At the MACMA Holiday Extravaganza in New York last week, Farrah Bostic from The Difference Engine and Valentina Bojanini from TED were asked how to deal with generational differences in the workplace. They downplayed some of the more comical (alleged) problems with Gen Z and emphasized that most of the caricatures aren’t real.
Gen Z people aren’t taking a minute to emotionally reset, they don’t log out of meetings to “protect their peace,” and they don’t turn staff meetings into therapy sessions. “But how do you really feel?”
In fact, many workplace trends attributed to Gen. Z are often recycled ideas that didn’t work when the Baby Boomers proposed them.
- Flexible hours
- Work-life balance
- Flat hierarchies
- Casual workplace culture
- More democratic workplaces
I believe it was Farrah who claimed that many of the things Gen Z workers are said to want in the workplace are actually old ideas. That is, the Baby Boomers in management are using Gen Z as an excuse to push ideas that are (or were) important to them.
This made me laugh. Decades ago, when I was studying to be a pastor, there was a lot of talk about “contemporary” church services. The idea was often promoted by the 50- and 60-somethings in the parish, and “contemporary” actually meant “at least 30 years out of date.”
So … what do you do?
1. Treat people as individuals, not as members of a group.
2. Don’t worry too much about stereotypes. When someone tells you “Oh, but Gen. Z people don’t like that,” take it as a huge oversimplification.
3. When Gen. 4 is telling you what Gen. 7 is like, be skeptical.
4. Have solid, well-researched, serious reasons for your decisions so you’re not swayed by bullying tactics.
Think on this: “Management often needs generational change as a reason to implement ideas that might otherwise face resistance.”
Many of the “Gen Z workplace demands” are iterations of long-standing proposals from Baby Boomers or earlier generations, with a fresh coat of paint to make them resonate with the current workforce.
