Generation Z: A case for a different way of dealing with this slightly different generation

Essay by Christian Scholz, economic scientist and professor at Saarland University

As a convinced member of the baby boomers, I could have never imagined such a thing. For the Generation Z born after 1990, the civil service makes the top of the list of the most sought-after employers

Of course, we can give in to our knee-jerk reaction and try to reason with these young people. However, we could also ask ourselves: why did the Generation Z develop the way they did? We will discover that there are good reasons.

These young people have realised the drawbacks of excessive ambition. Unsurprisingly. Every Sunday, while watching “Tatort”, they can observe the previous Generation Y “caught between maximum acceleration and competition and minimal prospects.”

No previous generation has been so pampered and protected. “Helicopter parents”, who carry their children’s backpack all the way up to their classroom desk, are as much part of this reality, as a rigorously planned 40-hour week. And please let’s not forget ludicrous university reforms like G8 and “Bologna”.

There is something quite fantastic about this: even though the Generation Z is “quiet” and not very interested in politics, one has to admire their consistency.

They want a clear separation of private and professional and reject the meddling of so-called work-life blending. They demand some flexibility regarding their working hours, but they are sure that they do not want the top-down flexibility some corporations dream of.

This generation strives to work creatively and produce good results, instead of chasing up the ladder in an arbitrary rat race.

This begs the question: is this really a bad thing? Maybe it will take some getting used to and it definitely does not go down well with what the noisy advocates of “new work”. But a bad thing? I don’t think so.

There is absolutely no proof that this cancerous invasion of work into our personal lives actually benefits anyone, companies or ourselves. There is no proof that around-the-clock availability actually increases long-term performance. Lastly, maybe somebody can explain to me how an employee, who has worked all weekend, can be creative and innovative come Monday.

In our own interest, why don’t we try to adjust to this Generation Z, although it might take some time to get used to? I can say that from experience.

Maybe it’s a good idea to actively change our employment systems, instead of waiting for the invisible hand of hip start-up centres and the like to optimise everything from working hours to staff development.

I have a radical idea: seeing as we want to attract the Generation Z, how about we start to take their wishes seriously? Instead of explaining to them what’s important for them. Just a little tip: the Generation Y might like the idea of trust-based working hours, but the Generation Z will not have it.

Lastly: not only can we try to point out the differences between baby boomers and the generations X, Y and Z, but we can also try to make them embrace those differences. Now that would be real social innovation! Creating diversity will also result in creativity and productivity.

What do you think of that? Why don’t we just try it?