More than half workers in the 18–24 age group say they are planning to switch jobs in the next year. … [+]
Gen Z has had enough. A recent Adobe survey of 5,500 workers found that 56% of those ages 18–24 say they are planning to switch jobs in the next year. Research from Microsoft and Bankrate backs this up, reporting that 54% and 77% of Gen Zs, respectively, are thinking about quitting.
Though statements do not always line up with actions, there may be reason to take these workers seriously: A record 4 million Americans quit their jobs in April, twice the number who quit in April of the previous year. An additional 3.9 million quit in June.
Anthony Klotz, a business professor at Texas A&M University, has deemed this “The Great Resignation” — a term that has caught fire in recent months. “Many employees only stay at their jobs because the costs of leaving are higher than the costs of staying,” he explained, “and this ratio has shifted for many workers over the past year.” Klotz said the costs of staying have risen due to burnout, while the costs of quitting have decreased due to unexpected pandemic savings cushions.
How can leaders avoid this exodus?
How can they show their younger employees, in particular, that they are valued — and that they have room to grow?
How can they make their companies somewhere Gen Z workers will not want to leave?
1. Prioritize Passion & Purpose
After discovering that nearly half of America’s workforce is job searching or keeping an eye out for new opportunities, researchers from Gallup concluded that “the great resignation is really the great discontent.” Rather than being an issue with pay or industry, the researchers said: “The pandemic changed the way people work and how they view work … Reversing the tide in an organization requires managers who care, who engage, and who give workers a sense of purpose.”
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That last sentence is of particular importance, as the Adobe survey found that half of enterprise employees would like to spend more time at work pursuing their passions (53%). It is up to leaders to provide that space, especially for their younger workers. “It’s like this fluctuation in social expectations of Gen Z,” explained Jason Del Gandio, a professor of communications and social influence at Temple University. “When you live through the first Black president, I think it’s going to affect how you perceive race relations. Gen Z’s also lived through the legalization of same sex marriage and lived through the first and second iteration of Black Lives Matter. Along with the climate catastrophe, that’s a lot to deal with.”
Due to their lived experiences, Gen Z workers expect both meaning and purpose at work — and leaders must figure out how to give it to them. As Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, wrote: “It’s clear that this #GreatReshuffle conversation is not just about how we work, but why we work. It’s about employers too, as they innovate to attract and retain talent with a new level of focus on employee fulfillment — which, ultimately, will help drive better business outcomes.”
2. Banish Busy Work
One of the chief issues ushered in by the pandemic was the need for newly-remote workers to “look busy,” particularly for those who were young and relatively unproven. Half (51%) of remote employees, one study showed, were worried their manager “had doubts about their productivity,” leading 44% to work longer hours and 37% to skip lunch breaks. Adobe’s research, too, found that 57% of Gen Zs felt pressure to be reachable at all hours, the most of any age group.
Even worse, workers in Adobe’s study estimated they spent one-third of their workweek on mundane, repetitive tasks, with 86% saying such tasks get in the way of doing their jobs effectively. These workplace patterns are what will lead to burnout, and eventually, to disengagement and attrition; as it stands, 58% of Gen Zs are reporting burnout in 2021, up from 47% in 2020. Leaders, therefore, should strive to banish such busy work — especially if employees are merely performing such tasks so they appear productive while working remotely.
Leaders should also adopt technologies that reduce the need for such administrative duties in the first place, allowing employees more room to excel at their specialties, remain engaged in their roles, and achieve work-life balance. As Adobe’s Todd Gerber told FORTUNE: “People are motivated by passions that led them to pursue their career, and they don’t want to spend most of their week on paperwork. Younger generations grew up with digital technology and are accustomed to its simplicity, so they know there are better and faster ways of doing things.”
3. Screw the 9-to-5
Of the workers in Adobe’s study who plan to switch jobs in the next year, 61% called “more control over their schedules” a priority. This applies to Gen Zs in particular, as only 62% say their most productive hours fall between 9 am and 6 pm. Translation: It is time for leaders to abandon the stale idea of the mandatory 9-to-5 — not only is it stifling young employees, but it is not leading to productivity gains either.
In fact, 62% of Gen Zs say they “feel pressure to appear working during office hours, even when I know I won’t be productive.” As discussed in the section above, that need to appear busy serves neither employer nor employee. It would behoove leaders to instead listen to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who said: “Over the past year, no area has undergone more rapid transformation than the way we work. Employee expectations are changing, and we will need to define productivity much more broadly … All this needs to be done with flexibility in when, where, and how people work.”
While many companies have embraced the idea of remote working — the “where” that Nadella addresses — fewer have successfully implemented flexibility in terms of the “when” and “how.” Leaders should use the threat of “The Great Resignation” as an impetus to adapt, encouraging managers to embrace greater asynchronicity and a greater focus on output over input. (Prioritizing results-oriented performance will naturally lead to a reduction in busy work, as well.)
The rules for managing people have dramatically changed. Even in these turbulent times, the key to retaining Gen Z employees is not a mystery. Retention requires an intentional commitment to responding to their unique needs and demands. The war for talent is imminently pressuring leaders to provide their next gen employees: 1) the space to unpack social action debates; 2) the sensitivity to avoid burnout by minimizing mindless administrative duties and offering greater workplace flexibility; and 3) the awareness of “hearing” them, followed by expressions of value and gratitude.
