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Employers will have no choice but to update management styles to help Gen Z reach their full potential.
As my colleague Dr. Naeema Pasha points out in her work, Gen Z are used to instant communication. They’ve been given continuous feedback during their education, with regular testing, followed by rewards for passing. Their parents and teachers have been very involved in their lives, and decision-making is a shared-activity. And they’re used to choice and personalisation.
They also prioritise their mental health, and it seems to me that they have a much more transactional relationship with work than previous generations – with good reason, having lived through the great financial crash, forever wars, and a cost-of-living crisis. They sense that they’re not getting as good a deal as previous generations did.
As they enter the post-covid workplace, there are questions about flexibility and autonomy that need resolving, and uncertainty about how we should use AI, with Gen Z more open to change on these topics, and many managers more conservative.
The current workplace doesn’t reflect these priorities, and I think managers will have to adapt to engage Gen Z. They’ll need to lean into instant communication platforms, continuous feedback, and more collaborative decision-making. They’ll have to work with employees to help them shape their careers to a much greater extent than before, and provide flexibility, autonomy, and choice around work projects, hours worked, and time in the office.
That said, it’s a two-way street and Gen Z will need to adapt too. Gen Zers may need to learn how to have greater patience and resilience in the face of set-backs, adapt communication styles, accept constructive feedback, embrace structure and professional norms, and learn to take ownership and initiative.
If both sides are willing to stretch – managers by evolving their leadership styles, and Gen Z by stepping up with maturity and self-awareness – there’s huge potential for progress. This generation brings creativity, conscience, and digital fluency to the table.
With the right support and the right mindset, they won’t just fit into the workplace – they’ll help redefine it for the better.
