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 ?

But that’s incredibly inefficient. If every small thing has to be checked and approved by everyone in the hierarchy nothing would ever get done.

If she was asking him to take a week off his current project to work on hers, I could understand the need to check with his line manager. For a short urgent task it’s complete overkill.

Taking advantage of junior staff while their immediate boss is away is underhand. If he already had allocated tasks and a set time then OP was being unreasonable.

With that logic the CEO would end up doing everyone’s jobs

Doing it herself would have been even more efficient.

He was doing his job already, you wanted him to do part of yours too.

Thank you! I’m definitely willing to learn here as I do think things have shifted generationally.

I will also be reviewing out of hours rotas and clarifying team roles and responsibilities next week. The biggest challenge will be to let go of my judgement based on how I would have done something , as he’s a good performer generally

This is inflexible and unhelpful. Everyone is supposed to work as a team, juniors are to do as they are asked by seniors within reason.

Taking orders from your bosses boss when your boss is on leave is completely normal.

The op has already said it was a 15 minute job and would have been easier to do herself. And she was the one asked to do it.

Have I understood correctly…..

You were in a meeting and asked to do something by a senior person, so you started/did most of the task but needed some information from a system.

You pinged a note to another member of your team and asked them if they could get the data for you, 15 minute task max.

They responded with “I’m logging off soon and I need to run it past my direct line manager first” who was on leave so presumably junior person thought you should either ask someone else or wait until after the weekend?

If this is correct then yes they are being ridiculous because there is no need to run a 15 minute task by their line manager who isn’t even there. YANBU and I have seen similar attitudes from young grads.

The logging off wouldn’t have been so much of an issue for me if they’d said “ah I’m about to log off early go away and line manager said it was ok, could X/anyone get it instead?” but combined with wanting to check with their line manager for such a minor task screams of being a bit green and a quiet word is needed.

Nope it’s his JD as I’ve already described - your assumptions on making me come across as work shy are a bit rude.

I think you may be thinking it is someone who declines because of age, not because they are firm about taking leave/holidays. Being firm about leave is a good thing, many years ago I was advised that someone who never takes it or works during it may be hiding something which could be fraudulent.

As for some laziness or poor attitude among some younger people, I agree it is there. Perhaps if we had not expanded higher education to a ridiculous level and looked down upon non-graduate jobs, attitudes would be different.

You’ve drip fed a bit.

Did you say “hi X, can you help me quickly please, to access system xxx and get me this please? Should only take 15 mins I think.”

or did you say “X, I need you to stay late and help me”

Yes Gen Z are different and have boundaries and respect for themselves. That’s not a bad thing. I’m yet to meet one of them who blatantly disregards being told to do something appropriate but quite rightly they (as a generalisation of that peer group) look to established rules, policies e.g. on working from home rather than unsaid unspoken rules.

To an extent, yes, but it's unfair to hijack them from their assigned tasks to help you last minute.

Not everyone is constantly seeking promotion. Many colleagues where I work (of various ages) are happy at their current level and get irritated by pressure to have development plans that lead towards promotion. If he is looking to rise with in the company, I agree that building a reputation for getting things done regardless of barriers is important, but he'll learn that in time.

Yes correct !

I wouldn't expect someone to delay leaving for a holiday - that's very unfair of you.

I quite enjoy Gen Z's approach to work. It's certainly different, and can be astounding when they push back, but actually - why shouldn't they (within reason of course). When I was junior I worked on projects that had me crying in the bathrooms because they were so stressful and clients were so bloody mean - well done Gen Z for not going along with that.

If course reasonable requests should be done, but you can't expect people to jump just because you're senior. If it had been agreed he could have early and he had his own work to complete by then, I can understand him pushing back.

Meanwhile what exactly are you trying to suggest about an employee who has actually done nothing wrong?

This sums it up for me.

15 mins is neither here nor there. If they want to be taken seriously and not be seen as a pain in the arse they should have just done the task quickly and quietly

the OP clarified it was a 15 minute job and wasn't asked 15 minutes before he was going to leave on a pre agreed break.

I’m glad most of the posters on this thread don’t work for me, how do any of you anything done if you’re so rigid and not prepared to be flexible and occasionally help your team/colleagues out 🥴

Are you a work shy Gen Z-er?

Yes, why have junior staff employed at all. Just get rid of them and get the senior managers to do everything themselves so they don’t waste the company’s time asking their employees to do work. In fact why not get rid of all the senior managers too and the CEO can do it all herself to save even more time.

Working to rote and tit-for-tat people are sooooo draining to work with and for aren’t they!

Well, it might be, if that's been arranged beforehand.