Gen Z isn’t shy about wanting more from work

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.

When 27-year-old account executive Brittany Pietsch was laid off from her software job earlier this year, she did what any self-respecting Gen Zer would do: she put it on TikTok. The resulting viral video, in which Pietsch forthrightly asks the two strangers firing her why her manager isn’t on the call, and why their stated reasons for the layoff don’t track with her performance evaluations, drew 113,000 likes and widespread admiration from viewers. Pietsch told the Wall Street Journal, “I have received so many messages of people telling me, ‘I wish I would have stood up for myself the way you did.’ ”

She’s not alone. As waves of layoffs continue to rock the tech sector, the digital natives of Gen Z are increasingly finding an angle – and some content— in an otherwise traumatizing experience. The trend has unsettled employers and HR leaders, who, reports Axios, are now “afraid” of the repercussions of downsizing.

That’s probably a good thing. Many of these videos, often no more than 10 minutes long, offer an object lesson in how not to treat your employees—of any generation. But Gen Z is perhaps uniquely suited to being the voice of this moment, and powering the workforce shifts it demands. 

Gen Z is the most diverse generation in history, bringing a huge range of experiences and stories to the workforce and defying attempts to broadly generalize who they are or what they want. Where it is possible to generalize, they’re mostly asking for what we all want: basic respect for their humanity and their potential.

But unlike previous generations, who were perhaps made more reticent by the once-persistent entreaty to keep quiet until you’ve paid your dues, Gen Zers aren’t afraid to speak up and speak out. And they have a lot to say.

A Commitment To Authenticity And Transparency

“A lot of what Gen Z talks about is authenticity and transparency: people don't want these very transactional relationships; they’re not into climbing the corporate ladder. Traditional companies aren’t currently set up for us to find long-term financial success and freedom.”

She notes that Gen Z applicants are turned off by companies that claim to hold certain values, but don’t live by them, a sentiment echoed by Becky Sennett, Vice President of Research at Brilliant Ink, a boutique internal communications and employee engagement agency.

“Gen Z has a higher B.S. detector than most,” says Sennett, “If you’re touting your company values, they need to be truly lived and resonant. Candidates are going to do their research, whether it’s reading Glassdoor reviews or talking to people they may know at your organization. They’ll know or will find out what’s disingenuous.”

Transparency, or lack thereof, can make or break the hiring process — and it doesn’t just apply to company values or mission. Most members of Gen Z interviewed for this article cited lack of pay transparency as their biggest “red flag” when job hunting, a trend that is borne out by the data. A study from AdobeADBE 0.0% found that 85% of Gen Zers say they’re less likely to consider a role that doesn’t publish a compensation range — a practice that is now law in several states including New York and Colorado.

Gen Zers also want transparency about their prospects and development path, says Maisha Cannon, a recruiter and educator who founded The Collab Lab, Inc. to support talent professionals working to attract, engage, and retain the next generation of workers.

“They’re constantly asking themselves, ‘What’s my next big move?’ Providing clear paths for advancement and investing in their development can turn a job into a career they’re passionate about.”

And without that path for growth, Gen Z has no compunctions about moving on to a better opportunity. Citing research from Deloitte, Farage notes, “73% of Gen Z left a job because of the lack of growth and learning opportunities.

Move From Mentorship To ‘Friendtorship’

In her thought partnership with corporate leaders, Farage often advises companies to invest in what she calls “friendtorship” — two-way relationships between younger members of the workforce and their more senior colleagues that focus on mutual learning and a genuine spark of kinship.

Hunger for mentorship is a common theme in a generation that came of age in a tenuous time for workplace connection. The oldest members of Gen Z were 23 in 2020, when the pandemic abruptly upended the workplace, or, in some industries, shut it down entirely. Many others were in college, signing on to classes from their parents’ homes before matriculating into a workforce that looked nothing like they’d been expecting.

Many Gen Zers have struggled to find the mentors and support they need to develop in their roles. One Gen Zer who recently left a job in finance cited lack of mentorship as one his central drivers for departing the role, noting that, without more support and a clear sense of how he could grow or develop, the job felt like a dead end.

And, coming of age in a remote context, the youngest members of the workforce have had to be very self-motivated in building those relationships, which aren’t necessarily readily available on the job. A Gen Z growth marketing manager who started out in a remote role noted that, without much access to senior leaders at work, she had to rely on her own networking abilities and seek mentors outside of the workplace in order to get the advice and coaching she needed.

There’s a strong disconnect between Gen Zers — eager to teach and be taught — and the leaders who could be mentoring them. Like Millennials and Gen Xers before them, Gen Z is fighting an age-old stereotype: that young people are entitled or not interested in working hard.

Referencing recent research from Visier, Sennett notes that 55% of Gen Z employees want to be people managers in their current organization — far more than the average of 38% interested in management in the broader employee population. But most feel like they need coaching to take on bigger roles. To nurture that potential, she suggests, “solicit mentors who really view mentorship as a collaborative relationship. Not just someone who is looking to info dump or tell their mentee what to do.”

Cannon suggests meeting Gen Z where they are. “It doesn’t have to be a traditional formalized program. Get curious about what the younger generation wants. Ask them questions.” She adds, “If companies are genuinely interested in building programs Gen Z will appreciate, it’s easy, in theory. But there is often a disconnect between theory and practice in business.”

Intention, Inclusion, And Respect

Five or ten years ago, young employees were often advised to be the first ones in the office and the last to leave. Many Millennials and Gen Xers were taught to log long hours, perhaps building relationships, but also incurring sleep debt, experiencing negative impacts on their mental health, and driving less value than one might imagine for the business.

Because of the shift to remote and flexible work, Gen Zers were largely spared this experience, and, rightfully, do not want to see the workforce regress. Several Gen Zers interviewed for this piece said they seek out roles and managers that will honor their boundaries and time, citing as table stakes the basic flexibility to take personal time, run errands during the day, and log off at five. Most also emphasized that, ideally, that flexibility would extend a lot further, to trusting team members to work, within reason, when, how, and where they want — and respect that work is just one facet of who they are.

That sense of respect extends to how their time is used when they’re on the clock. Meaningless meetings, unstructured time, and management by head count can be major sources of frustration, says Farage.

“Who wants to be on Zoom sitting on a huge All Hands where you have nothing to contribute, you're forced to put your camera on, and there's no interactivity? Or, if you’re going to take someone’s time and force them to commute, what are they getting out of it? The intentionality has to be there.”

When organizations put in the work to make live time intentional (whether virtual or in-office), they see real impact. Atlassian, a fully distributed team, finds that a high-quality team gathering boosts connection 27%, and that impact lasts 4 or 5 months.

High-quality time together may be particularly important for Gen Zers in the workforce. Sennett notes, “Gen Z has the highest rates of depression and anxiety. In fact, Gen Z (and Millennials) are twice as likely as Baby Boomers to experience high or moderate burnout,” referencing research from Aflac.

Mental health is just one of many threads that might make up an individual Gen Zers nuanced experience. Mostly, what they want is to be seen for that nuance and treated as individuals, not an undifferentiated generational mass.

“Gen Z,” notes Cannon, “does not want to be put in a one-size-fits-all box. If we want to create a dynamic multigenerational workforce, we need strategies that honor individuality.”

That’s a change of pace for many employers and hiring managers, but not one that’s out of reach. If anything, looking at Gen Z talent through the lens of the individual, rather than sweeping macro trends, might help put this shift in perspective.

“We're asking for people to ask what our pronouns are in a job interview,” says Farage. “We’re asking to have a one-on-one call with our boss the first day that we start. These things are not outrageous.”