Lazy, uncommitted, disrespectful: 3 myths about Gen Z workers – and the reality

Soon after joining her company, Ms Natalie (not her real name), a 21-year-old intern handling manpower resources, was tasked with organising a farewell party for a colleague who was leaving.

Ms Natalie, who declined to provide her real name as she is not authorised to speak to the media, was eager to throw a great party for everyone.

For a start, she reached out to the colleague who was soon departing the company to ask whether she had any dietary restrictions, but this message went unanswered.

And so, at a subsequent meeting with this colleague, Ms Natalie decided to bring it up again.

Ms Natalie was horrified when that colleague then berated her in front of another team member who was also in the meeting, saying she had "no brain" for discussing the party with the person for whom the farewell was being thrown.

The colleague then claimed she had not received Ms Natalie's message, and even added: "Wow, kids these days don't think at all."

Reflecting on the incident, Ms Natalie said she feels it was unfair that she was insulted for her efforts.

Furthermore, her colleague's comments about "kids these days" struck her as a sweeping statement reflecting how older workers tend to view younger colleagues in a stereotypical way and interpret their actions through a negative lens.

Certainly, Ms Natalie is not alone. As Gen Z workers have started entering the workforce, certain negative beliefs about them have proliferated.

If millennials were said to be ultra-sensitive and care too much about work-life balance, Gen Z are supposedly more extreme: The common stereotypes are that they only want to do the bare minimum at work, do not respect their seniors and simply do not take work seriously.

As a Gen Z worker myself, I think it's fair to say that while there is a kernel of truth to these views, the reality is much more nuanced. We Gen Z workers can be as driven, respectful and eager as our older counterparts – but we need clear communication and a strong guiding hand.

Don’t just take it from me. I spoke to several academics and human resource consultants to get their take on the common stereotypes about Gen Z workers, and how managers can get the best out of their young colleagues.

STEREOTYPE 1: GEN Z ONLY DOES THE BARE MINIMUM

One common misconception about Gen Z is that we are not "hungry" enough – that we only want to do the bare minimum at work to be able to pass muster.

There is a lot to unpack here. Many of us are as ambitious and driven as our seniors, but we also believe that we do not necessarily have to compromise on our well-being in order to achieve our goals.

I learnt this the hard way after my first internship. I was with a logistics company based in the western side of Singapore and I was eager to prove myself.

After teaching me the basics and showing me how the company’s enterprise systems worked, my mentor began offloading more and more of his work onto me. After just a week, he started coming into work late. I had to handle the typically busy mornings by myself.

Soon, I could not help but observe that my mentor was able to take regular breaks to smoke and chat with other colleagues during the workday, while I never found time to catch a breath, buried as I was under piles of paperwork that should have been shared between the two of us.

He even cautioned that I should not be lazy and slack off like a previous intern, who supposedly often took long toilet breaks.

The experience only made me resentful. I had started out eager to contribute meaningfully to the company, but very quickly I was burnt out and felt like I was being taken advantage of.

As a result, this made me cautious and wary of saying yes to everything and anything at work, even as I moved on to other companies. At subsequent internships, I have been more vocal in turning down work that I know I won’t be able to handle, in order to preserve my own well-being.

Several of my peers have reported similar attitudes, as they, too, believe that their mental and physical health should take precedence over earning a strong performance rating at work. Perhaps this has made us appear “lazy” in the eyes of our supervisors.

But Ms Ilse Clement, a senior consultant for human resource and business support at Robert Walters, a human resource consultancy firm, cautioned against overgeneralising.

"The perception that Gen Z employees ‘do the bare minimum’ may stem from the fact that many are more intentional about setting boundaries between work and personal life,” she said.

"Employers may observe that some younger employees are less willing to take on responsibilities outside their defined roles, which can create the impression that they are doing only what is required."

But she said managers who take the effort to understand their Gen Z employees could probably motivate them to go the extra mile.

"Rather than focusing on how to ‘push’ Gen Z employees to do more, employers may achieve better results by understanding what motivates them."

For example, she said, employers should provide clear goals and expectations to their Gen Z staff, explain the purpose and impact of their work, and offer recognition and reward contributions fairly.

STEREOTYPE 2: GEN Z DOES NOT RESPECT THEIR SENIORS AND ELDERS

Another common belief people hold about Gen Z is that they do not respect their seniors and elders, as evidenced by the many think pieces and complaints one can find online about how Gen Z workers tend to defy instructions or ignore boundaries at the workplace.

However, if I may speak for my generation, most of us do not do this out of spite or defiance. It is more likely that we want our opinions heard, or we feel that there are better ways of doing things and we are more comfortable voicing our suggestions than older generations were.

Ms Joyce Goh, the general manager at human resource consultancy Cornerstone Global Partners, agreed, saying that she believes this difference in attitude is due to the environment in which younger generations grew up.

"In the past, many of us grew up in a work culture where we were taught to listen first, respect hierarchy and sometimes keep our opinions to ourselves even when we disagreed," she noted.

"For the younger generation today, they grew up in a very different environment, with more access to information, social media, technology and now even AI. They are used to asking questions, exchanging ideas and having their voices heard."

Lab researcher Jessica (not her real name), 25, has a story that perfectly illustrates this difference.

