To think Gen Z is difficult to manage at work?

[donniedarko89]

I have noticed younger people tend to be more cynical and argumentative, with less work boundaries/respect for hierarchies (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but can come across as presumption/arrogance). This makes it more difficult to manage them at work imo.

Have you noticed any similar behaviours?

What age group are gen z?

This topic crops up every other week. If you search on Mumsnet you'll find lots of answers.

Personally I just think Gen Z take less shit.

Around age 12 to 26

Nope, but I think it depends a bit on sectors. I find those hanging in there for retirement with no inclination to change/evolve much harder.

Personally I just think Gen Z take less shit

It's this. Good for them. They are happy to put boundaries in place, won't accept bad behaviour just because someone senior 'says so', they know their value.

This makes it more difficult to manage them at work imo Perhaps your management style needs a refresh. It's all about coaching and empowerment, not keeping them in their place.

There is definitely a level of confidence seen with the grads in our business that wasn’t common when I was the same age. In fact colleagues in the same age bracket as me have all wondered if there is a “preparation for the workplace” course that’s compulsory at university now as they seem to know so much more about the office environment than we ever did

With some, that confidence seeps through to arrogance, with some expecting to be doing the role that someone does with years of experience within the first few weeks. But I think that is individual personalities rather than the stereotype of a whole generation

I have DDs in their early 20s and I haven’t noticed this with mine or their friends.

What I have noticed (not mine but a lot of their mates/peers) is a lack of resilience.

Meh, I have managed Millenials, Gen X and recently some Gen Z. There are good and bad in every age group.

I think a lot of Gen Z will be new to the workplace so they'll still be finding out how to work within the work cultures. I've had 2 Gen Z working for me in the past year who are fantastic and 1 who is more like what you describe.

Millennial here but work with a lot of Gen Z.

I find they expect more pay, for the absolute minimal effort. They also are the most likely group to phone in "sick" ona regular and almost predictable basis and get upset when this is flagged up by management. Also very phone dependent and I work in a sector where having your phone on your person isn't acceptable. Always looking for a way to claim or accused of discrimination when in the shit.

That being said, my Gen Z team members are generally nice enough people, and I like the majority of them. I just wish they would understand that work places have rules, and consequences.

I work with Gen Z right up to Boomers - every single generation has their plus and negative points. I struggle with the class difference more than the generational issues though. I work in research and with a cohort of people with broadly the same academic achievements (anything but a PhD/Doctorate is seen as below par). The absolute snobbery about accents and the universities and schools you studied at and the social circle you mix in and the amount of skiing you do is much more of a leveller here than your age.

Boomers are rude, entitled, stuck in their ways, can’t send emails properly and have bought way too into presenteeism way too much and don’t like avocados.

It’s almost as if you can’t expect an entire group of people to behave the same way based on their birthdate alone.

One of the most interesting training sessions I once went to was how to manage inter-generational teams. My key takeaway, which in hindsight is quite obvious, was that historical events will shape a generation.

For example for Boomers it will be the industrial unrest of the 70s, Gen X are the generation who started school with pen and paper and left with the internet really kicking off, Millennials it is 9/11 and also the 2008 crash where it started to become obvious that a job wasn’t for life and for Gen Z’s there is limited research so far but obviously covid/lockdowns will be their main generational influence as they are entering the world of work while sitting in their bedroom with little side by side training/support in the same way their colleagues did when they were starting their careers

Was quite thought provoking and made me think how different life experiences can shape what is important to you and your career as well as your general outlook

I definitely feel that a lot of Gen Z junior staff expect to do less admin work than previous generations. They are more likely to grumble and aren't as willing to work their way up.

I've noticed that they often want to do what senior colleagues do within 6 months or so of joining a business. The problem is, like previous generations, their competence obviously isn't good enough to work at a senior standard by 6 months! The level of confidence doesn't match up with their ability in my experience. It doesn't mean that they are all awful and of course some Gen Z colleagues will develop their skills and secure promotions with a bit of time and patience.

It doesn't mean they aren't as able as previous generations but their inflated egos can make them harder work.

I'm a 32 year old millennial for context.

Not the students at my office..they are polite, helpful and incredibly fast learners.

No I think they're fab honestly. I work as a nurse and our new grads and student nurses are just fantastic.

I’m a boomer and I rather like that the younger generations don’t buy into the boomer long hours culture. I’m all in favour of challenging unnecessary rules and getting on the front foot about remuneration and reward. It does make me uncomfortable that they go off sick at the drop of a hat, but that’s my stuff to deal with. I’m perfectly capable of sending an email properly however…

I have two daughters in their early 20s too like @FrenchandSaunders and completely agree about their lack of resilience. This includes their friends.

All these labels! What's the age range for each. This is a new language 😵

How does that show in this context?

Boomers are rude, entitled, stuck in their ways, can’t send emails properly and have bought way too into presenteeism way too much and don’t like avocados.

Careful! You'll get accused of ageism but Gen Z is fair game

Good to see another thread shitting on Gen Z once again . The thing with Gen Z is that they take less shit. Mental health is important, refusing to do unpaid overtime is okay, not conforming to some silly hierarchy in the workplace is okay.

Yes, every single one we've encountered in our dept can't take feedback. They argue when they're categorically wrong, they lie about mistakes or missing deadlines instead of owning up when asked directly so it can still be helped and don't think anyone else's time matters; late to meetings, but also keep you for hours for their own mentoring. One even complained about being pulled up for missing a training session, and defended himself by saying the most senior member of the department didn't attend either, when he was actually running a session elsewhere!

Yeah same. I also find they all have anxiety if you dare to critique their work

I agree re lack of resilience. The need to take a mental health day or go sick if they’ve missed or are going to miss a deadline. Refusal to do any admin. Even if that’s their job. Won’t do anything they don’t want to do. Not much work ethic. Think it’s acceptable to drift in at 11.