Insider Finance - Business - Insider Today: Debunking Gen Z at work

October 21, 2023 • 5 min read

with Diamond Naga Siu

Welcome to Saturday, friends. Apologies if you live in Mississippi, Louisiana, or New Mexico — a new report found they’re among the most stressed states in the US. Hopefully, you get some time to relax this weekend.

In today’s big story, we’re looking at how Gen Zers (including myself) are big advocates of living a balanced life and pushing a variety of changes in the workplace.

What’s on deck

But first, Gen Zers dish on Gen Z at work.

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Marianne Ayala/Insider

The big story

Meet Gen Z at work

Gen Z is rattling the workforce with the changes they ask for. 

While some of the requests have rubbed people the wrong way, many are in line with the extreme changes society has undergone. I reported on this dynamic with my colleague Tim Paradis. 

“Fundamentally your experiences shape your expectations,” Maia Ervin, the chief impact officer at Gen Z firm JUV Consulting, told me. 

Many members of Gen Z have experienced life-altering events from a young age: school shootings, the Covid-19 pandemic, a post-9/11 world, and more.

This generation also witnessed their predecessors (millennials) work incredibly hard. Yet they now struggle with achieving happiness and stability factors like work-life balance and home ownership.

“Gen Z is asking ‘I want to lead, live and grow all at the same time,’” Zaria Parvez, the senior global social media manager at Duolingo, told me. “I don't want to wait until I'm retired to have a work-life balance. I don't want to wait until I'm older to learn how to be a good leader.”

This desire to have a work-life balance has led to common (and erroneous) preconceived notions that all Gen Zers are lazy and don’t want to work.

Chelsea Jia Feng/Insider

That’s not to say Gen Z doesn’t have its issues in the workplace.

There are real knowledge gaps for Gen Z regarding day-to-day interactions like workplace jargon and getting tasks done in a professional environment.

“I think that folks are very frustrated with Gen Z but are also forgetting that it is your responsibility to upskill and train them, because they're your employees,” Ervin told me.

Some major companies have started training programs to bridge these disconnects for younger workers. They’re teaching soft skills like appropriate work attire or how to make small talk in an elevator.

Rebecca Fagan, a senior audit associate at KPMG, found the trainings at her firm useful. For instance, there was a focus on how to write professional emails, showing examples of good and bad ones.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I thought I knew how to write a good email.’ But I definitely learned tips from that,” Fagan told Tim. “Things that I thought might have been self-explanatory, but they really weren't until I really sat and thought about it.”

This type of intergenerational collaboration is important for progress in the workplace and producing good work, which means communication and collaboration are key.

“It's important to not isolate generations in workplaces,” Parvez told me. “Intergenerational movement building is really important for disruption. And there's different ways to appeal to different generations in those workplaces to make that happen.”

3 things in

Travel

Wolfgang Kaehler/Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Image

1. Skip these six popular US cities for their lesser-known neighbors. Popular places like Seattle and Chicago get lots of love from tourists. But that makes them overcrowded and overpriced. Try neighboring towns like Spokane and Milwaukee instead for a cheaper, less stressful trip.

2. Packing light: Make sure every item you pack can be worn at least three ways. A personal stylist who travels often for work with just a carry-on revealed her top way to keep things light. She sometimes has to finish packing within minutes.

3. The top mistakes tourists make in Las Vegas. A local revealed not venturing beyond the Las Vegas Strip and renting a car are among the biggest mistakes tourists make.

3 things in

Careers

iStock; Insider

1. Return-to-office appears to be winning. The proportion of people working from home has dropped to the lowest since the pandemic started. Now, only around a quarter of households have at least one regular remote worker.

2. Meet the average ChatGPT user. They’re typically a millennial with a college degree who is secretly submitting writing tasks done with ChatGPT. Plus, they’re a little concerned the tech will replace their job.

3. Office dystopia: where everyday work can feel irrelevant as global conflict rages. Some workers experience a sense of numbness as they return to the office this fall. Seemingly mundane tasks at work juxtaposed with tough news cycles can kick in people’s fight, flight, or freeze instincts.

3 things in

Life

Getty Images

1. Gen Z is shopping less and eating more at home amid inflation. This spending pattern will likely continue into the next year. They cited the high cost of living for the pullback. Plus, more than half of the survey respondents said they don't have enough in their emergency savings.

2. The Costco effect: other stores are starting to offer free samples. Walmart and other stores and brands are taking Costco’s lead of offering free samples as an alternative to advertising. It’s becoming more popular now that paid ads aren’t working as well as they used to.

3. “I tried a 10-minute Arnold Schwarzenegger-approved bodyweight workout.” His daily Pump Club newsletter recommended a workout called 10/10. And it only involves 10 minutes of bodyweight exercises and a 10-minute work — perfect if you're busy and can't be bothered to exercise. 

In other news

NBC NewsWire / Contributor

For your bookmarks

Ina Garten desserts

“I made 6 of Ina Garten's most popular desserts, and the best one was the easiest to make.” They include a blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake and a mocha chocolate icebox cake.

News Quiz

Answers for the quiz from Friday's edition

Let me know how you did at insidertoday@insider.com.

The Insider Today Saturday team

Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor, in New York City. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York City.

Get in touch

insidertoday@insider.com

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