips and getting it fast, even more so now with AI.”
By population, Gen Z is already the second largest generation in the Cincinnati region—but just over half is college-age or older. That means the effects of this generation in the workplace are still being felt and will be for some time as they take their first jobs.
[Illustration by Davi Augusto]
While each generation has had its touchpoints that collectively impact individuals’ thinking, the lack of alignment with—or understanding of—Gen Z could stem from the fact that in their formative years they lived through a period no other generation has experienced: isolation.
The global COVID pandemic hit Gen Z at critical moments in their developing lives. As teenagers, their social development was interrupted as schools closed, hang-outs shuttered, and streets emptied. School was on a screen, and often the Zoom squares were black. Date night was on a laptop. Proms were cancelled. Diplomas were mailed. When these kids were finally let out of the house, they were masked and socially distanced.
No wonder, in emerging from the COVID world, Gen Z had adapted to its forced solitude and questioned why they needed to work in a cubicle surrounded by their colleagues. Millennial and Gen X managers, on the other hand, wondered if this generation seemed to lack the “soft skills” that make the corporate world function. Why doesn’t that kid look me in the eye when he talks? Why can’t he write a simple email? Why does she resist coming to the office?
Julie Bauke has been in the human resources business for 45 years, heading up personnel departments from Lee Hecht Harrison and The Midland Company to running her own career coaching firm, The Bauke Group, for the last 18 years. You can hear her on WLW Radio every Wednesday morning dispensing career advice in a direct and often humorous manner.
“Old-school managers often have the attitude, Look, you’ll do what I say and I can smack you whenever I want, but just remember we have a door that’s open and a line outside waiting to take your place,” she says, which is a shortsighted view of the world today. “They forget it’s Gen Z that’s growing in the workforce, bringing in new ideas and energy. They’re going to be attracted to companies that share their values and provide amenities they want.”
Each new generation has sought new ways of work and, with it, new benefits and perks. Experience with Gen Z tells some HR leaders that what these workers want isn’t just a hybrid work schedule, Bauke notes. Gen Zers desire a more generous PTO package, “self-care” days, gym memberships, mental healthcare options, student loan relief programs, fertility and adoption benefits, onsite daycare, and even company-paid pet care. Basically, she says, Gen Z views perks as a pathway to the ever-elusive search for a perfect work/life balance.
It’s not that every Gen Z job applicant demands any or all of these amenities, Bauke says, but employers need to be aware that this is becoming the price of successfully attracting the best and brightest in the annual Gen Z draft. “Companies who elect not to deal with this demand are either stupid or lazy,” she warns, “and they’ll lose out to their competitors who aren’t.”
A lot of Gen Zers, Reddy and Bauke agree, remember their parents coming home from work tired and sometimes grumpy with little gas left in the tank for them. “Their Blackberry might go off and interrupt a conversation that’s then lost,” Bauke says. “Gen Z is saying, That’s not going to happen to me.”
And, to some, it wasn’t even a lost conversation. It was a lost job. Most Gen Zers in today’s workforce were pre-teens when the bubble burst, and many had family members struggle during the Great Recession. A similar experience impacted Generation Xers, who also grew up during eco nomic downturns and amidst changes to retirement plans and the U.S. manufacturing economy.
Hence, the “this is a job not a career” attitude that defines Gen Z’s attitude—at least right now. Bauke and Reddy note that the “right now” is an important qualifier.
Bauke recently contracted with a Fortune 500 company to gather a focus group of 45 of that firm’s defined high-potential employees. When asked about their desire to manage people, only three of the 45 responded affirmatively. Unlike incumbent leadership at most companies, she says, Gen Z doesn’t equate management as a prerequisite to career advancement.
But, she emphasizes, it’s not laziness—it’s life. “One of the high-potential employees was a guy who had five kids under the age of 6 and said he didn’t want the responsibility of managing people or dealing with the company bureaucracy,” she recalls, “and I said to him, Why? You’re already managing a lot of people who don’t listen to a word you say. Can’t I change your answer to ‘not right now?’ You know, you can manage your life in chapters.”
Indeed, painting Gen Z—or any generation—with broad brush strokes is unfair. And Zers know it. A recent survey from Intelligent. com found four out of five Gen Z workers said generational stereotypes have negatively impacted their careers. They fear the stereotyping has stunted their career growth, negatively impacted interaction with their colleagues, and stressed them out as they’ve tried to prove themselves.
“I do think the lack of alignment between this generation and leadership is very broad, and it’s a problem,” Reddy acknowledges. “It’s on employers to be interested and engaged in finding that alignment by reviewing their policies, processes, and how they encourage people to grow. It can mean putting on a different lens when you work with the Gen Z employee.”
Gen Zers, Reddy notes, are especially value-driven and more socially conscious—traits that, while admirable, can be off-putting to some in management who prefer anything political scrubbed from the work environment. It’s critical, she says, for leadership to understand where Gen Z is coming from and build awareness throughout their organization.
The Cincinnati Chamber published a report in October, Gen Z in the Workforce in the Cincinnati Region, that combined research, focus groups, and data to build out a fuller picture of the generation’s strengths and challenges. Sean Comer, vice president of the Chamber’s Leadership Center, says Gen Z is known for being ambitious and hard-working while desiring a welcoming and vibrant in-person work culture.
“Based on the report, my team teaching, and the young people I interact with every day in my job, Gen Z wants feedback and responsibility, but they’ve also grown up in an era of instant access and unlimited information,” says Comer. “It’s important for managers to recognize that they possess so many desirable skillsets and values, and it’s on us as managers to support them and bring the best out.”
