Is Generation Zs workplace disruption a positive change?

Any parent will relate to the following observation: children spend the majority of their childhood years saying…I wish I was a teenager. Teenagers spend the majority of their teenage years saying…I wish I was an adult. Adults spend the majority of their years saying…I wish I was a child again. But does this analogy apply to Generation Z?

The reality of life is that when young adults enter into the workforce, they begin to realise that all of the years that they spent in their youth fighting the system to have their voice heard is compounded even more when they get their first corporate job. While this trend was true for generations past, Generation Z workers are proving to be the ultimate disrupters…even when it comes to influencing the future of the workplace.

Taking a step back to profile Generation Z

It is prudent to take a step back and analyse what we already know about Generation Z:

• they are the clients of the future;
• they are obsessed with instant gratification and are dialled into social movements such as Net Zero and environmental and social governance (ESG);
• they spend with their feet. If they feel that the company that manufactured their toothpaste are not good for the environment, they will change; and
• this generation was Covid ready before anyone else. As digital natives, they have embraced the world of online shopping and have accelerated its growth.

This is what we know about Generation Z as consumers. This information is important as it provides companies (manufacturers and retailers) with key insights into what their future operational models should look like.

Before we move forward, we now need to ask ourselves how Generation Zs will impact the future of the workplace. Not only are Generation Zs the client of the future, but they are also the workforce of the future, and if you think they are going to shelve their personalities for eight hours a day while they are at work, you are wrong.

I recently read an article by News24 which takes a look at the way this generation is influencing the future of work.

Wise beyond their years

The News24 article points out that the next biggest group of consumers entering the workforce don’t think like any other generation. These “wise” digital natives are frustrated as the biggest milestones in their young lives were disrupted by the pandemic. They are changing how companies should work, what investments should look like, and who can influence behaviours.

Speaking at a recently held webinar, Dion Chang said, “I say to people that are dealing with these new customers, never underestimate a digital native because they are wise beyond their years,”

Dion Chang is a Trends Expert and is the Founder of Flux Trends.

Generation Z, “the class of 2020”

The News24 article pointed out that Chang cited several cases where Generation Z, some as young as 15, has litigated against authorities in the US, Australia and the UK – and won.

In one case, eight Australian climate activists in high school took that country’s minister of environmental affairs to court over a coal mine extension. They won. The government appealed and, in March, the court overturned the decision – but the teenagers vowed to keep fighting.

In another case, 25-year-old Mark McVeigh from Brisbane successfully sued his investment company, Rest Super Fund, for not mitigating climate risks on his portfolio. 

The article adds that Chang calls Generation Z the class of 2020 because their young lives were truly disrupted by the pandemic. They’ve attended university virtually, missing out on a campus experience for most of the past two years. Some have joined the workforce, but they are yet to meet their colleagues in real life. They were thrust into the world of virtual work from the beginning of their careers.

In addition, the pandemic created unprecedented financial setbacks for many. Some were forced to move back with their parents because of job losses, and they were not impressed. Many are still trying to pay off their loans and can’t afford to buy their own homes. Life is generally frustrating for them. And from that frustration, a fighting spirit has emerged.

Disruptive, entrepreneurial and non-conforming

The News24 article points out that Generation Z is starting disruptive businesses as a means to survive. They are doing what retailers said wasn’t possible, such as the 24-year-old entrepreneur Godiragetse Mogajane, from Hammanskraal, who started the WhatsApp-driven Delivery Ka Speed when the likes of Uber Eats and Mr D left his township out in the cold.

“There’s a very strong entrepreneurial spirit [among Generation Z]. By the time they are mature enough to get a job, they’ve probably already tried one or two of their own businesses at home,” said Chang.

If they are not taking the entrepreneurial route, they are already joining government cabinets, like Namibia’s 23-year-old deputy ICT minister, Emma Inamutila Theofelus. Some, called the TikTok Traders, are even buying stocks with the little money they have. According to Nasdaq’s research, 73% of Gen Z already owns stocks globally. Cryptocurrency also ranks high, with 47% of it owned by Generation Z.

“I’ve been studying Generation Z long before they started coming of age, because I knew that the first digital natives of humanity are going to change the game fundamentally for businesses,” said Chang.

The article points out that this is even more so for Africa, where for a long time it was thought to be a Millennial continent, but now the median age is 19. So, for African-based companies, these are the clients that businesses and corporations – that are looking to generate revenues from this young continent – are starting to deal with.

Futures strategist John Sanei said the world was currently experiencing the biggest transformation that any of us has ever experienced.

How do companies adjust?

Last week, we discussed that agility is one of the key components that companies need to embrace when gearing themselves towards the future of work.

How do companies change their operational models?

• most companies will be hard at work addressing the impacts of the global supply chain crisis. There is a significant movement towards a more localised supplier base where raw materials or finished products are readily available and not transported over great distances. Not only does this improve the company’s ability to produce a product, it also addresses the Generation Z concern of the carbon footprint that is involved in the production of the product. As one Forbes article pointed out: Generation Z customers naturally gravitate towards companies such as Amazon but are concerned about the carbon footprint involved in the production and delivery of their tube of toothpaste;
• every company will need to increase their focus on ESG. At a recent animal rights protest a farmer pointed out to a protester that they want to effectively kill the dairy industry and that many communities in the dairy farming heartland of Australia (where the protest was held) are built off the back of dairy farming. While the farmer has a point, it is not going to stop protesters from pushing the ESG agenda. Many communities in South Africa are built off the back of the mining industry, Mpumalanga off coal and the North West off platinum. South African companies need to ask: what does ESG investment look like for this company and what steps are we taking towards this?
• finally, how are companies becoming more attractive to Generation Z workers?  Ticking the right boxes when it comes to addressing the two major crises of our time (the supply chain crisis and ESG investing) is a good start; however, the hard work does not stop there.  From receptionists to mid-level managers, Generation Z workers need to feel as if they are making an impact on society so your company cannot just be focused on profit over anything else.

When it comes to the business rescue/turnaround profession, the average age of turnaround professionals is concerning. How can we future proof businesses when the average age of turnaround professionals is above 50 years old? It is the same conundrum of being a futurist when you are not a digital native. We need to be giving young turnaround professionals more opportunities to gain experience and build careers in the industry. A few companies are taking joint appointments with young professionals, perhaps this needs to be an industry requirement when appointing a turnaround professional to carry out a business rescue or business turnaround?