TECH AT WORK

Gen Z workers demand flexibility, don’t want to be stuffed in a cubicle

The young generation of professionals is entering the workforce with new demands — including increased flexibility, wellness perks and authenticity — shaped by their experiences during the height of the pandemic

By Danielle Abril
August 11, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

When Ginsey Stephenson moved to San Francisco for work in February, she finally met and mixed with her colleagues for the first time. It was something the 23-year-old had longed for since entering the professional world out of college seven months prior. ... The boutique public relations firm she works for follows a hybrid schedule of three days in the office per week, meaning she no longer has to nervously message people on Slack she had never met in person. Most importantly, being in the office has helped her transition from working from her parents’ Virginia home — much like she did in school — to life as a working adult.

“I actually love going into the office — it feels more organic,” Stephenson said. “But I don’t know how anyone went into the office every day. I don’t know if we were cut out to work in a pre-covid world.”

[For some workers, office mandates aren’t just a pain. They’re harmful.]

Stephenson represents a generation entering the labor market at a time when businesses and employees are redefining work and the workplace after the pandemic hit. Unlike the generations that came before, one of the biggest struggles for the new crop of professionals is interpersonal connections and relationships in the workplace, after the pandemic left them isolated during some pivotal years of development. To Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012, as defined by Pew Research Center, and also known as Zoomers — money may not always be the top job priority. Instead, their list includes flexibility to work from the office and remotely, wellness and mental health initiatives as well as meaningful work and culture. And many are willing to job hop to find the best fit.

For employers, accommodating these preferences may become increasingly important. Gen Z workers are expected to more than triple to 87 million people by 2030 in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, accounting for 30 percent of total employment, according to a study by Oxford Economics. ... “We’re seeing this young cohort of workers demand that employers care about them as whole people,” said Linda Jingfang Cai, vice president of talent development at LinkedIn. “And the ability to understand their career path is worth more than a paycheck.”

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By Danielle Abril
Danielle Abril covers technology and its impact on workers across industries for The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/DanielleDigest