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?

Aren't people getting bored of these antagonist threads about generations yet?

We are all shit and great in equal measure and have different strengths. It's not difficult is it?

Not in my experience - though I don’t direct manage them but hear good stuff and from my own interactions they don’t fit that bill

I'm 30 and I love their attitude. They haven't bought into the corporate drone mindset. I definitely think I'm more gen z spirited. A job is a job for me it's definitely not my entire life.

I'm a (later) millennial - every generation says this about the next generation. Gen X and Boomers said exactly the same when I was graduating.

I sometimes think everyone can learn from younger generations. My last manager insisted that everyone was physically in the office all the time, for the exact number of minutes of our work day. The type of work we did meant that we could easily do a large portion at home and lots flexibly but manager was completely against this because of "research". I have a complex home life with disabled children and it was honestly so stressful and humiliating asking HR if I could leave 20 minutes early in a crisis and make up exactly 20 minutes later. Eventually it made me ill and I transferred to a different department doing the same job but now I work flexibly and mostly from home (going in for in person meetings and to connect socially as needed).

This (boomer) manager was dogmatic in a traditional work set up and just refused to listen to us younger workers.

Exactly this. They won't put up with being treated badly Brilliant we can always do better

They have a complete lack of resilience and understanding of different perspectives. if something doesn’t accord with their way of thinking it is just wrong. Group think is the name of the game.

You've described Mumsnet. Lack of resilience from thread to thread complaining of useless husbands and pushy in MILs. No one can stand up for themselves.

Then hop on over the FWR boards. A different perspective to porn makes you a 'cool girl', and god forbid if you're into kinks. Different attitudes to the gender debate makes you a troll or a man and gets you reported. That topic is the definition of 'group think'.

My Gen Z DNiece is applying for business apprenticeships after her A-levels and asked me to have a look at her CV. There's a lot about what kind of company she wants to work for (must be diverse, inclusive, focused on learning and growth opportunities for her, etc) - something it wouldn't even have occurred to me (Gen X) to include.

Gen z are better at setting boundaries or taking less shit, such as expecting a decent starting salary, hybrid work, no overtime etc. They are better at avoiding being taken advantage of by businesses.

I find them entitled in other ways also. They think they are equal to someone with 15 experience, know it all, do not like to listen and learn and think certain work is beneath them. They also have constant demands as though the company owes them anything, like asking to move countries few months after starting at company, applying for promotions less than a year later, throwing in the towel when things get a bit difficult instead of working through it and come out the other end. It is like they are constantly thinking of the next thing when they haven't mastered their current work and should still be learning. It makes it very difficult to train them and maintain the quality of output in the department.

Gen z aren’t great communicators, in my experience, great on their sm/phones though.

DD1 (17) got an employee of the year award in her part time job, so I assume she isn't lazy, arrogant and difficult to manage.

I thought the OP's description sounded rather more like some older male employees I've known rather than young people.

We have a 22 year old at work and he will not pass up an opportunity to tell you are wrong, I was even told I was using the wrong music download service. It's fucking tiresome

In my last job the co-worker I shared an office with was late at least twice a week but usually left at the usual time anyway. She wasn't sick often but absolutely had to stay home if her children had a cold or a headache. She had to leave early if there was an event at school or her kids needed a lift or the neighbours' kid needed a lift. That happened quite often. She couldn't do new chores as it made her feel uncomfortable. She wouldn't drive the mini bus. The first half year she worked for us I had to handle her phone calls as she didn't feel confident speaking English over the phone. Her husband was English! Luckily, our crappy manager put a stop to that in the end after she had been asked to do the phone calls when I wasn't around. Then suddenly she agreed with me that my co-worker was taking the piss. We didn't have a dress code so my co-worker showed up in hoodies, jeans and sneakers even though most of our other co-workers wore uniforms and she did get some surprised looks from visitors.

She was 55 years old. Her children were teenagers. There are total assholes in every generation.

My Boomers/ gen X are all menopausal at the moment....spending a lot of time "calming frayed nerves"

Boomer - Gross misconduct for being drunk at work, didn't seem to understand that (repeatedly) having a bottle of wine at lunchtime wasn't appropriate, and serious mistakes as a result led to dismissal.

Gen Z - My only grievance for "discrimination". I didn't and hadn't, she appealed, 2nd manager said we didn't and hadn't. She went to a solicitor who told her not to be so stupid, she then resigned (thank God) and her partner then phoned me demanding to know why I'd fired her and telling me he was going to take us to an employment tribunal for mistreating her.....never heard any more.

Gen Z - constant sick leave, all days and half days, constant headache, tummy ache, and the best one "Mum says I'm too ill to come in today". Resigned as she thought we were being too hard on her when her manager told her to take paracetamol and stay for the afternoon when she "wasn't feeling it today" and wanted to go home.

I also have multiple gen Z's who work hard and are an asset to the business.

