Hey Employers: Here’s What You Need To Know About GenZ

By Jody Bell

GenZ, born in early-mid-1990’s, has already proven to be a transformative generation. 

Not only have they lit the fire behind many social and environmental movements, but they’re digital natives with an entrepreneurial mentality and passion for impact. This is all on top of the fact that they comprise over one-half of the population in the U.S.

Now, as GenZ is entering the workforce, it is in every employer’s best interest to understand this generation and their needs. The same traits that make them valuable employees and leaders also affects their decisions in terms of their career and place of work. 

Here at Girls With Impact, we recognize the importance of this generation ‒ that’s exactly why we created our Academy program to teach the leaders of tomorrow the skills they need to become CEO’s before they've even received a diploma. 

Our GenZ Report, featuring over 500 respondents ranging in age from 13-22, is a go-to for employers hoping to learn how to attract this new wave of talent. Click here to download the full report, and check below for the 5 things you need to know when recruiting and retaining GenZ talent!

1. They’re entrepreneurial by nature

In our study, 63% of GenZ stated that they want to “personally create something innovative/world changing” while 53% see themselves running their own companies. 

Entrepreneurs are creative by nature ‒ the job description of an entrepreneur is essentially a problem-solver. While many traditionally think of start-up culture when examining entrepreneurs, that’s not a holistic view, and often overlooks ‘intrapreneurship’ and the ability to strive for internal progress and transformation. Entrepreneurs are valuable employees to have because they will actively search for pain-points and inefficiencies within an organization and create innovative solutions to remedy these problems. Having an entrepreneurial culture is thus one that supports constant improvement and ideation even if the feedback is coming from entry level employees.

2. They want to fight for impact

Growing up with role models such as Malala and Greta Thunberg along with a turbulent socio-political environment has shaped this generation into a force of purpose. 

Our GenZ Report shows that 60% of respondents want to make a difference in their world ‒ and that starts with where you work. It is crucial to have active community engagement and ensure your organization creates a positive impact in a manner more involved than traditional donations. Instead, try to organize employee volunteer opportunities as a form of teamwork and collaboration.

Additionally, this means impact must be addressed within the company. One of our Girls With Impact graduates, Kristen St. Louis, 17, hopes her future employers will “actively and intentionally mold spaces that are meant for people of varying backgrounds and experiences.” Ensuring that there is diversity and representation is the bare minimum ‒ GenZ is expecting employers to purposefully address the disadvantages that many women and minorities face in the traditional workplace, and in turn, do all they can to eradicate obstacles. 

3. They won’t fit into the confinements of a traditional-office-cubicle

After a year and a half of online work and schooling, this generation has markedly different priorities when it comes to work structures. 

When asked to rank their preferences in terms of a place of work, the majority of respondents would prefer their own office, followed directly by remote work options. This narrative is starkly different from the priorities of GenZ back in 2019 ‒ when a casual dress code, gym, and on-site- food-options were the focal point. A similar scene is displayed below when examining a general list of work amenities and respondents were asked to rank them based on importance. Here, flexible working hours ranked number one, and remote work options taking the second spot. 

This is the reality of a generation that has had the ability to remain incredibly flexible in their hours and place of work over the past year and a half ‒ now, these “privileges” are normalized and nearly expected by this generation. 

4. Mental health is on their mind ‒ and they want to talk about it too!

Compared to our 2019 GenZ report, concerns about mental health have risen by 14%. 

After the past year of isolation, loss, and turbulence, this is to be expected, however, GenZ is responding in one of the most positive ways feasible ‒ by speaking up about mental health and aiming to break down the stigma. 

With this rise in awareness, combined with recent interest in employee burnout and mental health days, GenZ is actively looking to find organizations that prioritize employee’s emotional well being. A great place to start is by encouraging collaboration on a personal level by cultivating a culture of teamwork. Team huddles shouldn’t only highlight what employees have done ‒ but what they are actively struggling with and why. 

Additionally, ensure that mental health is reflected on the insurance and medical resources provided to employees. 

5. While they may want to be leaders, there are doubts about paving a path to leadership

64% of GenZ men and women expressed doubt surrounding their ability to become a leader in their companies ‒ this figure was only 53% in 2019.

GenZ has the natural underlying skills needed to make remarkable leaders, however, without the correct foundation and trajectory to propel them into positions of influence they might fall short. Nurturing leadership across all levels while creating clear and structured pathways to executive positions is key. In addition to this, ensuring benchmarks are present and GenZ is able to work towards leadership in an organized manner that provides measurable success is critical.

These highlights are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding GenZ. That being said, when it comes to a shift in organizational culture and impact, many of these changes need to be made now to attract GenZ talent.

To download our full GenZ report click here, and if your organization is interested in learning more about GenZ and our internship/talent pipeline program, send an email to ops@girlswithimpact.org!

Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 12-21, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.