We often hear bad news about the younger generation in the workplace. For example, one survey claims that working with Gen Z is more difficult than previous generations, and Another survey It found that nearly 40% of business leaders view Gen Z college graduates as “not ready for the workplace”—and that’s why 94% of this group avoids hiring them. But fortunately, there is an alternative approach. According to Dr. Sarah AdlerCEO and Founder the wave and a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford, members of Gen Z are “uniquely resilient” and, if you know how to work with them, can bring many strengths to the workplace.
Gen Z is a “troubled generation,” Adler noted in a recent interview, because they’ve seen “a ton of trouble.” Looking at epidemics and socioeconomic conditions, from social media to the loneliness epidemic, Gen Z His trouble earned. But, as Adler explains, they’re also “the first generation to have a category and a language for emotional health. They have the same kind of stigma in terms of talking about mental health and accessing mental health. They are able to ask for help and resources.” Gen Z’s flexibility, self-awareness and willingness to pursue their own needs allows organizations to take advantage of some of the same characteristics that leaders often struggle with when managing Gen Z employees.
If you don’t want to handle them, don’t hire them.
Dealing with undertrained employees is always difficult, Adler says, but that’s especially true for those “who care more about who you are and who you’re for than the millennials, the boomers.” And standing up to the Gen Xers”. She notes that Gen Z candidates “want very clear expectations and transparency about who we are as an organization.” “You need to assess the fit within the organization, and what resources we have as an organization to either shape or present the reality of the situation so that they can potentially opt out. “
Ensure alignment between your organization’s culture and the information you present during the interview. And if your managers don’t have the time, commitment or management skills to adapt your corporate culture and work habits to the new Gen Z hires, then hiring them won’t make sense at all.
Create new management principles
“Most middle managers aren’t actually trained to be managers,” Adler says. We lack proper expectation setting and training in appropriate, consistent, repeatable, measurable processes.” Gen Z is much more vocal about what isn’t working for them than previous generations. , so if you haven’t assessed your management strengths and weaknesses, you’re less likely to successfully communicate with Gen Z employees and you may experience a lot of turnover and pushback.
You can solve this problem by training middle managers and creating effective processes that shape employee experiences. For example, says Adler, is “every employee that comes in has a 30-/60-/90- [day plan]To get new hires off on the right foot. Similarly, setting rules for “containment and structure and process” avoids the risk of managers finding themselves trapped in trying to personally support disorganized Gen Xers.
A clear, consistent structure prevents managers from playing therapist, and emphasizes employees’ ability to accomplish tasks effectively rather than trying to control employees’ emotions. Emotional over-involvement often creates an imbalance because it depends on how much the manager cares about any individual employee. When the focus is on the task and what the employee needs to accomplish their goals, the entire hierarchy can be applied more consistently and uniformly, regardless of the employee’s needs.
Meet more often and consistently.
Another useful leadership practice is conducting structured one-on-ones. Genuine support for Gen Z employees ensures that they feel safe in their working conditions and know how to deal with any problems—including personal problems—that arise while performing their jobs. Arise: how to raise the problem, who to see, where to go. go “They desperately want to connect,” Adler says. “They want to feel hopeful, they want to feel deeply invested.” But if you don’t invest in giving them a place where you’re giving them clear expectations, they may not be ready to figure it out on their own.”
All of Adler’s one-on-ones with her staff follow the same format, and she teaches her managers to use it with their direct reports. “It’s your job as an employee to show what you’re doing, give me updates on it and ask for my help,” she explains. “I’ll give you the deadlines I need, the expectations I have, and give you a chance to ask contextual questions.”
Teach useful ways to communicate.
Millennial, Gen X and Boomer leaders and managers have different vocabulary and expectations than Gen Z leaders, but Gen Z’s discomfort with informal communication and organizational hierarchies can be structured. “They have a complete lack of understanding of corporate communication or principles of engagement,” says Adler. “Their communication is not bound by normal hierarchical constraints, because digital messaging and text messaging and communication are highly informal. The message itself has a dynamic lack of power that is reinforced by informality.
Teaching Gen Z when digital communication must be over the phone or even face-to-face is critical. For example, there may be many misunderstandings. Slack. “What I teach my organization is the moment you realize there’s a misunderstanding, jump in a huddle, bring it online,” Adler says. “And always be ready to jump in on real-time conversations.” Gen Z “doesn’t want to be in meetings, because meetings are inefficient and waste time,” but it’s important to create a culture that recognizes that communication misunderstandings require follow-up conversations, even if I’m in front. , video or phone. “That’s where you can get more nuance, more nuance, more understanding — and you’re not relying on informal digital communication shorthand.”
Take advantage of their questioning attitude.
Another reason managers seek out Gen Z. Difficult to work with It’s that they ask too many questions, but you can use their interest in data and clarity to highlight organizational weaknesses. Adler suggested reframing General Zeer’s endless questions. “She’s giving us the gift of flaws in our communication and our thinking. She’s identifying questions that we’re not answering for her and showing us places where customers are going to get confused. VCs are going to be confused or other team members are going to be confused,” she says. It forces you to act and enables thinking to define the context that will benefit the organization.”
Adler welcomes deep inquiry into his organization and its potential challenges. “If I don’t give clear context, people won’t know how to connect with their jobs,” she explains. “They’re just going through the motions and that’s not what I want. I want a team that’s engaged and invested in pushing me to think and act and just tell my story and talk. Not relying on communication skills, it forces me to think and be. [self-]Important about my communication and solving my problem.”
Use skilled feedback to flip the engagement switch.
Another benefit of hiring Gen Zers comes from their youth in particular. “They have an intellectual curiosity and energy that I would like to add to some of my more idle colleagues,” admits Adler. “And we can take advantage of that by treating them collaboratively. If we look at them as a mirror of our communication strategy and ask, ‘What do you think about this? What about you?’ Have an opinion?’ If we can invest in engaging them in the conversation and take a more collaborative approach that shows respect despite their youth, that’s another source of feedback! Beck is brilliant and we get energy from him.
Adler always asks two questions in his one-on-one meetings: “What do you think of me?” and “How can I help you in a way that you haven’t been able to express today?” She explains: “I’m constantly showing that in order to have intellectual curiosity, you have to be able to be wrong. I’m constantly showing my mistakes.” If managers make their expectations clear and their feedback is consistently proactive, evidence-based, and specific to the task rather than attacking the person, feedback is part of a systemic process of collaboration. will be received automatically, which makes it easier. Accept and act. She recommends giving an employee time to reflect on the feedback and then discuss it at the next meeting, such as: “What can you learn from this? How can I help you make it better?” What have I not done to set you up or prepare you for success?
Take the time to define and model the behaviors you want to see from Gen Z employees. If you embrace the reality of their concerns and needs and share your vision and values as they evolve, you can develop a workforce that will provide creative solutions and your organization. will create a strong commitment to
Credit : www.forbes.com