Generation Gap: What’s Up with Gen Z?

What the hell is going on with Gen Z? This was the question we posed to our clients, readers, and individuals involved in the smoke shop and cannabis industry. Initially, the main concern about Generation Z was their role in the modern workforce. The paramount significance of this issue became evident when we reviewed the survey results, where respondents shared their insights on job performance and work habits.

Yes, results are in. And depending on your current cultural affiliation, you’re either gonna be terribly disheartened about the state of our world right now, or you’re going to be aghast and unbelieving, willing to defend the work ethics and social mores of Generation Z until you reach the age of thirty when you’ll promptly become ashamed over your previously insouciant ways.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of our Gen Z work performance survey, let’s get a couple of definitions clear and out in the open.

Generation Z, or just Gen Z, is a term that refers to humans born between the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2010s. They are also known as Zoomers. Many in this generation have already entered the workforce; the ones born in the early 2010s will soon be looking for their first jobs.

The intersection of those two items—namely Gen Z and the US workforce—has been problematic, it turns out. Common cultural observations in the media, as well as our research for this article, bear out the set of problems associated with Gen Z at work in America.

While the news isn’t necessarily good, it is consistent across a wide swath of the American retail landscape. Understanding and constructively addressing these facts could be the most effective way to improve employee performance, participation, and overall work ethics among this misguided generation of workers and citizens.

Here’s what our poll said. We asked simple questions of clients, associates, current advertisers, and industry heads. We specifically asked about job performance and Gen Z. Though our sample size was too small to be scientifically conclusive, we nevertheless came back with some pretty clear indicators, as well as commentary from those who participated in the poll.

A whopping 81% of respondents told us that Gen Z workers were significantly worse than other employees in terms of work ethic, manageability, and general attitudes toward work, while just 12% believed that there “was nothing new to see here,” hinting that employee job performance has always been an issue in the small business world.

On the surface, the results may sound like more generational or anti-worker trash talk; after all, Baby Boomers traditionally complained about the work abilities of Gen Xers back in the day, saying that grungy nineties kids lacked focus and commitment. Further, the friction between young and old generations, as well as between labor and management, has been playing itself out for literally millennia; as the legendary philosopher Socrates once complained, the young people “have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” Later, Socrates protégé Plato added to the sentiment, stating, “They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the laws. They riot in the streets, inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?”

But modern business owners, being the practical sort, have more specific complaints than those named by a couple of old Greek dudes. Despite advances in employee conditions, working hours, and benefits, problems with managing Gen Z employees remain. For example, Ginny Saville, owner at The Botany Bay, described Gen Z as “the participation trophy generation,” adding, “They’ve been trained to be rewarded for minimal effort.” Saville is, of course, referring to the American educational landscape of the nineties and aughts, when exceptionalism was basically banished from the classroom, and students were instructed to believe that trying and succeeding were the same thing.

“They’re not dependable,” Saville stated bluntly when asked for more details. “They’re not good at following basic instructions, and I feel like I really have to micromanage them. That pisses us both off.”

The tension that Saville speaks of is also felt by Gen Z workers, who, of course, have their side of the story to tell. In an article in Fortune magazine from this past January, writer Orianna Rosa Royle argues that low wages have at least something to do with a building resentment among young workers that leads them to being disaffected and uninterested in normative career goals.

As one of Royle’s interviewees states, “Most Boomers don’t know what it’s like to work 40+ hours a week and still not be able to afford a house.” This concern echoes across the many statements made by Gen Z employees about their opinion of work. A Stanford University report from February of this year clarifies the matter. Report author Roberta Katz notes that “Work and home life are all so integrated that if you don’t pay attention, you could be working all the time. I think Gen Z is sensitive to that. Having a work-life balance and maintaining mental and physical health is also important to Gen Z. They’re placing a value on the human experience and recognizing that life is more than work.”

Ultimately, it’s a fact that a vast majority of business owners we spoke to are concerned about the Gen Z employees with whom they work, and for good reasons. On the other side of the coin is a generation of workers who may be unprepared for the modern work environment because of poor public education experiences and the pandemic, among other factors. The resulting difficulties at work and the difference in values and opinions about the importance of work and how it should be faithfully executed can most likely be solved through a system of comprehensive systems of communication.

Those methods of communication should stress accountability, allowing both parties dignity while making sure ground rules for at-work behavior are established and followed. This process should be balanced by providing employees with a living wage and benefits, as well as encouraging honest feedback. Those actions aren’t just aspirational; they will actively encourage employee responsibility, participation, and growth. American business author and consultant Peter Block put it all quite succinctly: “To be accountable is to care for the well-being of the whole and act as if this well-being is in our hands and hearts to create.”