Managing Gen Z

[Amy8]

I’m an experienced senior manager who took some time out to work as a consultant – partly to avoid exactly these kinds of situations!

Something happened last week that’s made me question my management style, which I’ve always thought was fair. The CEO asked me (quite urgently) to get something done. I was in a meeting, so I asked a junior team member to help out. It would’ve been easier to just do it myself, but I genuinely needed the support.

He replied that he needed to check with his line manager first because it wasn’t in his work plan (I manage his manager), and then added that he was logging off shortly for a long weekend which had been pre-agreed.

I stayed polite on Teams and explained that sometimes we have to be reactive to senior requests — but honestly, inside I was thinking, just do it! At his age, I’d have just cracked on.

It’s not the first time I’ve had this kind of pushback — others in the team (same age group) have also been quite firm about working from home and not wanting to come in when asked.

I’m genuinely wondering: is this just how the workplace is now — a generational shift and new boundaries — or is it a bit of a disregard for authority and should I be adapting better ?

Not only that, but they are not maximizing their knowledge or experience, so even if someone in management (for some reason) wanted to help their careers she might not be able to.

I've learnt never to assume. Give clear instructions. Honestly, things work better when everyone knows what's expected. I also would not have started an event this early, tbh. Networking with a start at 10:00. Networking optional. I tend to find some make a massive effort to network, others don't.

I think Gen Z are more realistic about work that we were. I genuinely believed that I would quickly earn more, buy a family house and go on nice holidays. That’s what happened for my parents. In reality I worked crazy hours and the ‘pay off’ never really happened. Pay rises were swallows by rent increases and inflation over and over. It’s to do with how the economy has behaved. Younger generations have just seen credit crunch-austerity-Covid-cost of living crisis. There isn’t much point working yourself to the bone when the economy is f***

The line manager was on leave. But as the OP was the Line Manager's Line Manager the point is completely irrelevant. Because if the Line Manager said 'I'll have to check with my Line Manager' the op would say 'YES THAT'S ME'.

I recently managed a Gen Z (I’m a millennial!) and found them very hard work. I absolutely think that a work/life balance should be respected but he was almost combative in his “I work my hours and then it’s not my problem” attitude. There were times that he just didn’t do a task and I had to scrabble to pick it up and where our CEO asked him for info and he would just ignore it. Everyone was astounded, it made me feel like a shit manager but I could never get a grip on him and find a management style that he actually respected. And the annoying thing was he wasn’t bad at his job, he just felt entitled to define his time on his own terms all of the time.

As a Head of Department I would speak with his line manager and ask if they have made their direct reports aware that they need to be able to assist with certain tasks when they are away. And then I would bring this example up and get their steer on it and agree a way moving forward.

I get you OP. If he was doing routine stuff and your task was urgent, then yes the logical thing is to drop his task and do yours - but it's possible that, being junior, he just didn't understand the situation well enough to know the relative priority levels? I'm also wondering whether, as you say his performance is average, his manager might have had words with him to that effect and he was afraid of letting her down with the routine tasks he had said he would get done? He possibly doesn't have the confidence yet to say "hi Manager, I'm 15 minutes behind on what we agreed because Amy asked me to do X and it was more important. I will have the agreed tasks done by time/date." You were of course rushing but maybe next time you could say "please will you do this, and I will explain to your manager why you're 15 mins behind" etc?

I think this is absolute madness for a 15 minute task, and overkill for anything but a chunky project. In my scenario where I need information frequently from someone who I manage the manager's manager of - should I email the person I manage to say 'hi X, ask Y to ask Z to do this for me'. Is that not batshit?

Well sure…but what’s your point, because you wouldn’t do it it’s ok for others who do choose to do it to do it badly? I am shit with blood, so I didn’t choose the medical field. Whether you like it or not you need armed forces so be grateful there are people out there whose children do do it, or your children might not get the choice.

Well you know after decades of working and realising that companies don’t actually give a shit about you and loyalty is only a one way street (employee to employer) I say gen Z should stick to their firm boundaries.

Unfortunately op the social contract has broken down.

When we were their age, we left uni with far less debt, and felt secure in the knowledge that if we worked hard, we'd be well paid and afford the decent home, holidays, private schooling. The trappings of a middle class lifestyle.

