The path forward: Adapting to Gen Z
We’ve been here before
Work if shifting. What made sense in the 1950s - stability in exchange for loyalty - didn’t survive the restructuring of the 1980s and 90s. Whole sectors were erased, long hours became the norm, and the balance shifted away from individuals and toward organizations.
The pandemic changed the picture again. Remote, hybrid, and flexible work proved viable, and many people found they worked better that way. Some organizations adjusted. Others held on to older expectations. Some even doubled down – a dizzying example emerging with some AI startups now implementing "9-9-6 schedules" - 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
This leaves us in a not-unfamiliar paradigm shift, and Gen Z is entering the workforce in the middle of it. The choices they’re making already suggest the balance is tilting back toward the individual. And it's not surprising.
They’ve grown up watching burnout, layoffs, and instability hit people who had done everything right. So when extreme schedules resurface and companies have nothing new to offer, they opt out. Not from entitlement, but from what they’ve seen.
And the things they're asking for like sustainable workloads, mental-health support, and work-life balance – match up with many issues organizations have been struggling with for years. Burnout, disengagement, and slipping productivity aren’t new. Gen Z is simply naming them. I'd argue they’re pointing us back to fundamentals we should have paid attention to earlier.
Whatever you do, don’t panic
My advice to organizations is simple: stop fixating on “Gen Z" and start examining the environment you’ve built. Every generation arrives with new expectations. It's not a crisis or cue to get our hackles up. It’s normal. The companies that thrive treat each generational shift (or any outside change) as an opportunity to adapt, and this era is no different.
Where to start you ask?
Well, the path forward isn’t complicated, but it does require clarity and intent.
1. Get clear on values
Older management models were built on compliance: you told people what to do, and they did it. Gen Z doesn’t respond to control or micromanagement. Control is enough if you want to maintain (or succumb to) the status quo, but it’s not enough if you want to adapt.
What Gen Z does respond to are values. They want to know who they’re working for, what they're contributing to, and feel a sense of purpose in their workplace - one that aligns with their personal ethos. They’re unusually direct – sometimes to a fault – but we can learn from them how to embrace the need for clarity at all levels.
I’d encourage organizations to get clear on theirs since it has a real trickledown effect for the company.
Ask yourself:
Do we have clear, meaningful values?
Can people genuinely connect with them?
Are those values visible in our behavior — or only on paper?
Values shape the culture whether you name them or not. Best to name them well.
2. Invest in capability
Too many organizations respond to generational gaps with superficial perks. Gen Z will see right through that. What they want is growth, autonomy, flexibility, and direction.
Build a culture where people feel inspired to diversify their skillset, encouraged to learn and stretch their abilities, and given the tools to do so. That reduces turnover, builds confidence across the whole workforce, and lifts the bar for leadership.
Deloitte’s Gen Z and Millennial survey created quite a buzz with the response that many in Gen Z don’t aspire to reach leadership positions. Maybe that changes if we rethink how we develop them. Who knows what leadership will look like by the time they reach that point, and training that resonates could inspire possibilities they can believe in.
3. Make managers the differentiator
The manager relationship is still the #1 predictor of performance, engagement, and retention - across every generation.
Ask whether your managers can:
Set and communicate clear expectations
Give timely, honest feedback – even if it's tough
Coach problem solving (not micromanage, not abandon)
Model healthy work-life boundaries
These are skills of good management and create healthy dynamics where teams thrive, Gen Z included. When managers aren’t equipped with the core skills of people leadership, it’s not a Gen Z problem. It’s a system issue. Which is really an organizational issue.
4. The workplace as a product
Gen Z grew up in a world where everything is designed for usability - apps, services, and experiences.
Work should be no different.
Ask:
Are workflows intuitive?
Are tools modern and efficient?
Are we streamlining, or clinging to the way things have always been?
Are systems designed to help people succeed?
Treat the workplace like a product and design it with the user in mind. Make work work better and you'll see productivity increase across every age group.
5. Build purpose
Gen Z doesn’t need you to roll out the red carpet. They need visibility. They want to see that their work matters. Show them how their day-to-day work directly impacts what the business cares about - how their role supports customers, their team, and company goals. And reward them for it, compensate them fairly. If you're offering an empty hand, you can't expect to attract top performers from any generation, let alone Gen Z.
When people understand the “why,” they bring more creativity and initiative.
6. Support diversity
Diversity isn't a "nice to have" or some sop to wokeness. It’s simply an expectation of the talent market now. Many Gen Z workers grew up in environments on and offline where a wide mix of identities, cultures, and ways of thinking was the norm. A significant number also identify as neurodivergent, which means they're acutely aware when workplaces are built around one “standard” type of person.
The question for any organization is whether you’re actually creating a place where different kinds of people can succeed. And even closer to home: are you?
Some suggestions:
Offer a choice in how people work and communicate (written, verbal, in-person, or async).
Build systems that don’t assume there’s one “right” way to operate (evaluating outcomes rather than working style, allowing varied problem-solving approaches).
Make workspaces accessible for different needs (physical adjustments, flexible workstation setups, quiet spaces).
What does the future hold?
Well I don’t have a crystal ball, but after watching a few cycles of work rise, fall, and reinvent I’m confident about one thing: organizations that put their people at the center tend to weather change better than those that don’t. When companies focus on the fundamentals like clarity, capability, inclusion, respect - their people adapt faster, lead better, and stay longer. The so-called “future of work” is really just rediscovering what makes work healthy.
If Gen Z is the one holding up that mirror, I think it’s worth paying attention to what we see.