That’s the message from Neil Khaund, president of the National Honor Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), which is training these future leaders at more than 700 chapters at colleges and universities across the country, with more than 1.5 million current student members. Pointing to recent studies, he says young people entering the workforce today are more likely to take action for social or humanitarian causes they believe in, align with companies that support their personal values, and prefer to work remotely or in hybrid environments.
By 2025, Gen Z—the population born between 1995 and 2009—will make up more than a quarter of the U.S. workforce.
“It’s not so much about today as it is about tomorrow,” Khaund says. “They’re looking for cultures that fit what they want not only in terms of what’s important to them, but tangibly—how they work.”
The defining effect that makes Gen Z who they are, Khaund says, is coming of age in a fully developed digital era, as compared to their millennial counterparts who experienced at least part of childhood at a time when the internet and technology were not ubiquitous. Attending class over Zoom during the pandemic has made remote work an increased norm for today’s students.
Also factoring in are the social movements they’ve experienced during formative years, such as Black Lives Matters, #MeToo and other contemporary calls for equality and social justice.
Those influences combine to make Gen Z not only more connected to the world, but more comfortable speaking up within it and communicating on their terms effectively.
“Because Gen Z essentially grew up in technology, it really influences the ease of information they have,” Khaund says. “This is why they’re so concerned by issues on a global level—they have the access to information faster than we did, way faster.”
For employers thinking ahead, this connectivity would mean an amplified importance on organizational values. In an era when young people understand virality and can share ideas around the world in an instant, it’s important to protect your business’s reputation, set a socially responsible mission and stick to it, with authenticity from the top. Not only can missteps along these line decrease a brand’s reputation to potential hires, but within the company as well, making communication all the more important.
Internal employees have power. Khaund points to last year’s turmoil at Netflix when the streaming platform experienced an employee walkout following incendiary comments toward the transgender community from Dave Chappelle on his comedy specials. Netflix stuck by Chappelle’s right to speech as a creator, but also took steps internally to ensure its employees’ concerns were heard so that leadership might better consider them in the future.
“Companies are going to have to be aware of how to communicate with [Gen Z]—to hear them. It’s going to be crucial,” Khaund says. “What this did is that it gave employees more of a voice with the executive team inside Netflix. For them, that was seen as a win, and I think that’s the positive change they were looking for.”
Amid the current state of low unemployment and expectations of increased employee transience going forward, Khaund says it’s vital for companies to not only be aware of the societal causes that are important to their young employees, but to be people-centric in other ways. Promotional products distributors and suppliers would do well to emphasize leadership training and skill-building.
“They’re really thinking longer term,” Khaund says. “Is this a place where I can build those skills and that passion that I have? Things focusing on career-pathing and building a people-first culture absolutely matter to Gen Z.
“It’s much easier for employees to leave companies and move to a new organization, so that’s why the culture, the ethos, the values you’re putting out there has never been more important. Partly it’s being able to display that culture for employees to understand.”
Although Gen Z employees may be different than their more experienced colleagues in some ways, it doesn’t mean their goals are totally unfamiliar for most people, or that major cultural overhauls can come overnight.
Organizational changes to make a promotional products company more appealing to Gen Z employees may equally be appreciated by millennials and Gen X.
“It’s just that Gen Z is being a lot more vocal about it and forcing employees to look in the mirror,” Khaund says. “But I think the improvements you would make for Gen Z can make real improvement with other employees as well.”
