[AltoLXI]

Well summarized. As a Gen Z person, I can relate to these points.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Multiple things are happening:

1. A generation brought up in a connected world. They often have too much information, and too few tools to process them rationally and arrange into coherent thought processes. Feeds into #2.

Many countries in fact are planning to ban the usage of mobile devices by youngsters, not sure how effective that is going to turn out. I remember when we were kids, we were told watching TV will make one dumb and still every generation is being presented with brand new technology and I feel, is messing up with the human minds faster than ever.

Baby boomer and earlier - Cinema/Radio
Gen X - TV
Millennials - Internet
Gen Z - Social media
Gen Alpha - AI ???

I remember when I joined my first company, our MD had banned us from using Yahoo search and we were supposed to remember the APIs from MSDN.

In future:

Employer : Have you completed the task assigned?
Gen Alpha employee : I have prompted AI to complete it. Now leave me alone.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

2. Education systems that still don't sufficiently cater to #1. Critical thinking skills are more important than ever, for young developing minds to be able to process enormous raw info > usable data > actionable intelligence. 2 generations ago, looking up references meant spending time in a library. Sources were self-filtering due to both accessibility and often being asked to look at specific literature. Now it's one search on the internet and you're bombarded with a million hits, often with minimal fact-checking and evidence-based corroboration. The vast majority of them are stuck in rigid education systems designed around one-size-fits-all patterns. Self-learning helps to an extent, but an inability to process information properly can cripple the most earnest of effort-makers.

The education system has been gamed. No practical classes are being conducted and kids have not seen how a chemical reaction takes place in lab environment. The joy in watching how light gets refracted across a prism is missing. Writing lab reports and getting feedback is missing. How can one expect the country to produce scientists and come up with innovations?

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

4. Hiring managers are still people from at least a generation prior, decision-making leadership often two. A combination of the previous factors mentioned, plus the previous generations having had their own different versions of them, means compatibility is a huge problem, and the inability to communicate at a mutually empathetic level makes it worse. It's like smashing two entirely different universes together and hoping they'll form one homogeneous mass naturally. They won't.

Some factors are unique, some just amplified versions of prior generational ones. A solution can and will be found though, because gen Z might have the highest attrition rates, but nobody's willing to hire older professionals to replace them (cost, flexibility, ageism etc. all get in the way), so it's a high-churn situation of gen Z being replaced with gen Z.

At least I just comfort myself things are not so bad with Gen Z, yet. Imagining a hypothetical future, where, if AI really gains traction, and work, as a concept, gets a new meaning, we will be reminiscing the good old days.

[hondatoyotafan]

Personally i had some good GenZ reportees who left our org for 2x, 3x salaries and few bad apples. But recently i heard from a friend who is a GM at a big ecommerce company (one famous for mobile sales) that she is avoiding GenZ hires as she is done with them and their tantrums about coming to offfice and focusing at work

[Chetan_Rao]

@ Contrapunto:

The title sounds sensational, yes, but that's a sign of the times we live in. Grabbing attention is the name of the game, and sensation does it better than plain-speak. Unfortunate, maybe.

The topic is definitely worthy of debate though, because gen Z and the ones after them are literally our future, in the workforce and in general, so their integration struggles are going to have a huge impact on everything. Avoiding them might be possible for a while, but is to be done at own peril as the shift is inevitable whether we like it or moan about it. Longer we refuse to acknowledge and find ways to deal with it, harder it'll get.

This community deserves better.

Ironically, the automotive community (which would include T-BHP) might be one of the largest affected parties of shifting generational mindsets. There's already evidence that younger generations don't look at vehicle ownership (and mobility in general) like their predecessors, so understanding their perspective and adapting to it will likely become an existential subject for manufacturers and others in the mobility space, as older generations and their perspective become incompatible with the ever-changing world around us.

[DogNDamsel12]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Do I agree with ‘some’ of the narrative around Gen Z criticism - (partially) yes. But do I also feel that there is a need for the pendulum to centre a bit around workplace cultures - also yes.

