Gen Z, Technically Ready for the Workplace
Our hard skills were built online, but our soft skills need guidance.
I’m Emily, an intern at Cohd—a Gen Z one. The way Gen Z works, plays, and learns are becoming inseparably intertwined. Navigating how to co-work and manage the younger generation means understanding who we are.
I’ve witnessed discourse about the difficulties of Gen Z employees in real time, and I don’t want our generation to become a source of amusement or ridicule. I don’t want us to be viewed as a lost cause— inadequate to perform, undermining the strengths we bring to the table.
Gen Z excels in hard skills and has a commitment to continuous growth, which requires leaders to rethink traditional management approaches and embrace a more supportive, adaptable workplace culture. Here’s what you need to know:
Leaders, In Development
It’s easy to dismiss the younger generation due to our age, and subsequently our so-called lack of experience. However, we possess the same level of capabilities other generations had going into the workforce. And in the areas we do lack, we make up for in our catalog of hard skills.
With access to information at our fingertips—watching YouTube videos, searching endlessly on the web, and the expansion of Generative AI—learning has never been easier. Necessity to devote years studying specific skills, through certifications or higher education, are of the past. What might be perceived as laziness is actually the utilization of technology to be efficient. Now, we can work less and produce the same or higher quality of output.
Possessing fundamental hard skills and achieving mastery in a craft, are not the barriers preventing us from being high performers.
Learning In Progress
The key in managing or co-working alongside Gen Z starts from the root: nurturing and developing us as humans.
We seek employers who prioritize learning and development to grow the skills that can’t be easily learned independently.
Due to the internet, learning wasn’t limited to the boundaries of a school schedule. Learning could happen no matter the occasion, making us intentional with how time is spent and what for. So, what do you teach to a self-taught generation?
My generation craves a mutual exchange of enrichment. There are some skills that can’t be developed through independent learning—interpersonal ones like collaboration that can only be practiced with others. Soft skills are the keys to success.
Values In Practice
We aren’t perfect; we can be strange. Growing up in a digital-first era and experiencing early adolescence and young adulthood in social isolation, bounds to impact our behavior in good and bad ways.
This new level of digital interconnectedness also increases the sharing of information and expands conversation in areas that were once taboo. In turn, we uphold high moral expectations of accountability and request transparency in ourselves and others.
Our values are byproducts of being active participants in the digital era. Constant viewings of harsh global realities–conflict, oppression, inequality, and awareness of our dying planet–drives desire for purposeful work. We show up as our authentic selves everywhere.
A job is beyond making money to us. It’s a commitment that we see as an extension of ourselves. Instead of designing our lifestyle to fit the demands of a job, we assess how a job aligns with our long-term goals. And we are more comfortable implementing strict boundaries to preserve our wellbeing, especially in the wake of witnessing the decline of it during the pandemic.
Lead by Example
As the majority of Gen Z settles in the workforce, there will be significant shifts.
Rather than comparing the younger generation to generations of the past and feeling disappointed by how we’re different, efforts should be spent on molding Gen Z and young millennials into confident, competent leaders—equipping us with the skills to thrive beyond work. Our unique experiences require a different roadmap that older generations were given.
Invest in us. In return, we’ll invest in you.