How to Engage Gen-Z Workers? Raise Your Game
Generation Z (those born after 1997) is aspirational, incredibly diverse, and driven to succeed. Yet, according to Gallup, Gen Z has the lowest workplace engagement rate of all working generations -- 31 percent to be exact. How can this be? It's simple. Many don't find their work purposeful, and some don't see meaningful career advancement opportunities. They are quiet-quitting in record numbers and refusing to go above and beyond to achieve team goals. For Gen Z, personal mental well-being is a top priority, and they aren't willing to trade present sacrifice for future promises. Gone is the extra work hustle to stand out.
So what can you do as a savvy manager to counteract this trend? After all, your younger workers are the key to your future business success. Recent research by Snapchat shows that money is one of the lowest motivational values for Gen Z. So instead of just throwing money at the problem, consider three surprising ways you can increase Gen-Z engagement by tapping into their unique generational needs.
1. Role model desired behavior through "loud leadership."
The pandemic shifted most workers' expectations of what "work" means, and younger workers are leading the charge for change. They want more empathy, intentionality, and deeper connections with their colleagues. They are already digital natives, so learning new digital skills at work isn't a high priority for them, as is with older Baby Boomers and Gen-X workers. But what's surprising is that younger employees crave learning interpersonal skills above and beyond digital or functional skills at work.
These behavioral skills, sometimes called soft skills, are often ignored by managers because they assume Gen Z has already developed them through formal academic or early apprenticeship training. But when you review the last decade -- spanning the tumultuous teenage and young adult years of younger generations -- it's not surprising that many Gen-Z workers didn't fully develop these behavioral skills because of massive societal changes, smartphone addiction, social media, political unrest, economic slowdowns, and social isolation during a global pandemic. That's why they're craving them in the workplace now.
Gen-Z engagement is down not because they don't like to work hard. Engagement is down because younger workers see a disconnect between their work tasks and their managers who don't inspire them (also known as quiet leadership).
To lead Gen-Z workers effectively, it's imperative you role model the behavior you want to see in them. Quiet-quitting might be all the current rage among Gen-Z workers, so you have to show up as the exact opposite of that -- as a "loud leader" who leans into authenticity, vulnerability, empathy, community, and inclusive collaboration.
Just look at leaders who command respect and wide admiration across generations, including Gen Z: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his bravery, the late Queen Elizabeth II for her sense of duty, and social scientist professor Brene Brown for her focus on vulnerability and authenticity. You may not be a president, queen, or professor, but you are a leader of teams. Act like it, and you'll get Gen-Z engagement.
2. Rethink the role of the office and "work anywhere."
Since Labor Day, the return to the office has begun in earnest, but today's young workers still have more autonomy to choose where (and when) they work than ever before. In Gensler's latest survey of office workers, all four working generations (Boomer, X, Y, and Z) rate "working in-person with their colleagues" as the number-one purpose of the office. But Gen Z is significantly more likely to select "maximizing individual productivity" (since many live at home or shared apartments) and the only generation to rank "being visible to be promoted" in their top 10 reasons to come to the office.
There's clearly a generational divide on the concept of remote work. While older generations tend to see work locations as binary -- home or office -- younger generations have fully embraced the concept of working from anywhere. Boomers may want the comforts of home, but Gen Z and younger Millennials thrive in third places, such as coffee shops, libraries, and parks, which double as collaborative workspaces.
It may seem surprising, but what Gen Z needs most from the office is quiet space for heads-down work. Working without distractions and interruptions is critical for productivity, and Gen Z needs spaces that are more private than the home, shared office benches, or workstations out in the open. Of course, the office needs lively social spaces where employees can connect, but it also needs balance -- places that support both group work and focus work.
To attract Gen Z, consider maximizing flexibility in where, when, and how teams work. Select office locations in mixed-use walkable neighborhoods that are easy to commute to, and provide choice and variety in work settings. Provide outdoor spaces equipped for working and empower your employees to use them, such as rooftops, terraces, ground floor spaces, building amenities, common areas, and third spaces to diversify where teams meet.
3. Prioritize peer-to-peer learning and mentorship.
For Gen Z, the physical workplace matters as a space not only for gathering and collaboration but also for learning cultural norms and professional growth. While interacting with people may be the next workplace perk, this generational cohort needs a physical connection for personal development and access to mentors critical for their career success.
With economic uncertainty ahead, it can be tough to swallow the cost of sending your younger staff on a leadership development program retreat in Las Vegas, but you don't need a big expense account to signal to your Gen Z workers that learning and development are a priority. We now have cost-effective ways to achieve this compared with the past, such as the staggering number of podcasts, YouTube videos, and audiobooks that can be leveraged to create peer-to-peer or intergenerational mentorship and learning programs.
Since Gen Z learns and communicates largely online, peer-to-peer learning and communities are a high-impact, low-cost opportunity to engage them, either in-person (preferred) over coffee at a third place, or asynchronously through digital communication channels like Teams, Slack, or internal messaging boards.
These activities require a minimal amount of resources but can have an outsized impact, so don't skimp on the lunch and learn. Research shows that nine out of 10 employees who have internal mentors say they are happy with their jobs. And since we know Gen Z wants to spend more time in the office to increase visibility, this peer-to-peer learning and mentorship is a great incentive to encourage in-office collaboration, rather than bringing workers back into the office to perform tasks they can largely complete remotely.
When it comes to Gen Z, you win by tapping into their needs -- needs for behavioral role modeling, physical and social space, peer-to-peer learning, and growth. Time is urgent, because the cost of doing nothing is significantly greater than you think, and you risk losing an entire generation of skills. Gallup found 52 percent of voluntarily exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving their job, and since turnover can cost employers upwards of 1.5 to 2 times an employee's annual salary, you're actually costing your company money if you don't have a concerted Gen Z engagement and retention plan.
Kian Gohar is founder of Geolab and co-author of Competing in the New World of Work. Janet Pogue McLaurin is a registered architect, global director of workplace research at Gensler ,and a member of its management committee. Santor Nishizaki is an adjunct leadership professor at Pepperdine University and author of Working With Gen Z.