Millennials and Gen Zs: Which is easier to work with?

It hasn’t been easy for employers to handle Millennials due to their distinctive approach to work since the generation started joining the labor market in the past decades. But since 2016, employers have had a lot more to handle; Generation Zs – people born after 1996.

Gen Zs have lived a different life, far from what their parents and millennials lived. In more cases, they can’t remember a life without holding a smartphone and beyond class the classroom, they have no memory of 9/11 attacks, just to mention a few. These differences require a different approach to management by companies looking towards hiring and retaining them.

Not questioning their work capacity, the two generations are gradually taking over the workforce, but dealing with each group: the Millennials and Generation Zs demands different management tactics. For instance, the Millennials are more inclined to a sense of entitlement and easily find reasons to quit, while Generation Z shaves a major troubling area: their demand for work that is meaningful to the society.

Have you really taken time to differentiate the demand from the different generations? A recent study by ADP Research Institute found that Generation Zsare not just looking for lucrative salaries. 89% of respondents that participated in the study want to do jobs that have an impact in the society, something more personal to them, and 82% want to plan their own work schedule.

Millennials are more inclined to a sense of entitlement while Generation Z demands work that is meaningful to the society.

The younger generation of Millennials in our workforce today is also found to agree with Gen Z’s position. Unlike the older generations, they place more emphasis on jobs with meaningful impact, reports the study, which surveyed 2,400 employees working at firms with more than 250 workers.

If its official that being in a dream job is the greatest aspiration among members of Gen Z, employers would not rely on compensation and benefits to motivate this group at work. Hr leaders have more work to do in making sure there’s a future plan for this new employee gen in the workforce today, otherwise, they’ll have more challenges retaining or keeping them engaged in a productive manner.

Gen Zs are pioneers of employee freedom to work. The generation wants to work from wherever they want and prefers autonomy, not to be managed. Hence, employers must create a work environment that supports the freedom to handle these new breeds in our workforce.

A recent study published by Forbes found that Gen Zs are more entrepreneurial. 72% of Gen Z students in high school said they prefer to start their own business. And they are 55% more inclined to start their own business than Millennials. This explains why they want independence even while under an employer. Millennials prefer collaborative efforts.

Why are Gen Zs looking for autonomy? Maybe because they are true digital natives, the technology could have led to their quest for independence since it’s very resourceful.

Employers can maintain good productivity among Millennials without communicating facially but that’s not part of what Gen Zs want; they require face to face communication each time you are passing vital information. Maybe they would overgrow this attribute with time. It could also explain why they are more concerned about workplace security than MIllennials. One more thing to enjoy among members of the Gen Z is their ability to multi-task. To an extent, they can handle more jobs at a time than Millennials.

However, the Millennials and Gen Zs are very common in many ways. The two generations represent the most promising workforce with smarter decisions. They both delay starting their career compare to older generations that skipped high school or university to support the family.

Which gen do you think is easier to manage?

The post Millennials and Gen Zs: Which is easier to work with? appeared first on The HR Digest.

Source: New feed