(And what we can all learn from them.)
Let me start by saying I’m not an expert on the topic of Gen Z. Not even a little bit. Instead, I’m drawing from my own experiences and making a few wild assumptions.
Don’t question it, go with it.
No science. No data. Just a sinking suspicion that I’m not the only one who has been surprised by the workday haircut. I’ll explain.
Imagine this… I would ask someone in their early 20’s to do a task related to their job, and they would freely admit to me (their boss) that they were unavailable—because they had a haircut—smack in the middle of the workday!
This one took me a while to figure out. I’ll admit I was perplexed at first.
My initial thoughts:
“You have two days off a week, is there something I’m missing?”
“Maybe their stylist is only available on a Wednesday at 2pm?”
“Maybe they need their hair a certain way FOR work that I’m unaware of?”
Disclaimer: For the sake of this blog the haircut is symbolic, and the term Gen Z could also apply to ‘young’ Millennials.
Feel free to substitute haircut for ANY superfluous activity you’ve been given as an excuse that has nothing to do with the job they were hired to do. i.e., Massage, oil change, carwash, or anything dog-related.
FWIW, if this response was an isolated incident, I certainly wouldn’t be blogging about it! It was a pattern that became the impetus for my own personal quest to try and better understand the ‘Gen Z angle.’
Once I started shearing through the layers—one trendy word and awkward interaction at a time—I made a few discoveries along the way. Buckle up!
For Gen Z, work is not on or off; it’s all connected.
In their mind, work is not on or off, confined to a set schedule. It’s always slightly on. It’s blurred together.
It’s all connected because they are always connected.
For Gen Z work is not on or off; it's all connected because they are always connected. Share on XRemember, this is the first generation to grow up with smartphones on day one. They are digital natives meaning: NO memories and no life experience without ones and zeros.
It might be why ‘Gen Z-ers’ respond to work text threads at all times of the day -especially after hours. No, they light up the text thread outside of the typical 9-5 when boomers are clocked out, signed off, and sound asleep. Gen Z’s personality is on ten in text.
They are all in, just not in the way that some of us are used to.
Gen Z sees work more as a passion than a place and time.
There is no “workday,” only purpose, passion, perspective, and an iPhone in their pocket for maximum productivity. (Sometimes the alliteration train cannot be stopped!)
They might even consider their work a cause. Most likely one of several now that side-hustle comes standard on all new employees under the age of 25. (A wild assumption, I know, but am I wrong?)
“And because it’s a passion, it’s portable.”
For example:
•If there’s Wi-Fi, it’s a workspace.
•If there’s space to think, then clock me in!
•Golf course? Great!
•Commute? Commute counts.
Clocking out is not necessary when it’s part of their identity.
There is a tension that is as real as it is unsaid.
While people in their 30’s and beyond are at the office, putting in the time and managing perceptions. Gen Z is too busy raising concerns and assuming flexibility to notice that some of their older counterparts still ask to go to the bathroom.
(Gen Z shows up late with a $4 coffee in hand and not an ounce of shame. And older generations stare at the clock in disbelief while secretly wondering if they got them a frappe by chance.)
Despite being brand-new to the workforce, they boldly ask for things their predecessors wouldn’t dream of asking for, like a window, a promotion, more opportunity, and a raise.
And to top it off, they aren’t afraid to use all their PTO and take vacations. Don’t they know you’re supposed to keep that for a rainy day?
Thanks to a global pandemic that for many has served as a global wake-up call, the whole world is starting to ask the questions Gen Z has been asking all along.
Questions like:
•Do they care about me or just my productivity? Can I be myself?
•Is this a cause worth committing to?
•Is this how I want to spend my life? What else is out there?
Now that we have a better (non-evidence-based) grasp of where Gen Z is coming from, the question is:
What does it mean for the future?
1. What it means to be working is changing.
For example, can I call it ‘work’ when I respond to a team text thread at 10 pm with a hilarious Gif? It depends on your generation.
Gen Z would say absolutely but remember they are on the clock—even with a hot towel on their face—especially if they are thinking about work.
Next, they’ll be asking work to cover haircuts.
2. What we are asking of people is changing.
For those in leadership and management to make the shift, we must recognize what we are really asking of people. It’s not about hours at the office anymore; it’s about impact. It’s passion, not merely physical presence. We want people to give us their mental energy, which means devoting a significant chunk of their mental pie to us.
Mental space, not office space.
Anyone can show up at 8am and leave at 5; that only takes a pulse and a ride. However, not everyone can solve complicated problems, connect seemingly unrelated dots, and identify trends before they happen. All things I’ve seen Gen Z do with ease.
Your best people give you their best thinking whether they are at home or in the office.
“Your best people give you their best thinking whether they are at home or in the office.”
3. The rules are rapidly changing.
We can’t keep applying yesterday’s rules to the post-quarantine apocalypse we are living in and leading through. So, let’s move out of denial and start tweaking the dial on what it means to lead a multi-generational team today. If that makes you nervous, chances are you have some digital natives on your team who would love to help you make the needed shifts. (Or take your job.)
And if your first thought was, “I’m not in denial, you are!” Let me ask you this…
Have you already stopped including Zoom links in your meeting requests? If the answer is yes, you might be at risk.
Too real? I’ll calm down.
What Gen Z gets is that the mental game is the ballgame.
Ultimately, their perspective is the most important thing they bring, and if we don’t want it, someone else will. Arrogant? No, just different. They don’t want to waste their life pretending to be busy; instead, they’d rather make a real difference, and WE SHOULD TOO!
