Gen Z, born in the year 2000 and later, is the largest generation in human history. Over the next 10 years, 1.3 billion of its members will enter the global workforce. Traditionally, the onus has been on younger workers to assimilate into office culture. But with the culture itself changing as the office moves online, the eldest and youngest employees of organisations may find themselves having to meet in the middle.
Australia-based social researcher Mark McCrindle, co-author of Work Wellbeing: Leading Thriving Teams in Rapidly Changing Times, says every generation “has their own youth slang and pop-culture code” that they use in social situations. But although older generations, and even millennials, are likely to ‘code switch’, sticking to a more codified type of professional communication, Gen Z is keeping things much more casual. McCrindle says, “We’re starting to really pull down those barriers between our work and personal or social life. We’re working from home, or in a mobile work environment, and that’s naturally creating a more relaxed workplace.”
The digital workplace is where Gen Z is already comfortable, explains Jonah Stillman, the 21-year-old co-author of Gen Z @ Work: How the Next Generation is Transforming the Workplace. “Since we were born, nearly every physical element has a digital counterpart. So, whether I put something in my cart at the supermarket, or click ‘add to cart’ is one and the same. This is a generation that defines being together as either FaceTiming or being in the same room.”