Gen Z values inclusivity and wants to work for an employer that shares those same values, Reddy notes. “It’s something an employer can do without making too many changes.”
Spencer de Tenley, a senior at Xavier University who will graduate in May with degrees in mathematics and digital media, says one of the reasons he accepted a job with Epic Systems is its commitment to marginalized employee communities. “The CEO is a woman who started the company about 30 years ago, and they just seem very progressive, which is really important to me,” he says of the healthcare software company based in Verona, Wisconsin.
Similarly, Savanna Riley, another Xavier senior who is double majoring in finance and accounting, is joining Cincinnati-based Blue & Co. LLC after graduation because she knows from the internship she did there last year that “there are several like-minded people in the company who also care about social injustice in the community.”
Accounting is about statistics, and Riley notes that around 50 percent of today’s accountants will be retiring within the next 10 years. “So I understand that some of the older people in the profession today may not have as many connections with marginalized communities than I’ve had, based on my experience at school and with various family members,” she says. “I certainly would like to bring awareness going forward.”
Gen Z brings a modern perspective to the table, says Bauke, based on their unique experiences growing up in a world where digital connectivity has brought previously disconnected communities together even as individuals within those communities may have fewer “soft business skills” than their bosses.
According to a June 2024 survey by SHRM, the world’s largest human resources company, just a third of more than 1,200 HR executives questioned say Gen Z has the necessary social skills to perform effectively. The complaints range from poor communication and time management skills to the inability to handle conflict management and perform effectively in team situations. Interestingly, more than half of the Gen Z employees asked the same set of questions believe their soft skills were just fine.
“What’s missing in the Gen Zers is what’s always missing with new workers, wisdom and experience,” says Bauke. “They maybe lack the perceived interpersonal skills and business etiquette now, sure, but that will change over time.”
Some companies want to speed up that process. Major accounting firms like PwC, Deloitte, and KPMG, for example, offer their young workers specific workplace training seminars. Some colleges, like Michigan State University, have built an undergraduate class and post-graduation curriculum around teaching students how to function effectively in the workplace.
That’s critical, says Martin Boehm, executive vice president and dean of undergraduate programs at Hult International Business School in Boston. He worries that college curricula have fallen behind the current workplace order. “In many cases it’s a gap between theory and practice,” he says. “You must have a feel for how quickly businesses move and address it by making sure students have the skills and mindsets to deal with such change.”
Business may be catching on. A 2024 report prepared by Intelligent.com said 73 percent of surveyed companies plan to offer training that could help turn around this perception by the end of 2025. Topics include appropriate business attire, professional writing, learning from constructive criticism, small talk skills, phone etiquette, and how to maintain eye contact.
Etiquette classes, however, don’t teach you how to stay or when to leave. This generation’s mobility, highlighted by the “quiet quitting” post-COVID revolution, has spooked many employers. Hult International Business School, in a survey of hiring managers, found that onboarding a new college graduate takes four to six months and costs at least $4,500 more than hiring an experienced employee. That’s worth it, business leaders may say, if the graduate stays. But will they?
“The average Gen Z employee is probably going to have 12 different careers,” Reddy says, noting it’s not necessarily a negative. “I’m a big believer in developing skills rather than a specific job path within a company, exposing the employee to a lot of paths they can take.”
Reddy says employers will have a better chance of keeping their Gen Zers if they offer continuous development opportunities, expose them to the full breadth of the company, and show empathy and care for them as people. That includes mentorships, travel opportunities, off-site work opportunities, and benefits related to mental health.
“It’s a real thing,” Reddy says of the need for companies to address mental health issues such as depression. “This generation is comfortable talking about it, and that can be difficult for leadership to understand. But an employer has to listen, put all the issues on the table, and offer more wellbeing benefits as well as creating healthy workplace habits.”
One day these Gen Zers—now comprising nearly 30 percent of the American workforce—will be the bosses. As with every generation before it, they’ll shape how business operates. They’ll drive the technology, the office environment (if there is an actual office), and push innovation that either leads or falls behind the rest of the world. And they’ll probably complain about the work habits of the following generations.
“In a lot of ways, I love Gen Z and I’m very optimistic about them,” says Bauke. “I think they’ll run their workplaces much differently. They’ll still be held to productivity standards and will be accountable just as they are now.”
Gen Z workers today are more transparent, and successful companies are already recognizing that personality trait. As leaders, says Bauke, they’ll insist on authenticity, openness, and a closer bond with their employees.
The Chamber has been hearing from business leaders who want to learn more about Gen Z and will train them as leaders in the years to come. “We know that if our region is going to grow, we need to ensure that we both attract and retain young people,” says Comer. “The better we understand them, the better our chances of growing a thriving region.”
In response, says Reddy, Gen Zers need to keep an open mind and work hard to disprove the bad rap their generation is enduring. “Prove you have a work ethic by showing up on time every day,” she advises. “Show you’re reliable and can be trusted. Develop patience and polish your communication skills. Take time to self-reflect and take criticism in the spirit it’s given.”
And for the Boomers, Xers, and Millennials who struggle with their young employee? Be open-minded. “Patience is a two-way street,” says Reddy. “This generation is resourceful. Their digital-native background is an attribute to building a career, and it’s going to be a help, not a hindrance. Be a collaborative problem-solver and, when you’re asked why things are done the way they’re done, use that as an opportunity to think about your answer.”