Brian Palacios

Brian Palacios

Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

Dennie Johnson

17 October 2018

Why Baby- Boomers and Generation X Managers Should Hire Generation Z

Millennial and Generation Z workers are known to espouse different attitudes and values about work from other generations. These generational gaps, different values, and work ethics may bring about negative perceptions about these generations especially now since many of them are eligible for employment. In today’s corporate world, the HR and talent management department strives to include multiple generations in the workplace to increase diversity and to meet inclusion requirements. A multigenerational workplace faces unique challenges and opportunities for both employers and employees since they are forced to work together despite the differences in work values. There might be reluctances from the managerial staff and hiring departments to hire generation Z workers due to negative perceptions, fear of the challenges a multigenerational workplace faces, and little understanding of this generation. However, most Baby Boomers are facing retirement and exiting the workforce in large numbers, and there will be numerous gaps in employment. The corporate world should, therefore, be keen to attract and retain these young workers. All employers and firms should pay attention to this young generation since there is a shortage of skilled workers in the nation due to low birth rates and an aging workforce, generation Z workers have higher levels of education than others, and that they are more ethnoculturally diverse. This generation also has different values, attitudes, and expectations about work from other generations and report a greater amount of job and organization changes.

Who are the Millennial and Generation Z Generations? There are no precise dates for when these cohorts start or end, but many define the millennial generation as the people born between 1980 and 1995 (David Foot). The Millennials are also referred to by demographers as “Baby Boom Echo” since most of them are Baby Boomers (1946-1965) children. “Generation Z is the generation born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s”. Their parents are primarily in generation X. Every cohort shares a common place in historical time and is therefore influenced by the same events. The conceptualization of the term ‘generation’ is established in the theory of sociology of generations by Mannheim (1952) that states that members of a generation share more than just birth years, but an environment. This environment and occurrence shape their behaviors, attitudes, and norms of political, sociocultural, and economic issues.

Many managers and employers happen to be baby-boomers and/or Generation Xers, and these generations tend to have negative perceptions of the Generation Z workers. However, “the U.S. and other first world countries have been characterized by low birth rates due to lifestyle choices that are linked to economic affluence” (Nargund, 191). The aging workforce is also increasing since many Baby Boomers are retiring from their working positions. Moreover, the government is stepping up their stringent immigration policies and therefore increasing the problem of shortage of labor. Many organizations will be faced by labor shortages, and thus workforce renewal efforts should be directed to the Generation Z generation.

The generation Z have been “profoundly shaped by factors that affected their generation X parents” and guardians (Ozkan and Solmaz, 476). Due to the significance of education and its effects on quality of life being heavily pressed on the Baby Boomers and generation Xers, they have ensured that their children (generation Z) attain higher levels of education. Due to this, many persons in the generation Z are either enrolled in or plan to enroll in higher-learning institutions. These generations are also characterized by a high number of women in institutions of higher learning than other institutions. They, therefore, have higher expectations of themselves and better technical know-how than previous generations. Hiring them will, therefore, be beneficial to an organization since they do not take a long orientation system as they are equipped to work. Moreover, the generation Z cohort highly favors creativity and innovation. Due to this, they can come up with new and helpful ideas for the organization.

According to robust studies on different generations and their work ethics, generation Z workers have “different attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of work” (Cristina, 47). These two generations have been known to report high degrees of preference for extrinsic rewards. They also prefer leisure over work and also indicate a strong preference for work-life balance (Cristina, 51). Therefore, the current human resource practices to attract new employees may not necessarily attract these generations. It is consequently easier to motivate a generation Z worker since they prefer materialistic rewards to intrinsic rewards such as career growth, personal achievement, and sense of accomplishment. This group prefers tangible and specific rewards such as recognition, awards, money, or contributions to team endeavors. It is thus easier for a manager to achieve this type of rewards to an employee rather than for other generations who prefer intrinsic motivation.

The generation Z cohort also reports to wanting more exciting work and organizational changes. These groups search for working opportunities that fully engage them and that are ‘meaningful.’ They are therefore willing to cross boundaries to work in non-profit organizations and the public sectors since these organizations, through public service tasks, offer attractive opportunities for them. A study on U.S. students who expressed altruism, wanted to “do good,” and were compassionate were seen to be more interested in non-profit work. According to a study by Dr. Singh (2016), “generation Z workers may find working for the government cumbersome since the hiring process is associated with bureaucracy and inefficiency” (Singh, 1). Government agencies are also perceived to “lag behind the times” in terms of innovation and are thus unattractive. The negative attitudes on government jobs may drive the generation Z to shy away from such opportunities to the private sector and to non-profit organizations that provide a platform to work for social change to deliver public service. Therefore, Baby Boomers or generation Xers who own small firms or non-profit firms should find these generations as competent personnel.

The generation Z cohort is very ethnoculturally diverse as from the 1980s, all fifty U.S. states became more racially and ethnically diverse, although at different rates. Therefore, this generation is more likely to have gone to school with persons who are culturally, ethnically, and/or racially different from them. This cohort has therefore been more exposed to messages of inclusivity and promotion of diversity. Therefore, “individuals in generation Z are more likely to hold egalitarian views on minority groups and women” (Uche, 41). This translates to fewer workplace problems since they are more likely to respect diversity leading to better teamwork and workplace harmony.

Many employers may label the Generation Z workforce as “spoiled and entitled” since most of them have been raised in middle-class environments as the baby boomers and the generation Xers (their parents) were successful (Knapp, Weber and Moellenkamp, 138). The generation Z workforce is also more likely to change careers from the non-profit sector to more profitable sectors such as the private sector. Many baby boomers and generation Xers link this to the fact that Generation Z desires more extrinsic motivations such as better pay that may not be available in not-for-profit organizations. However, research has shown that due to many of the generation Z attaining high levels of education, then they are better suited to work across many sectors. This offers them job flexibility, and whenever a better opportunity opens up, they go for it. These generations are “sector-agonistic” reinforcing the transferability of their skills across numerous interrelated sectors.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY Cristina, Maria. “Generation Z and its Perception of Work.” Cross-Cultural Management Journal 3.1 (2016): 47-55.

Knapp, Curtis A., Christine Weber and Sarah Moellenkamp. “Challenges and strategies for incorporating Generation Z into the workplace.” Corporate Real Estate Journal 7.2 (2018): 137-148.

Nargund, G. “Declining birth rate in Developed Countries: A radical policy re-think is required.” Facts, Views & Vision: Issues in Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductive Health (2017): 191–193.

Ozkan, Mustafa and Betul Solmaz. “The Changing Face Of TheEmployees- Generation Z And Their Perceptions Of Work (A Study Applied To University Students).” Procedia Economics and Finance 2.1 (2015): 476-483.

Singh, A.P. “Understanding the generation Z: The Future Workforce.” Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 3.3 (2016): 2-46.

Uche, Sharon. “Generation Z and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Digital Commons (2017): 1-95.