I think it is a culture issue. Gen Z belongs to an entitled set that their families brought them up to be. Is there anything wrong with that? Who am I to judge!

They are yet to mature professionally. That is true for any generation starting out their lives as professionals.

Unfortunately, the millennials have reached the mid-senior level and we have the technology in our hands to rant on and on about how the next generation falls short of our expectations.

I have been handling youngsters all of my career. They amuse me. The energy and ideas they bring to the table, if nurtured can accomplish far from what the older generations can imagine. They are more entrepreneurial, they need some handholding that's all.

It is the older generation that needs training. Either we are providing incorrect guidance or we are too self-absorbed in some of the toxic culture that we have normalised and are now even perpetuating. and we are not able to accept the asks that the gen Z has.

It is simple they want their work done, and go home. They don't have time or interest in the pizza parties, and long working hours, and they would rather go and explore the world, have a life outside work. They ask for their fair share of money to finance their wants. What's wrong with that!

Those of us who have incessantly given ourselves away to large corporations, cannot understand this - can we?

This News Week Inc.com article is one of those that means to create a fear in the system - a fear that the employers have always benefited from.

The Gen Z has their enterprising parents backing their ventures, technology speeding up their tasks, and their therapists listening to them instead of a morose HR (all of us know how most of the HR functions). They choose their mentors, carve out their own path. I don't know why the millennials are moping for the Gen Z.

A very interesting book that I read is The Corporate Kindergarten by Szilvia Olah. May just be insightful.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by DogNDamsel12

...Gen Z belongs to an entitled set that their families brought them up to be...

A refreshingly candid take, thank you.

As another person heavily involved in the youth space, I find the ranting amusing sometimes, like it happened in a vacuum they had no control over. A middle-aged colleague had an accidental self-aware moment recently:

'I can't deal with this new generation at work! It's like 'bring your kids to work' everyday at office these days.'

I said nothing. I smiled sympathetically, and walked away.

[amit_shimla]

The key might be finding that balance between honoring established norms while being open to new approaches that could actually enhance workplace dynamics.

[charanreddy]

Honestly, it’s a bit of a mix and match out there. A bit about me : I have about 17yrs of work ex and have been hiring and leading teams since about 10 years now including hiring interns from college, setting up new college tie ups , offering projects for exec programs etc.

I have seen some really bad cases of entitlement : Demanding super high starting pay packages to wierd interpretations of work life balance ( come in at 5 PM and leave at 1 AM ) to freedom at work place ( Wanted the management to be OK as they started a weird random discussion on Game of thrones to adult movies at about 11AM in the middle of the bay ). One employee even said company should have ‘humanity’ if an employee is caught watching explicit content on a company laptop and not fire this person. Another employee did 3 months internship and finally summarised his work saying- all the company leadership from founder to CEO to VPs are all wrong and we need to urgently change the business model of a multi Billion dollar business, with out even thinking he may be the one who needs to change his perspective.

AND then there are these amazing finds, who are super driven , amazingly down to earth , chart their own growth story and are a tangible benefit to the organization right from the time they start. It’s a 50 - 50 mix. These folks are able to use the technology in a positive way to work on themselves. As a society and as corporates , we have to work with Gen Z and in a few decades this cohort of individuals will be running the world.

I am curious to hear from other folks , what are some of the practices you adopt as a company to ground Gen Zs and make them productive while not being confrontational?

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

As companies across industries assess the performance of their youngest hires, many are noticing a troubling trend. Gen Z employees, often fresh out of college, are being let go at a faster rate than their older counterparts. A new study sheds light on why this might be happening. It offers insights into the challenges faced by both employers and young workers.

Struggles With Workplace Adaptation

One of the primary reasons cited in the study is that many Gen Z employees struggle to adjust to traditional workplace dynamics. Huy Nguyen, Chief Education, and Career Development Adviser at Intelligent.com says These young professionals “may have theoretical knowledge from their college education but often lack the practical, real-world experience needed to excel in the workforce” . The shift from a structured educational environment to a more fluid and often autonomous work setting can be jarring for this generation.

