Leading Z-Gen project members
Generation Z refers to people born in 1996-2009. They are the second-youngest generation, between millennials and Generation Alpha.
There are two types of human generations: family generations and social generations. Society’s fascination with generations first began with sociologist Karl Mannheim (Mannheim Károly, Budapest, 1893) and his 1928 essay on the “theory of generations.” The premise of this theory is that pivotal historical events heavily shape the traits, values and attitudes of the people living in that period.
Z-Gen identity has been shaped by the digital age, climate anxiety, a shifting financial landscape, and COVID-19. They are known as „digital natives” — the first generation to grow up with the internet.
- They are generally more pragmatic, with both complicated idealism and worries for the future, dream of personal career fulfillment but expect economic struggles.
- They have less positive life outlooks, with lower levels of emotional and social well-being than older generations.
- They are more interested in belonging to an inclusive, supportive community.
- They are more individualistic, with a stronger sense of personal expression.
- They are more politically and socially active, advocating for what they believe on social media.
Focusing on the work general mindset of Generation Z in the workplace
Flexibility and autonomy
They want their work environment to adapt and respond to their needs.
Work that “matters”
They progressively feel that meaningful work is their priority and are willing to change jobs to find that.
Tech-savvy
They prefer using digital tools and platforms for communication and aim to seamlessly integrate technology into their work processes.
Visual methods of communication
As preference
- Empathy in the workplace.
They value empathy highly, respect and personal recognition focused more on productivity.
- Mental health concerns.
Healthy workload and meaningful support for their careers and help to manage stress in work
- Work and personal identity.
Work is a significant part of their identity but much less than older generation’s identity
Considering these specifics of Generation Z as project manager ideas how to keep them engaged:
Voice of younger team members
Need to do more than listen to their ideas — they need to make them a part of the action. Creating opportunities for them to impact on real change makes the workplace an exciting place, like
- digital surveys where employees can contribute ideas for projects or improvements
- involving strategy meetings where they can share their perspectives.
Positive work environment
A supportive and inclusive culture is vital to encourage a stronger sense of community and collaboration including a healthy work-life balance. Therefore, it is useful to regularly schedule fun events that foster teamwork and make the workplace more enjoyable and design work areas that are visually appealing and physically comfortable to enhance employee satisfaction.
Work-life balance and flexibility
Allow employees to choose their working hours within a specific range to accommodate their personal lives and provide the option to work from home on certain days of the week, enhancing personal time management.
Career development and growth opportunities
Providing clear pathways for progression and regular training ensures they meet their current job requirements and are prepared for future roles. Useful possibilities
- Pairing younger employees with experienced mentors provides critical learning and development opportunities.
- Offering regular training sessions in soft skills (like communication) and technical skills relevant to their roles.
Open communication and feedback
Tips to fulfill these expectations:
- Regular feedback sessions. On top of annual reviews, hold weekly or bi-weekly 1:1 meetings or Stand-ups to give your team more consistent feedback.
- Open-door policy. Encourage managers to keep an open-door policy to facilitate informal feedback and progress discussions.
Embracing technology and innovation
Z-Gen expects workplaces to be technologically advanced and support a culture fostering creative thinking and problem-solving beyond the regularly updated software and tools initiate competitions or hackathons to encourage new ideas and technologies.
One of the dangers of treating individuals or teams based upon an assumed generational or other stereotype(s) is that the assumption may be inaccurate. There are always anomalies compared to the generalization.
The changes and innovations in digital technology of the past couple of decades, however, have generated a complex system of effects which influence the citizens of individual countries in a very similar way. Owing to general access to the Internet the same events and processes can be followed by users in any corner of the world, the same impacts and trends are observed, and a new type of global generation in the case of Z-Gen has become more valid than earlier generations.
Leading a team predominantly composed of Generation Z members necessitates a distinct set of leadership skills, tailored to their unique characteristics and professional expectations. In the current landscape where digital innovation is not just prevalent but accelerating, the arrival of Z-Gen in the workforce signals a pivotal shift in project leadership paradigms.
Therefore, it has benefits recognizing and understanding generation trends and patterns, never forget that the key to engaging and retaining quality team members is to value the individual person with concrete nature and for what they bring to the team and the organization.
Imre Szalay, PMP
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