Gone are the days when boss is boss and employee is employee. Whilst this culture was acceptable in the years past, it is no longer applicable.
I have always considered myself as a Hybrid Generation. I fit into Generations across the board, from baby boomers to Gen-Z. The key is understanding the culture of the respective generations and have the flexibility to adapt to it.
Treating Gen-YZ’s these days, in my opinion, require these 3 key factors:
- Openness
- No segregation of ranks
- Make it fun & exciting
Generation YZ are what I call adrenaline lovers. They want everything fast, fun and exciting. So forget about beating around the bush and observe the above 3 points:
Openness
Be a friend. Communicate. Share. Take a criticism. Yes, even bosses. Take that thing on your chin (it won’t kill you, in fact it is great if they are telling you the truth). There is no holier than thou or I know better than you mentality. In all fairness, it is quite possible that Gen YZ knows more and learns faster than prior generations. So let’s sharing honestly and openly for the benefit of all
No Segregation of Ranks
Look. Gen YZ folks are not disrespectful of ranks. Rather they like intimacy and freedom to communicate and fellowship like “friends”, rather than bosses. They know ranks. They recognise ranks but they appreciate the willingness and initiatives shown by bosses to stand on the same footing as them. Just this morning, I sat on the floor with them and chatted. No boss is too big to sit on a floor 😀
Make it Fun & Exciting
Current Generation is all about instant gratification. Fast, fun, exciting appeals to them most. Do not beat around the bush. Anyway, I am with the young. Why waste time on mundane stuff. Remember YOLO? Let’s have a ball of fun since we are gonna do it anyway.
So the saying Generation YZ’s are difficult to manage or comprehend is not a fact. It is a myth. The actual issue is we are not understanding them enough and speak their language. Rather than complain about their inability to understand or work with us, let us adapt ourselves to them.
Change is good…..unless you are a tree. LOL