She declined to be identified as she did not obtain her company's approval to speak to the media.

Some time ago, when her supervisor suddenly decided to give her team more tasks than what had initially been agreed upon, she decided to voice out her opposition.

"It was very unreasonable at that point in time, because I was already overwhelmed with work," she said.

Meanwhile, an older colleague acceded to the supervisor's request and completed the additional tasks, despite agreeing with Ms Jessica that the demand had been unreasonable.

Ms Goh noted that Gen Zs ability to speak up can in fact be positive for their organisations.

"I actually see this as a strength if managed well. Sometimes their questions or different perspectives can help companies rethink old ways of working and improve,” she said.

"Instead of expecting Gen Zs to simply follow instructions, we need to explain the ‘why’ behind decisions, create open conversations and guide them."

But she added that Gen Z workers, too, should be mindful about how they vocalise their opinions.

"The important thing is how they communicate their views – there is a difference between challenging ideas respectfully versus being disrespectful."

She added: "Younger employees also need to understand that being vocal comes with responsibility – it should come with respect, solutions and willingness to learn."

From conversations with friends, I can confidently say that we Gen Z workers are eager and ready to learn from our seniors, regardless of the stereotypes.

But we want this to take place in the form of meaningful and engaged mentorship, so that we know our companies are willing to invest in our training and development.

A recent survey by Deloitte found that 47 per cent of Gen Zers want their managers to teach and mentor them, but only 36 per cent felt that their managers actually did so.

Likewise, 48 per cent of millennials wanted their managers to mentor them too, but only 32 per cent of millennials felt their managers were doing so. Perhaps Gen Z has more in common with their older colleagues than meets the eye.

STEREOTYPE 3: GEN Z DOES NOT TAKE WORK SERIOUSLY

Many hold the misconception that the Gen Z idea of work-life balance is skewed too much towards the "life" portion, and that we do not take our work seriously.

One common complaint one hears, for example, is that Gen Z workers take their time to respond to work-related messages outside of official working hours. This tends to draw the ire of their older colleagues, who are used to responding as quickly as possible to their own bosses.

Dr Wang Ningxin, a senior lecturer with the department of management and organisation at the National University of Singapore said this doesn’t necessarily mean that Gen Z is not serious about work, but that it is serious about setting boundaries, which is understandable in this day and age.

"Gen Zs often want more boundaries between work and family/personal life, which, in my view, is a realistic demand given the technology connectivity after work that blurs the boundary between work and non-work," he said.

"This was not a big issue 30 years ago, when work stopped as soon as a worker left the office."

Building on Dr Wang’s point, I would argue that older colleagues could take a leaf out of the Gen Z book – as technology has collapsed the walls separating our offices from our homes, wouldn’t we all benefit from setting stronger boundaries between work and personal time?

Think about it: What if the truth is not that Gen Z does not take work seriously, but that older workers are not taking their personal lives seriously enough?

Ms Renae Chen, the head of talent acquisition at human resource consultancy WorkJoy Group said she has observed a trend of Gen Z workers requesting “mental health breaks” from work and more flexible working arrangements when looking for a job.

What I'm seeing more and more is that Gen Z candidates are factoring in things like flexible working arrangements and the proximity of the office to where they live.

"What I'm seeing more and more is that Gen Z candidates are factoring in things like flexible working arrangements and the proximity of the office to where they live."

To her, these are reasonable demands, given the nature of work in this digital age.

"Almost everything today is built around maximising output while being smart about input. That's not a Gen Z invention, it's just the reality of how we work and live now."

I can personally attest to the benefits of providing flexibility. At another internship I took on, I was allowed to work from home most days. I could come into the office a few days each week, but even then my colleagues encouraged me to stay home if the work could be done there.

This boosted my productivity as my work involved conducting a lot of research, which I felt I could do best in the quiet environment of home, away from the temptation to chat with colleagues or eavesdrop on water cooler gossip.

I could also take breaks without feeling judged, nor did I feel pressured to act busy if I was not. Throughout the internship, I was able to produce results effectively and my supervisor was pleased by my output.

At the same time, Ms Chen cautioned Gen Z workers from taking advantage of a company’s flexibility, such as requesting frequent breaks unnecessarily.

"I want to be careful here because that's not inherently a bad thing, but from an employer's perspective, when it happens frequently without context, it creates friction," she said.

Ultimately, Ms Clement said, the most effective organisations are those that adapt their management approaches to the needs and motivations of different generations, rather than assuming that one generation is inherently more or less hardworking than another.

Indeed, after speaking to her and other experts and reflecting on my own experiences, I have come to realise that it is possible for Gen Z workers and their older colleagues to co-exist.

Both parties just need to try and understand each other's expectations better. This means clear communication is key.

As I make my way up my career ladder, I certainly hope I will meet seniors and managers who are willing to listen to my views and suggestions, understand my need for a healthy personal life and accept my generational quirks.

And for my part, I plan to be mindful and observant of workplace norms as I make my way through the working world. I plan to continue showing initiative at work and being a team player and a reliable colleague – all while prioritising my well-being.

Call it ignorant idealism or call it youthful optimism, but I believe that my peers and I will be the ones to blaze the trail and show the world we can have it both ways.

Source: CNA/gf