Those born after 1995, the Gen Z generation, or Zoomers, will make up nearly 30 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2025. But unlike past generations, these folks are different.
For instance:
More than any generation before them, they have been immersed virtually entirely with the internet and social media all their lives. You might think, so what? We all are.
But here’s the issue.
Past generations were more focused on human socializing, not socializing on social media platforms or a computer. When we socialize in person, we learn more about ourselves and other people, and how to interact with many different types of people in the workplace. Most of those learning experiences have been lost to this generation.
Zoomers are keen on “ghosting” each other more than any generation before them. In the past, issues between coworkers were routinely and invariably worked out one way or another – by talking. But when people ghost each other, the chances of things working out are little or none.
According to a new book, Working with Gen Z: A Handbook to Recruit, Retain, and Reimagine the Future Workforce after COVID-19 (Nishizaki and DellaNeve), HR professionals report that ghosting — pretending as if someone doesn’t exist — is “disturbingly common among Zoomers” and it’s disruptive. They don’t show up for meetings if the person they are ghosting will be there, don’t answer emails from that person even if it is essential to business operations, and interrupt workflow if the ghosted person is involved, all of which can cause business upheaval and confusion.
So, if Zoomers are different — more isolated and more willing to ignore a fellow worker they don’t like — how does this impact their feelings and beliefs about workplace violence? Surprisingly, that’s different too.
To learn more, zoom in here.
