Employee expectations move with the times and recent trends are pointing to some significant fault lines between the generations, our latest light-hearted take on HR finds.
Generation Z. Or Gen-Z. Or GenZee. Or @genzee. Or young people.
Tut tut. What are they like?
Well… they came after Millennials and were born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s …
Yes, I know – that’s not what I mean! Why are they so demanding and woke? Hasn’t anyone said “no” to them before?
Are they? Haven’t they? Wait… are you a Boomer? Need help with that TV remote?
Er.. err…ageism! Nevermind, bye!
Every day at Personnel Today we are bombarded by the latest fascinating findings around this mystical age group, some of whom are in fact our children; while others are, actually, us.
But are they so different from previous generations, going back to the 1880s: the millennials, Gen X, the boomers, the silent, the greatest, the lost generation…? Certainly, previous generations have not had to contend with so many buzzwords to describe their activities.
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Recently we heard Gen Z were Quit-Tokking – filming their bosses’ attempts to tell them they are being fired. No doubt highly amusing.
We have been told many times that they will only come to work if they have been told they don’t have to come to work.
We have been told also that they care very much for the environment, don’t like micromanagers much and prefer sushi to Spam.
On a more serious note the cost of living crisis and the astronomic price of accommodation – particularly in south east England – has severely hindered Gen Z’s prospects of making their way in the world. This is probably what’s behind the latest buzzword to mow us down: “loud budgeting”.
HR technology company Dayforce tells us that “this new TikTok trend has caused a stir on social media with older workers shocked by Gen Z’s open – perhaps audacious – approach to discussing their finances in the workplace. When younger workers are so open about money worries, should this signal alarm bells for employers?”
Dayforce’s Aaron Fox says employers could respond by lightening the financial load on employees. He says: “Employers could consider alternative methods of payment such as ‘earned wage access’ or ‘on-demand pay’ schemes. This helps workers cope with unexpected costs which might arise before payday, enhancing financial wellness and reducing stress.”
We turn now to oldies’ organ the Daily Mail for further Gen Z “insight”. The paper’s website reports today (26 April) that “a recruiter sparked furious controversy” after revealing that he had turned down a Gen Z applicant. The candidate refused to spend 90 minutes on a hiring test because “it looked like a lot of work.”
The employer took to X (ex-Twitter) to share his frustrations about an applicant he had interviewed for an investment analyst position. He explained he had emailed the unnamed Gen Z applicant and asked them to do a “financial modelling test”, which would take 90 minutes.
The applicant had replied: “This looks like a lot of work. Without knowing where I stand in the process, I’m not comfortable spending 90 minutes in Excel.”
The recruiter responded: “Well … I can tell you where you stand now.”
The result of going public with this was a multitude of comments telling the recruiter that he should have offered to pay the candidate if he wanted them to work.
One comment read: “You see he had all the answers in the world but can’t pay for 90 minutes of people’s time, hmm seems the company is a red flag. Don’t value their staff.”
Those who struggle to see eye to eye with Gen Z candidates will probably need to pass when it comes to selecting members of the next lot, Generation Alpha. This cohort, the sons and daughters of millennials, are likely to start charging employers just to apply.
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