At Tribe, we’ve recently shifted our research focus from Gen X and Y in the workplace to Gen Z, the kids 8 to 15 now who will be tomorrow’s employees. Gen Z kids are typically the offspring of Gen X parents, who entered the workforce with an expectation of work-life balance that surprised (and sometimes annoyed) their Boomer bosses.
Many researchers just lump Gen Z in with Gen Y and don’t distinguish between the two. In fact, Gen Z does share many traits with Gen Y, such as their comfort with technology, their view of the whole world as their neighborhood and their team approach to leadership. But we are seeing some differences.
One of our initial impressions of Generation Z is that they’re even more Gen Y than Gen Y. While many corporate employers complained that entry-level Gen Y employees felt they were capable of taking on the CEO role at any minute, the Gen Z kids seem to believe that if they’ve done anything once, they’re an expert at it.
Gen Z is also even more connected than Gen Y, if such a thing is possible. These kids are not only using computers, they’re wielding everything from cell phones to iPads. If they’re not old enough to be on Facebook, they’ve probably made their own website to showcase their personal identity. Gen Z not only grew up with the Internet, they have never lived in a world without it.
People often say that this younger generation will end up dealing with all the problems the adults of today are creating in the world. I’d say they’ll be well equipped to take that role on. Recently, I stopped by my 10-year-old son’s bedroom and noticed him drawing plans for some imaginary space station. I mentioned that he ought to try to figure out what to do about the oil spill instead.
Twenty minutes later, he had researched oil cleanup online and crafted a plan that involved a long tube and copious quantities of kitty litter. He also had gone to the BP website and located contact information for someone there collecting suggestions for cleaning up the oil spill and emailed them his proposal. It’s interesting to me that he not only assumed he was capable of solving a problem that was stumping many seasoned scientists, but he also took for granted that he could get in touch with someone at an international company.
When I was a kid, our expectations would have been much different. It took me until I was a young adult to realize that the people in charge of making things happen in the world were regular old human beings, just like me. If there’s an entire generation growing up with the assumption that they can handle pretty much anything, that’s probably not a bad thing. Like I told Sam the night he was working on his oil spill plan, kids his age will be in charge before we know it.