Well, you had better listen up, because by 2030 they will comprise 74% of the workforce!!
(Millennials 1983 – 1994 The oldest Millennial is now 42 years old)
(Gen Z 1995 – 2006 The youngest Gen Z is now 19 years old)
Firstly, what gives me the right to preach about how best to lead, manage and get the best from these young adults? Well:
- 84% of all of my new employees over the last 15 years have been in their 20’s
- The common Millennial/Gen Z tenure at Peoplogica is greater than 4 years
- I absolutely love working with Millennials and Gen Z (and I am in my 60’s)
- I have assisted many of our clients navigate the challenges they have created by not effectively leading and managing Millennials and Gen Z
Deloitte just released the “2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey” (download), which, in my opinion, is a highly noteworthy study about their pursuit of money, meaning, and well-being and a must-read for all senior management teams. Below I have summarised some of the key findings:
THEY DON’T WANT TO BE LEADERS
In short, they are not interested in it. Only 6% of Gen Z say that their primary career goal is to reach a leadership position. Yes, I was surprised as well. But to confuse this issue even further, the report also cited that their strongest reasons for choosing an employer were:
- + Good work/life balance
- + Opportunities to progress
- + Learning and development
So, if learning and development are so important to them, but they don’t want the responsibility of a leadership role, how can employers possibly satisfy both requirements? And, even more importantly, how are we going to develop our future leaders and ensure we have enough of them to satisfy future requirements?
I believe that this challenge needs to be directly addressed through highly capable leadership, especially at the mid-manager and supervisor levels. Your people leaders need to understand that development can be functional OR leadership and that they need to better understand each direct report’s definition of what “development and training” they actually want. They should not assume that high performers want to climb the leadership ladder, and they certainly should not assume that they want more responsibility.
Action # 1: Active communication and development action plans will be the key to unlock the future potential of Millennials & Gen Z
THEIR DRIVER IS “PURPOSE”
Their foundation for overall happiness is Money, Meaning & Well-Being, but 89% of Gen Z & 92% of Millennials state that “Purpose” is most important for job satisfaction. Considering that job satisfaction is the major driver of employee engagement, discretionary effort and retention, this is an area that senior leadership teams need to focus on.
31% of Gen Z & 17% of Millennials plan to leave their current employer within the next 2 years. But their penchant for job hopping isn’t driven by a lack of loyalty; these young adults view it as a strategy to:
- + Seek stability,
- + Achieve a better work/life balance,
- + Achieve a greater sense of purpose, and
- + An opportunity to learn and acquire new skills
So, when you consider the impact on retention of high-performing talent, the importance of ensuring Millennials and Gen Z feel a sense of purpose becomes an even greater priority.
Action # 2: Understand your employees’ attributes, abilities and passions and then ensure they have “fit” to their job (an alignment of heart, mind and soul)
THEY ARE DEALING WITH HIGH LEVELS OF ANXIETY & STRESS
These two generations are displaying higher levels of stress and anxiety than any previous generation. You could certainly argue that these higher levels of stress/anxiety are because of the impact of social media, but you could also argue that the parenting style and school system they were raised under also had a substantial impact. But whatever the cause for each individual, the impact in the workplace is cataclysmic.
This study reveals that 40% of Gen Z & 34% of Millennials say they feel stressed or anxious all or most of the time, and that the workplace is the major source of stress in 1/3rd of this group. Citing long work hours, lack of recognition and toxic workplaces as the principal reasons. Compounding this issue is that 26% of Gen Z worry that their manager would discriminate against them if they raised their mental health concerns.
Action # 3: There is an urgent need for all managers and supervisors to better understand how to talk, without judgment, about mental health with their direct reports
WHAT DO THEY EXPECT FROM THEIR MANAGERS?
It should come as no surprise that managers are not in tune with the expectations of Gen Z & Millennials (why should it come as no surprise? Simply because most, and by most I mean nearly all, organisations do not invest in leadership development of their team leaders, supervisors and mid-managers).
The study found that young adults in the workplace want their supervisors and managers to provide them with:
- + Guidance and support,
- + Inspiration and motivation,
- + Mentoring, and
- + Assistance setting boundaries to ensure adequate Work/Life Balance
What they actually get are managers who are focused on closely overseeing (micro-managing) day-to-day tasks.
Interestingly, a previous Deloitte study (download) found that managers know that this is happening, and they know there is a gap because they claim that:
- + 40% of their time is spent resolving immediate problems and administrative tasks,
- + Only 13% of their time is spent on the development of their direct reports, and
- + A mind blowing 36% of managers do not believe they are sufficiently prepared to be people managers (let alone people leaders)
Action # 4: There is a chronic need for the development of leadership capability to assist managers to be adequately prepared for the people leadership aspects of their jobs
SUMMARY
If Millennials and Gen Z are to be our future innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders, we urgently need to better understand their motivations so that we can best assist the development of the skills and leadership capabilities to position them for future success.
The four action points above have a common theme. We need to develop better leadership capability and communication skills in all of our existing team leads, supervisors and managers. By increasing the capacity of our current people managers, we can then develop a strong base and platform for our future leaders; the clock is ticking, and we are already behind where we should be. Start by investigating new technologies, such as MultiRater Surveys, that streamline leadership development programs for all people management positions at an affordable investment. But whatever you decide to do, start now!!
For further information on how to maximise Millennial and Gen Z outcomes, please either email (info@peoplogica.com) or give us a call +61 2 9936 9000
Thank you to Deloitte for their research papers and the data we have incorporated into this article:
Written by Mark Purbrick
