In conversations that we’ve had lately with people in human resources and elsewhere in government, we’ve found ourselves repeatedly chatting about challenges with their newest cadre of employees: members of the so-called Generation Z.
Generally, members of Generation Z are labeled as those who are currently aged 12 to 27. A number of traits tend to be associated with this group, including a desire for real-time feedback. But one of the most significant characteristics associated with them is a yearning for a solid work-life balance.
That’s a good thing, especially as there’s been growing recognition about the hazards of workplace burnout, but we’ve heard repeatedly that it can create difficulties when employers would like a little more focus on work and a little less attention to everything else. In a conversation about this phenomenon a friend of ours described a young employee who shocked her boss by abruptly leaving an important meeting at precisely the time she had been told her workday was to end.
We bring this all up out of concern that in a search for easy solutions falling back on generational stereotypes can have perverse effects. (And it’s not only the older generations who fall prey to stereotyping. Some members of Gen Z are inclined to complain that baby boomers are too fixed in their ways. Have you heard the phrase, “OK Boomer?” It’s not intended as a compliment.)
While there may be truth to some of the understandings about members of Gen Z,, these kinds of broad generalizations lump people together with a one-size-fits-all approach that ultimately isn’t helpful.
The assumption that individuals born in a certain time frame all share similar traits, may be somewhat more accurate than judging them by their sign of the Zodiac, but it doesn’t provide the entire picture by any means.
We know that people from Gen Z – or any other generation – are going to vary as much by the region of the country in which they live, their level of education, ethnicity, family culture and background as they are by the year in which they were born.
Beyond that, descriptions of any generation run the risk of describing them at a certain point in time, before years pass, the world changes, and their attitudes towards things morph as well.
The baby boomers, like us, are currently labeled as optimistic, competitive, effective at decision making and self-sufficient. And yet any number of people we know – some of them well – who are part of our generation are pessimistic, non-competitive, wishy-washy and dependent on others.
And that’s how our generation is perceived right now. Consider this from Generation Check which writes about how baby boomers, like us were thought of when they first emerged on the scene: “Sometimes called "flower children," they advocated for peace and non-violence, coining the phrase ‘Make love, not war.’ They typically follow vegetarian diets and have their unique fashion sense: long hair, long dresses for the women, and large rimless glasses. Hippies listened to folk and rock music and were inspired by Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, and similar musicians.”
Of course, we understand that it’s important for employers – whether in the private or the public sector – to try to create an environment in which employees are most likely to succeed. But when employers lean too much on the year an employee was born, instead of an understanding of individual needs and aspirations, there’s every chance that they’ll be aiming their human resource arrows at the wrong targets.
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