*As originally seen on Forbes.com
Just when you thought you figured out Millennials, Generation Z is now entering the workforce. A whopping 72.8 million individuals are included in this group born between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Are you ready?
While we have learned how to create a culture where Millennials can thrive, what Generation Z needs can be quite different. Here’s the line up:
What Does This Mean?
Safety, belonging, and mattering are essential to your organization’s culture and the ability for your team to perform at work. For Millennials, the greater the feeling of mattering and being seen for their unique gifts, the greater the feeling of connection with others, the greater the feeling that they are in this together and they belong together. Thus, the greater the feeling that they personally matter and make a difference and are contributing to the greater good, and the greater the success of the organization and the team. As a leader, mattering means creating an environment where we can be seen, acknowledged, appreciated, and our unique needs are honored.
For Generation Z, safety means they are looking for stability and that opportunities to advance within a company are based on performance. They want to know what the rules are, and that they are fair. They’re okay with taking risks to stretch and grow. Is it safe to take risks at your company? They need an environment where they can be independent, competitive and even territorial. 35% of Gen Zers would rather share socks than office space. Gen Zers are very entrepreneurial and want to ‘own’ their projects and areas in the organization—here’s where the mattering comes in. They see their peers experiencing mattering every day in their social media feeds, so recognition needs to happen on a regular basis, once a year is not going to cut it. Does your company culture work this way?
Both Millennials and Gen Zers can be happier, more productive, more efficient and more effective as team members now that you have identified which primary need–safety or mattering–is programmed into their subconscious mind so powerfully that they literally crave it.
What are you doing in your organization to prepare for Generation Z?
