Move over, millennials.
Generation Z—sometimes called post-millennials, the iGeneration or plurals, to name a few—is starting to enter the workforce. As they do, Governing columnists Katherine Barrett and Richard Green say it would be wise for public-sector leaders to understand the differences they may bring to recruiting, hiring, training and managing.
“While generalizations about generations must be used with caution, studies show that Gen Zers may present a different set of challenges and opportunities than their predecessors,” Barrett and Green write of the generation whose youngest members were born in the mid-1990s.
One of the biggest differences, possibly because they grew up during an economic downturn, is that Gen Zers have a heightened desire for job security and lower expectations for quick advancement than millennials, says Jason Dorsey, co-founder and lead millennial and Gen Z researcher at the Center for Generational Kinetics.
“Their attitude is ‘I’ll take whatever job you have, just give me a chance,’” he says.
That may also be because Gen Zers are less likely to have work experience than previous generations and thus may be more eager to get their foot in the door anywhere.
“This phenomenon, however, also applies to millennials. The number of 16- to 19-year-olds holding summer jobs has fluctuated with the economy, but before 1990, it almost never dipped below 46 percent, according to the Pew Research Center,” write Barrett and Green. “Since then, there has been a steady decline in the portion of employed teens, and the rate has hovered around 30 percent in the last few years.”
A 2016 survey by the consulting firm BridgeWorks shows that Gen Zers are more likely to plan on working at the same place for at least a decade as compared to millennials.
“They’re looking for stability,” says Hannah Ubl, research director at BridgeWorks.