This point seems a bit silly. Any new generation entering the workforce won't have practical real-world experience. That's the whole point of 'gaining experience'. The shift from the educational environment to the corporate world is jarring for anyone, unsure why we are point fingers at this particular generation.

Anyway, what's the point of not hiring from an entire generation? Are we going to further overload poor-old millennials till they retire? We need to fill roles as people retire and the only way is to bring in and train the new folks entering the workforce. Further, Gen Alphas aren't old enough to start working and they will certainly be even more demanding than Gen Z when they do. The easier way is to change the toxic mentalities that many managers have.

Anyway, I've heard the exact same thing being said about millennials that they are entitled, don't save money, travel too much, don't have serious relationships etc etc. It's probably going on since humans became self-aware.

It's not just those older to us, I find kids and teens these days quite annoying (which means I'm getting old as well)

I'd suggest checking out this reddit on the history of adults complaining about the younger generation.

[manincar]

Every generation tends to think that, they had it tough and feels the next generation are not as dedicated as they were. I guess we are hard wired to think that way.
When I joined banking, our seniors used to say how they have to manually update ledgers and all quarter ends used to be hectic with accounts finalisation. My generation didn’t had to struggle that much on the process front. But getting business has become a challenge as customers have multiple options in the form of banks as well as NBFC.
Now me and my colleagues often discuss that Gen Z doesn’t value work as much as we used to.

The cycle of blaming next generation will continue in future also. It is very difficult to have clear understanding of the challenges and priorities of other generation to empathise with them as each of us are stuck with our own priorities

[fhdowntheline]

I think it is a matter of adaptation at every level. 10 years down the line, in an AI empowered and influenced society, our perspectives may change.

[ZenMaster]

Is just coincidence that Companies across the world are frothing at their mouth to "integrate AI into their work" because its the new magic bullet to their age old necessity to "increase productivity" while decreasing spending and also are now parallely cutting down their workforce by a big margin "to make the company more streamlined and efficient" and and always complaining (from the time industries & bosses began to exist) about how each new generation of recruits are less hardworking than their previous generation. But then somehow magically these same companies also achieve their highest ever production and highest ever sales and highest ever patents/products etc for which executives then give themselves a pat on the back and gift themselves fat bonuses.

I think GenZ recruits especially the Pandemic batches are just at the wrong place at the wrong time. They grew up with too much information and too many expectations. Then they went through the pandemic which meant they never got the chance to learn and gain even theoretical knowledge property. Neither were they able to interact with people, and peers and professionals/professors in what is supposed to be a metamorphosis stage when they transform from kids to self-sustaining adults.

These people will ofcourse need more time to get up to speed - Because they never got the chance.. All they had to go by were talking heads on the internet while loved ones dropped dead right and left and people working at FAANG companies hired at sky-high packages posting flattering selfies about their swanky offices and perks while the reality in most industries outside these Trillion-Dollar companies is starkly different.


Coming to the attitude of the managers & bosses:
Whenever a new generation comes up, its not Lack of skills (technical and soft) that causes the friction between "Previous gen" managers and Next-gen recruits.

The managers are salty that the new generation are not ready to suffer as much as they did and the new recruits are disillusioned by the mismatch between what the company said about their culture and organisation during recruitment and what they actually experience on a day to day basis.

Everything will normalise after a few years once they gain what nobody is ready to give them: TIME AND EXPERIENCE

And then they will also join us to criticize Gen-Alpha about how they don't even want to work because AI does everything thing.

