Companies are learning that Gen Z isn’t the easiest generation to work with

As companies continue to grapple with an uncertain economy, layoffs, and the push and pull of return-to-office plans, they’re facing another, potentially larger challenge: figuring out how to engage and manage new Gen Z workers.

By 2025, Gen Z will account for one-third of the workforce, according to the World Economic Forum. Yet attracting, managing, and retaining these younger workers will take a different approach, according to Tara Salinas, a professor of business ethics at the University of San Diego. While this generation has well-honed technological skills, she said organizations will need to accommodate a decided lack of other competencies that are necessary to be successful.

“Gen Z are digital natives and they’ve always communicated online, so their interpersonal skills, or soft skills, have suffered,” said Salinas. “They took an even bigger hit because of Covid-19, and it has shifted the way that we need to interact with them in the workplace.”

Companies need to refine their approach to working with Gen Z, Salinas said, and tech tools like ChatGPT and social media like TikTok could help make them successful. Mentorship programs and organizational culture will also be important.

Gen Z may be the first generation to enter the workforce with native digital skills, but Salinas said that’s at the expense of in-person communication and interpersonal dynamics, which don’t come easy to them. To manage these workers effectively and set them up for success, companies need to meet them where they are.

In return, Gen Z can provide companies with indispensable knowledge of social media and newer artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

“Companies are missing an awesome opportunity if they aren’t playing into the skills that this generation has,” Salinas said.

Of course, ChatGPT isn’t going to be the last…