Now showing items tagged Gen Z

Having grown up within a digital age with no memory of a pre-internet world, and reached adulthood within an era of lockdowns and global crises, Generation Z finds itself in a very unique set of circumstances that are consistently setting it apart from previous generations.

All this to say, Gen Zs are thinking about their relationship with work very differently to their predecessors!

Here are 3 ways Gen Z is approaching work:

Oxford Dictionary have announced their word of the year, and you will be forgiven if you have no idea what it means, if you have even heard it at all. The word of 2023 is, ‘Rizz.’

If you haven’t heard of it, ‘rizz’ is a slang word derived from ‘charisma’, defined by The Oxford Dictionary as, "Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness."

“Rizz” is one word among many proliferated primarily through Gen Z’s social media presence – Gen Z being the 2 billion people born between 1995 and 2009.[1] Other key words in the lexicon include, “slay”, “sus”, “drip”, “simp”, “stan” and “cap”, all commonly used among Gen Zs but completely opaque to the untrained ears of older generations.

Columbia University economics professor Joseph Stiglitz once said, “It is trust, more than money, that makes the world go around.”[1] While this has, perhaps, always been true, it will truer than ever in the coming decade.

Whether in our personal relationships or our interactions with big brands and institutions, trust is the foundation of loyalty, engagement and affinity - and this foundation has taken a pounding in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this environment, building trust is more difficult than ever – but it’s also more important. According to the recent Trends in Customer Trust report released by Salesforce Research, 95% of customers are more likely to be loyal to a company they trust while 92% are more likely to purchase additional products and services from trusted businesses.[2]

Gen Z have never known a world without the Internet. As a result, their hobbies, careers, identities and language are being powerfully shaped by their relationship with the online world.

A Deloitte survey found that only 10% of Gen Zs opt to watch a TV show or a film in order to switch off or recharge. In comparison, 26% say that online gaming is their favourite way to pass the time. For the rest of the Gen Zs in the survey, their favourite forms of entertainment are listening to music (14%), browsing the Internet (12%) or scrolling through social media (11%).[1]

When talking about the online world, however, we are likely to mean something completely different in relation to Gen Z than we do in relation to their older counterparts.

Within an economy increasingly characterised by precarity and uncertainty, the growing class of creators represents an alternative approach to money-making to traditional employment. Largely driven by Gen Zs, who are increasingly turning away from conventional career paths and towards options with greater independence and flexible, the creator economy continues to work its way into the mainstream.

A kind of gig economy for digital spaces, the creator economy involves those individuals who are using online platforms to publish and monetise content. Posted on platforms like Instragram, TikTok, YouTube, Patreon and Substack, the content of the creator economy is as diverse as the creators producing it. Whether through subscriptions, brand partnerships or advertising, creators are able to generate income through the appeal of their content.[1]

The world’s most famous Youtuber made the news in late January for his big spending. While Youtubers are notorious for their opulence, the standout part of this video was that this was spending with a cause – that cause being the funding of life-changing eye surgery for 1000 unsuspecting strangers. Mr Beast may be known for his extravagance, but he is undeniably admired for his philanthropy[1].

The last couple of years have seen the entry of the next generation into the workforce. Gen Zs are a unique group – fiercely ambitious, values-driven and highly attuned to the digital world. Workplaces are increasingly needing to adjust to the new set of employee needs, interests and working styles that has arrived with this generation.

If you are hiring Gen Zs, here are 2 key attributes you need to know…