I've been a teacher for the last 20 years and teens in the last 5 or so years have become much less resilient and give up the minute something gets tough. They are very aware of their rights and largely oblivious to their responsibilities (e.g. my Yr 11 class are currently giving me the silent treatment because I refused to put on a revision class during the Easter holidays, some even refused to write a word in their mock exam in protest). As result they seem so much more miserable than previous cohorts. It's a real concern.

For secret Santa last year my GenZ office worker wanted to know if anyone had any allergies or intolerances. We all laughed but it was thoughtful I supposed

Gen Z are harder to manage, but millenials and late Gen Xs are poor managers to each other, nevermind adapting to Gen Z. The combination of the two is a recipe for disaster, it is better to let Gen Zs manage each other.

😂😂

Love it. The thing is mumsnet thinks easy to manage means blindly obedient. People who challenge and think for themselves are generally easier to manage than passive doormats.

Gen x, manage gen x and millennials. I love my two millennials, such great hard working guys.

I manage a Gen Z, they've only worked in retail before so has needed a bit of handholding with a few things (dress code, various bits of etiquette etc like not needing to tell me he's going on lunch, just stuff most people need to know when they start) but has also discovered an error in an invoice from a supplier that meant we were being charged more than we should be - both my manager and I had missed it. He pointed it out to us, queried it with the supplier, and sorted it out, all in his first week.

I'm not a manager so I wouldn't know. I think it's complicated - yes, taking less shit and not just doing things because 'that's how it's always been done' is good.

I do think some who have started work in the last two years may not understand certain things people take for granted as understood - for example I've heard of younger people missing out important calls that have been in the diary for a while because they've made a (non-essential) appointment at that time and it's not that they're being deliberately awkward, they just haven't absorbed there's an expectation that work takes precedence in working hours and life has to work around that, not the other way around.

So maybe new entrants need this spelling out, like 'You can make appointments for your equivalent of "lunch hour" when you're free and block it out in your diary, but please don't make discretionary appointments at a time when you have been asked to be on a call.

I just don't understand judging an entire demographic of millions of people under one umbrella.

People moaned about the stuff from my generation (millennials) especially graduates.

If you feel like people are consistently treating you or your employer with little respect, have you ever thought of examining what you may be doing that could be warranting that lack of respect?

the same stuff*

I’m millennial and I love working with Gen Z - fresh ideas that are not constricted by bad habits, amazing skills around managing time & effort and I find them less problematic than my or older generations to be honest. They usually have huge respect for individuals (well maybe not systems and hierarchy, but that can be taught) and they are generally realistic people.

they know their value.

My experience of them as undergrads is that they sometimes overestimate their value. Or rather, they are unprepared to accept that those who teach them or supervise their work, do know more than them. Some of them lack humility and curiosity about knowledge and experience beyond their own horizons. These two things are connected.

I'm not sure I completely agree. I manage a large team ages 68 down to 19. From a variety of social and cultural backgrounds.

There's the great, the somewhat great, mediocre and down right fuckwits among them. But, they do generally participate positively amongst each other and get the job done.

Since the end of lockdowns and the return to "normal" it has been a veritable nightmare in regards to recruitment and working expectations.

I'm finding everyone of all ages but especially the younger ones are entitled, unrealistic (working hours and wage expectations) do the bare minimum and expect high amounts praise, a huge increase in sick days and personal time off for appts that should be done in their own time, won't take criticism and lack any real resilience. Every issue is a mental health crisis and the push for a proper 'work life balance '. They all deserve the best pay and promotions for doing fuck all.

1. Manage your own expectations and be realistic

1. Travelling to work is necessary as are the hours as contracted.

1. The wage is realistic and suited to your experience and follows the industry standard (in most cases)

1. Sometimes you have to work harder and longer to meet a deadline and keep clients. They do pay our wages after all. And, you may have several projects going on simultaneously. Its called multitasking, get use to it.

1. Not every little thing is a mental health crisis, it's called a bad fucking day and do you know what it's normal experience anxiety, nervousness and you can feel down?

1. I'm not your mother and will not ever give false praise, ask you to 'please' to what your hired for or thank you to do your job. That's what your pay is for. I will coach and mentor you and give you honest feedback for your growth and perosnal development. But, I won't blow smoke up your asshole. I will promote those who show excellence and potential and nothing less. And, the thanks I will give are to those who have gone above and beyond without compliant or seeking rewards.

1. Get the fuck over yourself. I'm having a bad day too but you don't see me crying or throwing a tantrum. (Yes, I can see the irony here as I rant away)

@Peckhaminn I loved your post about "making your own way in the world"

Is there any advice you'd give me on how I can help my DS have the same sort of attitude / energy? I'm a little worried as he was such an unwell baby - I've probably done "too much" for him. He's only 6 so I have time to fix it 😂 he's very independent e.g just unpacked his own bag from holiday. He has a lot of ambition and dreams about careers and traveling.

Thanks! X

Lots of anxiety and calling in sick due to hang overs with no regard to how this impacts their co workers but generally friendly and easy enough to get on with. I work with a lot of them and the lack of resilience is a common trait but they are generally a sweet bunch.