New rules: Boundaries, virtual collaboration and transparency
Growing up in the digital age has led Gen Z — also known as Zoomers — to advocate for a clearer divide between work and personal time.
“Gen Zs feel that there are few or no boundaries, be it in their real or virtual lives,” Valerie Malcherek, a Gen Z employer branding specialist at Zurich Insurance said in a recent report.
Mental health is a big part of this work-life balance and is something Gen Z holds dear, according to a recent Stanford Report collaboration with Roberta Katz, a former senior research scholar at Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.
“Work and home life are all so integrated that if you don’t pay attention, you could be working all the time,” said Katz. “I think Gen Z is sensitive to that.”
Rotating leadership, where different team members take turns captaining the ship based on expertise, is another strategy that Zoomers prefer, says Katz.
“They don’t believe in hierarchy for hierarchy’s sake,” Katz said. “They do believe in hierarchy where it is useful.”
Growing up online taught Gen Zs with shared interests to collaborate on fan-built websites to maintain fandoms like the K-Pop BTS Army and Taylor Swift Swifties. Such an environment got young folks used to working together virtually rather than having one person telling everyone what to do.
Even set work hours are falling out of favor, according to 24-year-old Erifili Gounari, CEO of The Z Link, a global Gen Z social media agency.
“It all depends on the projects of the various teams as to the schedules individuals work,” she told Eddie Burns, communications consultant at iProduce Media.
It comes down to transparency over professionalism. Being real with your manager about where you’re at mentally, emotionally and physically can build more trust and connection, which can help strengthen team bonds. This approach can leave more room for quality work to be produced when employees are feeling their best.
“They are much better at saying they feel pushed or exhausted or they don’t feel like themselves and need to take time out,” Marshall told news.com.au. “They are really proud of what they are doing and I’m giving them time to rejuvenate.”
But whether this work culture translates to industries outside of the creative sphere is something to consider.
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Make Money NowIs the Gen Z approach to work here to stay?
Gen Z makes up 22% of the global population at nearly 2 billion people and 27% of the global workforce, according to an analysis from McCrindle.
Those percentages are making major waves in the U.S.
As of early 2024, there are now more Zoomers in the U.S workforce than boomers, according to a study from Glassdoor.
But Gen Z won’t outnumber millennials until the 2040s. So while the Gen Z approach to work will still heavily interact with millennial protocol, it’s safe to say that work as we know it will continue to evolve.
As Glassdoor puts it, this year marks a “pivotal moment of cultural change that U.S. companies cannot ignore as Gen Z workers — who care deeply about community connections, about having their voices heard in the workplace, about transparent and responsive leadership, and about diversity and inclusion — make up a rapidly growing share of the workforce.”
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