[anti21]

I've had opposite experiences. The "GenZs" we hired were pretty darn good in getting the work done (which is all I care about). As their manager, it is my job to shield them from bullshit politics and work and make them understand why they are doing what they are doing and how it affects our and companies target and their career, development and growth. Most people fail to realise that you have to make them understand the purpose of their work and how it affects them careerwise down the line. Also, how their work exactly affects the company. If they see that being fulfilled, then generally they put in their effort very well and regularly go beyond their duty without anyone asking to. They just need that level of autonomy and trust (while being carefully overseen cause they will make mistakes, and you need the margin of error to allow them to make mistakes). Granted we are 100% work from home, so it makes it easier for them. Some did leave us as they wanted to work from office.

I'd assume the people we have are better than 90-95% in the market after working for 1-2 years for us at that salary/experience level. Even beyond that a bit. This is evident by the people who've left us have easily managed to get 100-120% hike even in this market (as recent as last month). Granted we are not "paymasters", but we don't hire from premier institutions but from tier2 or tier3 institutions and pay lot more than other companies do in this category.


Getting non-Genz people to work, now that is a whole different issue. Unless they are self-motivated, you can't motivate them, and it is a pain in the ass to get work from them with constant following up.

[Precision]

Clickbait or not there is some truth to it.
I run an EPC company and in the last 6 years I have had to hire over 20 site engineers/supervisors, both Civil and Mechanical Eng. freshers.
We have Four 20+ year exp. senior engineers who have been with us over a decade.
I will tell you the issue I am facing with the Gen "Z" recruits :

1. They were forced into Civil/Mechanical Engineering either by family or because they could not get into IT/Computer science. So no interest or drive for their chosen profession.
2. All their friends are working in IT with air conditioned offices, formal dresses, colorful co-workers and a 9-5 job timings. Can't blame them for wishing for the same because working on a construction site is neither easy nor pleasant.
3. The desire to do an MBA and get into an office job is Priority Uno.
4. Not interested in career growth or acquiring skills or experience in construction.
5. The "Lets take a loan and migrate" trend.
6. The draw of writing a bank test and joining a bank where point #2 can be realized.
7. Absolutely low patience and cant take criticism.
8. Everyone wants the Instagram Lifestyle without putting in the required effort.
9. We have workers who like to vanish temporarily from their work for whatever reasons and once or thrice warned they get in line. But I have had the Gen Z guys playing games on their phone with headsets on rite in between the workers who they are supposed to be supervising. First warning; sorry sir wont happen again. Second warning; I quit.

We pay 25k a month plus food, accommodation and travel for zilch work experience.
From 2024 onwards me and my father decided to quit hiring freshers all together, its better to spend 60k for someone with experience and who would still be at site tomorrow rather than getting a call from the customer at 8am saying that our engineer has vanished.

I am sure my predicament is industry specific.

[DevendraG]

A slightly different perspective from my experience. In IT we have efficiencies/reductions coming in every quarter and rarely we get replacements in form of Freshers. So if the next quarter asks for reductions, I’d have to unfortunately give up the newest member in the team since they aren’t productive yet with no fault of theirs since the duration to learn was too low. And after a couple of moving around, unfortunately some fall out of the company too. So I blame the recent uncertainties in IT for their churn out.

Coming to work ethics and performance, they have a different motivation and often not work related and hence leading to a lot of time investment to get good productivity. And if some get motivated enough, they switch or go for higher studies abroad. But on the flip side, experienced people would like to move higher and ground work will need to be handled by Gen-Z (majorly due to cost too). But I do feel they lack the foresight of their future careers and hence don’t plan well enough. It’s just how millennials adapt to this predicament and come out on the top to make it a win-win for both generations.

[am1m]

Isn't it the job of a people manager to 'manage' the work with whatever resources are available? Why do you need managers if all companies could afford to hire industry-ready, exemplary employees at all levels? Seems to me that managers aren't doing their job if they are saying they can't work with an entire generation of employees.

If managers across industries really are (and like some people have already posted, I think this is a bit of a clickbait headline/topic) wholesale shunning recruiting from an entire generation, how will any work get done in say 5, 10 years?

From what I've seen, it's middle-aged guys like me that are having issues getting employed, being replaced by less-expensive freshers. So, personally, I should be happy if that trend is being reversed! But I doubt it.