Now they leave uni with a pile of debt, are paid poor wages, most of which they have to spend on extortionate rents, bills and travel. Promotions and higher pay are increasingly hard to access unless you are in a big law firm or bank, and it takes them years and years to earn enough for the kind of property we bought at age 28/29. Then you buy the property and good luck getting a tradesman for that extension it needs, it will cost you £200k for a side return kitchen.

Meanwhile, their pension is crap and isn't getting the growth they hoped, the government will probably take away the state pension and make them work til they are 75.

As a result, they don't have the confidence that the hard work will pay off. You have a whole generation who are basically quiet quitting and I understand why.

Unbelievable you need to know

I think that is a really odd response to my question actually. Why would the time the task was asked for not be relevant?

No it’s an issue i am noticing with him and those younger and wondering if it’s a a trend as it’s been much commented on in media and marketing trends / studies

Do you have other examples then?

I'm a Gen X HoD. I find issues across all generations, and that is to be expected because they are people.

Agree,

The firm boundary of not doing their job in work hours? i don't understand what firm boundary this would have transgressed?

Exactly. Someone said he let the company down. This is the same company that won't hesitate to make him redundant if no longer needed. Loyalty to a workplace has to be carefully managed.

@Peridoteage I mean that makes sense.

If he doesn't access a system to get info for the CEO in work hours that are being paid for by the company, I'm not sure he IS needed. That's his job.

I get that completely - but on the other hand it's a spiral... Gen Z might be entirely rational to behave like lazy entitled children in the workplace, but on the other hand the more they behave like lazy entitled children the more they will continue to be treated as such.

I also think that it's good to try to tackle life head on, give it a real go. If Gen Z make the rational choice to be lazy entitled children then I'd argue that they need to quit their job and work for themselves instead, so that they can get something out of life.

Well I am assuming (rightly or wrongly) that he was within his rights to log off and leave because of his pre-arranged long weekend. Obviously if he just took it upon himself to leave an hour earlier than he should be that’s different, but OP hasn’t said anything about that.

I really dislike it when people go on about ''generation this'' and ''generation that''...People are individuals and you always have to manage different temperaments and attitudes. Focusing on staff age is daft.

In this case you were wrong to expect someone who has booked leave that had been approved to help you with your own work.

Instead of making a drama about it you should just have asked someone else for support or get on with your own work yourself.

Also it sounds you left it to the last minute as well to ask for help which is on you.

All I see here is an inefficient, entitled manager. Not a problem staff member.

I am a 54 year old senior manager by the way.

It’s definitely an issue with Gen Z and I agree with you this person was completely unprofessional and has demonstrated they cannot be relied upon. I have found though that there is still a small subset of Gen Z who are willing to work hard and they are the ones who will be promoted and successful. I certainly avoid working with people who aren’t willing to step up for urgent tasks which impacts their learning in the long run.

I think Yabu to think this is a gen z thing. It definitely sounds like IT speak.
When IT get asked for things - literally everyone says it is urgent (your urgent ask is the same as all the rest). So they tend to operate with booking systems and tightly regulated priority lists for this reason. It will be ingrained and taught behaviour, you need to recognise different personality styles and working behaviours and adapt how you speak accordingly if you want to develop your career skills (I’m assuming your ask about this is genuine). IMO the type of person who likes IT is very rule based and also adheres and respects hierarchy as part of that (loyalty to the line manager and rule of hierarchy). You need to work on your people skills, and not expect everyone to adapt to how you work rather than the other way around.
ie you could have asked him - I have and urgent need - how do I go about getting that to the top of todays priority list so it gets done today by someone. (Follow the rules)

Quote wrong poster

She has, I think she asked at 2.30pm and he was leaving at 4, or something like that.

@rzm but are others choosing to do it badly or have they signed up with unrealistic expectations? do they want to be there or do they feel they have little other options?

Whether you like it or not you need armed forces so be grateful there are people out there whose children do do it, or your children might not get the choice.

Why would you assume I'm not grateful because I think we treat a lot of them badly? That's an odd leap! Does that mesh your DH isn't grateful because he's criticising them?

mean not mesh.

Our roles are externally facing, with travel across GB. If something happened that needed people to respond, I'm confident I know who to go to because they'd feel a responsibility and want do the right thing.

For me, I work at connecting what they do day to day to what we are trying to achieve, and bring them into the decision making and process design. Maybe its harder in your sector.