We can’t keep them on ice forever. Listening to them today will give us a jump start on where everyone will be tomorrow. And I’m guessing what that looks like will surprise us as much as the workday haircut surprised me.
In case you’re wondering, I’m starting to come around and I just scheduled my first mid-workday haircut. Not sure if I’ll try to get reimbursed or not.
Comment below if you think ‘work’ should pay for it. Kidding, of course, but SERIOUSLY?? I’ll have my phone with—if anyone needs me.
Thank you for reading this blog.
It means the world that you would take the time and if I could give you “knucks” or a warm side-hug, you know I would.
Share if you dare and subscribe to this tribe if you want more leadership insight and rhymes. K-bye! (Try saying that ten times fast!)
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Spot on. You really articulate something here that has been obvious to me as I have watched (often in disbelief) the young workforce. No such thing as “overtime” or “blowing off work.” Armed with an iPhone the “work day” has no true beginning or ending. Work is part of the fabric of their daily life. As long as they are connected, it fits neatly into the space on either side of a haircut, a quick set of tennis, an oil change or a nap.
No one understands the sheer power of an iPhone better than you. Great synopsis!
I love how you think, Dave. Incredible insight. As a guy in his later 50s, I find myself caught in both the worlds you described. I know what it is to work all the time, my brain and heart are always puzzling through creative solutions. At the same time, I do have a time of evening when my mental garage door goes down and I’m shut off. I love how you value and seek understanding with your incredibly valuable younger folks. You’re a great leader.
Love the mental garage door imagery… shutting off is something ALL generations need but I’m not sure most of us know how to do that. I think it’s especially hard for creatives to turn it off. Great take!
Really good breakdown and insight Dave! Creating connection between the generations is so difficult, but when we take the time to understand each other’s perspective we find middle ground that bridges that generation gap. Keep writing my friend
Will do-Thanks for reading Shawn! That’s a great way to say it btw… (Bridges)
This is a unique perspective, and I like how you shine a positive light on these Gen Z qualities that are often looked down upon. This article popped up on my instagram feed, which tells me that you paid for an ad so that people like me would see this. I’m a Gen Z-er and a writer (I work remotely); here are some of my thoughts:
1. You are making profound statements; I think the arguments would be better supported with more context and specifics. There are many different kinds of jobs, and most of them do not allow for this “reimagining” of the workplace. Even for Gen Z, it is a privilege to have a job that allows for these new lifestyle choices. You disclosed in the intro that you are speaking from experience, so it would be helpful if you gave specifics on the type of industry that you have experience in. i.e. Whose boss are you? What kind of work are we talking about? It seems like the focus is on tech related jobs, which make up only a small portion of the jobs out there. I would even say that a lot of these ideas are not necessarily unique to Gen Z, but are actually unique to the budding tech industry and jobs that are done remotely. When I think about the service industry, manual labor jobs, jobs in health care and academia, etc. these ideas don’t seem to apply anymore. TL;DR: The focus of this article is tech-oriented jobs, so it might be a good idea to specify that somewhere.
2. I understand why you included the disclosure in the intro section, however, it is a little too focused on your lack of data/expertise, and detracts from your argument before you’ve even begun. If I begin talking by saying “I am not an expert and I have no data to back this up,” then why should anyone listen to what I have to say? Instead, set your argument up for success by describing your experience or “convincing” the reader as to why you are knowledgeable. For example, when I started this comment, I shared my expertise on the topic by telling you that I have experience with Gen Z and tech workers, as I fall into both of those categories. If you want to disclose that this is just your personal opinion, put the disclosure at the end. If you don’t think you should be considered someone of expertise, then consider talking to experts or finding contextual supporting data to strengthen your arguments.
3. On the subject of “always being on the clock”, and to extend my previous point about supporting data, it might be interesting to consider why Gen Z tech workers have adopted these new working styles. We did not necessarily make these choices consciously, rather we are a product of our environment. A lot of these new changes stem from the current economy and growing economic inequality in the US. Young people do what they have to do to survive, even if that means working 2-3 jobs. This in turn leads them to value personal boundaries (getting a haircut in the middle of the day) because they are overworked and undervalued. Now, this is not always the case, just an example of thinking about the reasons behind these phenomena you have noticed. While I absolutely LOVE your positive attitude, I think there is an unfortunately gloomy reality lurking behind these new work-lifestyles, and it is that in the United States today, it is harder than ever to make a living, because economic inequality is greater than it has ever been in this country. I think a lot of Gen Z workers would actually prefer to have a work-life balance with more emphasis on life, but they do what they must in a competitive work environment. There are many other factors at play as well, such as the nature of the tech industry itself, or the impact of being exposed to technology at such a young age. Looking into these reasons by consulting experts or existing research might further expand your ideas and strengthen your argument.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and these are just my thoughts based on my experience and what I’ve learned about the world so far. I enjoyed reading this article, it was very interesting to think about how our lives are changing so quickly and why that might be.
Wow. Thank you for taking the time to write this—your insight is incredible! I’ll be going through it in more detail later this week. Do you have anything I can read? Thanks again!!
Dude, I’m gonna print (with your permission) your comment “…Anyone can show up at 8am and leave at 5; that only takes a pulse and a ride. However, not everyone can solve complicated problems, connect seemingly unrelated dots, and identify trends before they happen…” AND post it in our office.
Full permission!! Love it. Thx for reading/reaching out! Lmk how people respond…