The topic on everyone’s mind: Are you a Gen Z worker? actually different?
TechCrunch wanted to find out at this year’s Disrupt 2024. We spoke with SignalFire’s Heather Doshay, Comprehensive.io’s Roger Lee, and Capital G’s Lauren Illovsky about how to hire and retain talent. One topic that emerged was how different younger workers are from older workers.
“It was the same for millennials, right?” Illosvky asked from the stage. “I remember when boomers criticized millennials. Now millennials are criticizing Generation Z. I love Generation Z too. I think I appreciate how much they push the envelope and force us to think.”
She said employers may feel frustrated about that or try to see the world from a different perspective, and how that could impact what Gen Z can bring to the table. Doshay said this generation has been in the workforce for at least five years. This means they face a labor market affected by the pandemic. economic uncertainty; Mass layoffs in tech.
“As we can see from our early data, there is a lack of loyalty among Gen Zers,” Doshay said, adding that his company’s report found that Gen Zers stay in the workforce an average of 1.1 years longer than other generations. The older generation has spent decades at the company. “It challenges you to do better,” she said. “How do we retain these people and keep them longer?”
At the same time, she said that it was still too early. Generation Z’s behavior may evolve over time as the workforce changes. “I think it’s really important to have that perspective on the workforce and have a very diverse group of people,” she said. “If your consumer base reflects Gen Z, you want to make sure your workforce has that DNA, too.”
Lee said Generation Z values transparency much more than other generations. Today, young people talk openly about their salaries and post videos of themselves getting fired on TikToks. Lee said companies need to find ways to be more transparent with their employees. Doing so can help you stand out from companies that don’t.
Of course, we had to ask about Keith Rabois’ currently trending video in which he talks about not hiring anyone over 30. Without naming names, we talked about the concept of age discrimination and how it actually harms companies. Illovsky said companies need to have a workforce of different ages, which requires a variety of skills. Doshay said older people tend to be more engaged in the workplace and reminded the audience that it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age. In fact, not hiring anyone over 30 probably means most of your audience won’t hire themselves, she said.
“And since when was 30 the standard?” Mr. Lee jokingly added: “That’s kind of insulting.”
