Gen Z has some gifts established employers can learn from like their digital literacy, entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to speak up.
“Learning to appreciate the unique gifts and talents of all generations is what will make the single greatest outcomes,” Taylor said. “Businesses that are capable of harnessing those great talents will ultimately be the winners.”
Since entering the workforce at around the same time as the pandemic, Gen Z has quickly gained a reputation for being lazy and uncooperative, but that stigma might be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Any time we get data calling out Gen Z in particular, it feels like it’s taken as more of a justification for how ‘the younger generation doesn’t want to work’ instead of triggering questions of what exactly is at the root of the issues with employees in this age group,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“We know Gen Z workers in general have a different perspective on life and often view their personal activities and goals above those of their employers. While this certainly isn’t a bad thing, if it bleeds too much into your workspace, it can dramatically affect performance and lead to those employees being shown the door.”
In the Intelligent survey, 75 percent of companies reported that some or all of their recent college graduate hires were unsatisfactory.
Still, leading your young employees to the door too soon could become a fatal flaw for your organization.
“Employers are firing Gen Z workers because they’re not used to a workforce that isn’t willing to tolerate outdated practices, toxic work cultures, or subpar pay,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek. “Gen Z isn’t afraid to demand respect, fair treatment, and work-life balance, and that makes some employers uncomfortable. Instead of adapting, they’re reacting, and poorly.”
Driscoll said firing workers because they’re vocal about what doesn’t work at their companies would be “shortsighted,” and instead, companies should lean into their “fresh and needed perspectives.”
“They’ve grown up with access to information and are far more aware of their rights and the world around them than previous generations,” Driscoll said. “Dismissing their needs instead of evolving to meet them isn’t just a mistake. It’s a step backward for any company trying to stay competitive.”
Because Gen Z is set to become the future leaders, firing them is not the answer. It could even set them up as competition, Driscoll said.
“My advice to employers: stop viewing Gen Z as a threat and start seeing them as an opportunity to innovate your workplace,” he said.
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of michaelryanmoney.com, called the decision to fire Gen Z-ers a “critical strategic error.”
“The perceived challenges with Gen Z workers, such as communication style differences or misaligned expectations, are not generational flaws,” Ryan told Newsweek. “But rather symptoms of a larger failure in talent management and organizational adaptability. Forward-thinking companies need to view these as opportunities for organizational evolution, rather than grounds for termination.”
The tech fluency Gen Z brings alongside their adaptability from entering the workforce during the pandemic can be strengths, Ryan added.
To cultivate them, Ryan said companies should invest in their onboarding and mentorship programs and tailor them to Gen Z’s perspective and skills.
“Leverage Gen Z’s digital status to drive innovation from the bottom up. Implement reverse mentoring programs and create cross-generational teams to foster knowledge transfer and spark creative problem-solving,” Ryan said.
“The companies that will thrive in the coming decades are those that recognize Gen Z not as a liability. The question isn’t whether you can afford to retain Gen Z talent. It’s whether you can afford not to.”
