Soon, more members of Gen Z will be working full-time than Baby Boomers. Roberta Katz explains how their values and expectations will shape the future of work.
Gen Z is coming of age: By 2024, those born between 1996 and 2010 are expected to surpass Baby Boomers in the full-time workforce, according to a recent analysis by Glassdoor.
They are bringing different values, behaviors, and expectations to the office compared to previous generations, according to research by Roberta Katz, a former senior research scholar at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS). Katz, along with a team of researchers, conducted a large, multi-year study to understand what matters to Gen Z and why – findings that were compiled into a book and website.
Stanford Report interviewed Katz to discuss this research and what to expect from Gen Z in the workplace.
1. Gen Z Embraces Change
The world Gen Z grew up in is fundamentally different from that of their parents and even Millennials, who were born between the early 1980s and 1996.
Gen Z’s world has been shaped by rapid technological changes that have also altered social experiences. Disruption and change are the norms for them.
“There is an expectation of constant change,” said Katz.
Growing up in uncertain times has made Gen Z flexible and resilient. They are open to new ways of thinking about the future and doing things – and questioning the status quo, which leads to the next trait they will bring to work.
2. Gen Z is Pragmatic
Gen Z has a strong sense of self-reliance.
Gen Z lives in a world where information is just a search away. They actively seek out answers themselves (even if they’re not always correct).
They question everything and everyone – from peers to parents to colleagues. “They don’t necessarily see elders as experts,” Katz said. “They want to understand why something is done in a certain way. They’re very pragmatic.”
They are also not afraid to challenge the way things are done.
“When an older person says to them, ‘This is how you should do it,’ they want to verify that for themselves. It doesn’t mean they’re always right; it’s just a different way of understanding,” Katz explained.
3. Gen Z Wants to Make a Difference
Gen Z not only expects change – they demand it.
They are inheriting a set of complex problems – from climate change to inequality to racial injustice, to name a few – and they want to fix them. They want to work for companies they believe are making a positive impact.
Some Gen Zers will hold their employers accountable for the causes and issues that matter to them.
Katz notes that for some employers, taking a stance on politically charged or sensitive topics can be challenging. “It is impossible for most institutions that represent lots of people and identities to satisfy everybody,” Katz said.
4. Gen Z Values Collaboration and Teamwork
For some Gen Zers, the digital world helped shape their identity. Through social media and online groups, they found subcultures to connect and interact with.
They grew up with wikis – websites collaboratively built and edited by users – and fandoms – enthusiastic communities centered around a shared interest. For example, K-pop sensation BTS has its Army, Beyoncé has her Beyhive, and Taylor Swift has her Swifties.
“They’re in a posse – even with their headphones on,” Katz said.
To get things done, they value collaboration.
“There is a hope that everyone contributing is in it for the good of the whole,” Katz described. “They want to have a team spirit.”
5. Gen Z Prefers Leaders Who Guide by Consensus
Gen Z is less hierarchical than previous generations.
“They don’t believe in hierarchy for hierarchy’s sake,” Katz said. “They do believe in hierarchy where it is useful.”
Gen Zers prefer leadership based on expertise that is specific to the task or time. This could mean they favor management where team members take turns leading (a “rotating leadership” model) or “collaborative leadership,” where people from across the organization participate in decision-making and problem-solving.
Transparency is also important.
Gen Zers value consensus and look for leaders who serve the group (known as “service leadership”).
6. Gen Z Cares About Mental Health and Work-Life Balance
Gen Z grew up during a time when the traditional 9-to-5 work schedule blurred, and flexible work models emerged – a trend that led older generations to feel the pressure to always be “on.”
“Work and home life are so integrated that if you don’t pay attention, you could be working all the time,” said Katz. “I think Gen Z is sensitive to that.”
Maintaining a work-life balance and prioritizing mental and physical health is important to Gen Z.
“They value the human experience and recognize that life is more than work,” Katz said.
7. Gen Z Thinks Differently About Loyalty
Because Gen Z grew up amid constant change, they have a different perspective on loyalty.
But as Katz pointed out, “they also grew up with workplaces not being very loyal to their employees.”
Gen Zers were raised in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008, an event with long-lasting impacts on employment. “People used to work for big companies their entire careers, expecting health insurance and other benefits,” Katz said.
However, after the 2008 recession and more recently following the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have cut labor costs and perks. Mass layoffs have also been common.
“There’s a reason employees don’t feel the same degree of loyalty,” Katz said.
Additionally, the gig economy and contract work have been prevalent throughout Gen Zers’ lives. They are entrepreneurial, which aligns with their pragmatic nature.
8. Gen Z Looks for Trust and Authenticity
Gen Z values authenticity.
“Authenticity is about trust,” Katz said. “Words and actions need to match.”
Honesty and openness are important.
For Katz, mutually respectful communication is key. “My bottom line to employers is to stay open to hearing different ways to get things done, because Gen Z has one foot in the future.”
Katz is an associate vice president for strategic planning, emerita, and currently holds a strategic role with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. She is also vice chair of the board of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS).
Katz studied Gen Z as part of a multi-year CASBS research project with Sarah Ogilvie, a linguist at the University of Oxford; Jane Shaw, a historian and principal of Harris Manchester College at Oxford; and Linda Woodhead, a sociologist at King’s College London. The research was funded by the Knight Foundation.
From 2004 to 2017, Katz served under Stanford University Presidents John Hennessy and Marc Tessier-Lavigne as associate vice president for strategic planning and in 2017 as interim chief of staff.
