The media often puts a spotlight on the generations at work – Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. It makes for good fodder because everyone picks their label – and therefore their side. While these monolithic groups do not necessarily reflect the needs of an individual worker, they do provide perspective on the times in which each group has come of age and how that history has shaped their experience.
Still, there is no doubt that tension is rising among people at work of different ages. In this historic period, all four generations are at work together at once. In fact, Harvard Business Review declared the root of the problem earlier this year:
“Demographic change is one of the least understood yet profoundly important issues facing organizations today. The ‘working-age population’ in the U.S. — those from age 16 to 64 — is contracting at a pace not experienced since World War II… Generation Z has three million fewer people than the Millennial generation, and Generation Alpha, which follows Gen Z, is expected to be even smaller.”
The Circle of Life at Work
As a new generation enters the workforce, Human Resources professionals – and others at work for that matter – grow hungry for information about workers’ needs and wants in comparison to the past, even the recent past. There always seems to be an unreal idealism on the part of young people, and a jaded skepticism on the part of their older colleagues. This is truly the circle of life. After having lived and experienced more, including tragedy, hardships, and challenges, people gain a different perspective. It’s natural for them to be more realistic about their expectations, and it becomes easier to simply accept the status quo.
More mature people also tend to have more responsibilities, which preclude them from being idealistic or holding out for something better. It requires they earn a steady living and pay the bills on time. It’s no longer just about them. As a result, they may find young people annoying with their shiny optimism and demands. Frankly, that’s why an older gentlemen, who once rocked a mohawk and is now clean shaven with a standard haircut, sends the kids off his lawn. It’s more about the stages of life than anything else.
What’s Happening with Gen Z?
Yet, there is something palpable happening this time around. Things feel differently as Gen Z enters the workforce. Although small in numbers, their voices have grown louder than many others. Social media is a big reason for their influence. The TikTok generation is creating videos to describe all the matters of work that seem unfair, prohibitive, or just plain wrong. They have educated the world on quiet quitting, rage applying, bare minimum Mondays, and bosses who are tone deaf about the disparities between leadership and workers or have simply done them wrong.
The latest fad from Gen Z is bed rotting as a means of self-care. Bet, you didn’t know that one! While losing many hours in bed – regardless of whether one is binge watching Netflix shows or meditating – may not seem like a work issue, it is.
“Older generations might not agree that a day spent in bed is actually justifiable. After all, they’re often content to call out Gen Z for being lazy and entitled, simply for existing. What they actually are is the generation that calls it like they see it, slaps some descriptive verbiage on it, then posts it on TikTok,” according to Fast Company. “Bed rotting: It’s self-care. It’s good for you. And now you can do it sans shame. If they were marketing bed rotting (and some of them probably are), it would be a purely brilliant scheme.”
Then again, Fast Company also suggests glamorizing bed rotting is probably a bad idea because, as one psychotherapist put it, people feel like staying in bed because of burnout, depression, and anxiety but it is not the best treatment for these conditions.
Older adults see it as more of a reason to distrust Gen Z. Labor productivity in the nonfarm sector decreased 2.7% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. More mature workers hear about quiet quitting and bed rotting and think it might have something to do with the slow-down in productivity.
Even before these results became apparent, the Bureau expressed concern about the loss in output between 2005 and 2021.
“The figure—$10.9 trillion—represents the cumulative loss in output in the U.S. nonfarm business sector due to the labor productivity slowdown since 2005, also corresponding to a loss of $95,000 in output per worker,” according to BLS.
A Different Relationship with Work
Those other trends – quiet quitting and bare minimum Mondays to be exact – also contribute to the idea that productivity is not a priority. The argument Gen Z – and many Millennials before them – have made is that work-life balance is a priority. They saw their parents giving their life to their work without reaping rewards. What’s the point?
On the other hand, employers are not having it. They are pushing back on all these trends, including remote work and flexibility. Famously JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon and Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested laziness was the reason people wanted to continue with remote work. Many people hoist the blame on Gen Z for promoting these new ways to work.
Things aren’t always as simple as they seem. A 2023 report from Joblist showed that twice as many older people than younger people want to work remotely. And quiet quitting is not necessarily just about wanting me time. A recent survey from Kantar shows that the trend of the side hustle, having more than one job to make ends meet, spans the generations. And Gen Z – the ones who are supposed to be so lazy – work more than the others. While 36% of Millennials, 30% of Gen X, and 21% of Baby Boomers have at least two jobs, 40% of Gen Z does.
At roughly the same time, 74% of managers told ResumeBuilder that Gen Z is harder to work with than other generations. Their disappointment, according to the survey results, is because of a lack of technological skills, motivation, and effort. Those interviewed in an Entrepreneur article about this survey said the generation lacks discipline, challenges people, and thinks they are better than others.
Yet, no one can deny that no generation can be ignored. The demographic shifts require all hands on deck because there are simply not enough people being born to replace workers, who will eventually retire or expire. Indeed, 83% of global executives recognize that a multigenerational workforce is key to business success, but only 6% have implemented unbiased recruiting processes, according to the AARP.
One way or another, the generations will have to find common ground to overcome the great challenges that lie ahead. Faster than anyone can imagine, Gen Z will be the older people shouting to get the kids off their lawn. It’s inevitable.
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch for Pexels
