Those born between the mid-90s and 2010 are known as Generation Z. Unlike the baby boomers, this generation grew up through trying financial times and a lack of stability.
These youths are determined to become successful, wealthy and have the most stable life possible for themselves and the rest of the planet. In order for them to do this, technology will be a vital part of how employees will work and live within the future of the workplace.
Team building activities might be something that this generation aren’t so familiar with.
Past and present
Generation Z are completely different to those born in the 1950s as they would prefer to learn new skills as they work rather than being specifically trained for a particular job and staying in that role for a long period of time. By furthering their specific interests within the workplace, this generation learns by focusing in on online courses, online books, articles, videos and other digital mediums to learn and progress as they go.
It is thought that those labelled as Gen Z will be able to adapt to different working environments more efficiently as they will be able to accumulate information quicker if their role was to change.
Can the youth of today work in a team?
Although Gen Z are always looking to further their skills and improve their own development, how does this relate to building a team? Together with Impact International, specialists in team development, we explore the differences between how Gen Z feel towards teamwork and the workplace within a digital landscape, compared to past generations who relied on face-to-face communication.
Young people are social media savvy, using the platforms to communicate with family and friends. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re always ready to engage in teambuilding in the traditional sense.
A more accurate description of this demographic who work with each other would be ‘team-orientated’.
By participating in team activities, millennials feel as if they’re contributing to something bigger than themselves. This is unlike workers of the past, who would usually work together in less isolating environments so that a job was completed. In more horizontal forms of management, where responsibility is spread over a number of individuals, to become influential takes time and effort on the individual’s behalf so that other workers can recognise the importance of their contributions.
Although millennials seem to be less team work focused, they can identify work culture and put themselves in the picture. 79% of millennials feel that culture-building activities in the workplace are vital when it comes to their progression. However, only 41% of baby boomers aged 51-60 felt the same, which suggests that although Gen Z want to be individuals, their identity is linked to the work that they do every day.
At the workplace
Supervisors at work should be more trusting to the younger staff members and allow them to be more flexible! This is so they can express their creativity and stand on their own two feet. If employees within this demographic feel as though they aren’t able to innovate and progress, this will lead to their performance being stifled in the workplace – contributing to a lack and motivation, or an attempt to leave the organisation.
Employers are now beginning to realise that the younger generation will be able to work up to higher roles within the workplace and will be able to cope with any situation that they might face.
Sources:
http://www.learnfest.co.uk/headline-acts
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270764
https://talentor.com/blog/2015/07/06/generation-z-in-the-workplace/
