Ways to develop work ethic in your Gen Z employees, starting today
4 MIN READ
How Kim fostered a work ethic in her young employees
Kim is a director at a medium-sized engineering firm. She’s in her early 50s and leads a team of young engineers, mostly 30 and under. She thought she’d made a mistake and came to me for help.
Kim prides herself on being a compassionate leader, so when her people complained about rigid work hours, she announced a flexible hours policy. “Come and go when you want,” she told them. “Use your best judgment. Just get your work done.”
Kim hoped the new policy would make her employees more productive.
She was wrong.
Instead, many abused the new system. They came in late and left early. Some were starting work after nine in the morning and leaving before three in the afternoon.
“Do I really have to explain this?” Kim asked. “Don’t they understand they still need to work 40 hours a week?”
Kim is facing the new reality: many young workers don’t come pre-loaded with the work ethic their supervisors expect.
Kim is facing the new reality: many young workers
don’t come pre-loaded with the work ethic
their supervisors expect.
However, there are solutions to this problem. Recent studies have led to some interesting insights. Here are strategies to develop work ethic in young employees:
✔ 1. Communicate expectations. Kim told her staff they could work whenever they want. But she didn’t spell out how many hours they needed to work. So they just took more time off.
This misunderstanding makes sense once you realize that younger employees come from a different culture than their managers. Sometimes they literally don’t know what’s expected of them.
But it’s a leader’s job to explain the rules of the workplace -- even if they seem obvious. Which is what Kim did.
Being explicit is a good idea. According to Gallup2, only 60% of employees of all ages know what’s expected of them. How more confused are newcomers to the workforce?
✔ 2. Remember that Gen Z has many strengths. According to research, Gen Z brings a unique set of strengths – gifts, actually – to the workplace.3
For example, Gen Z is the most entrepreneurial generation in decades. Given the right motivation, they’re eager to take risks and work hard. They’ll bring entrepreneurial enthusiasm to your company -- if they believe the hard work will pay off.
Gen Z is also collaborative: they’ve been doing group projects since elementary school. Pair them up with more senior members of your team, and watch how fast they learn.
In fact, I believe leaders who can leverage the strengths of young workers will soon be leading a team of superstars -- while their peers are still griping.
🖐 3. Give hands-on coaching. Studies show young workers want more hands-on attention from their supervisors.
In fact, 79% of respondents in a recent survey feel neglected & taken for granted by their managers. Ouch!
I recommend regular 1-on-1 meetings. The back-and-forth helps people feel understood and appreciated.
And remember, your young employees haven’t been in the workforce very long. They might not know what “good work” is until you tell them!
🤲 4. Collaborate on career paths. Kim’s Gen Z employees will only give their full effort when they see a bright future with her, according to one study.
Collaborate with your employees instead of leaving them to figure out their future on their own. Spell out possible career trajectories, step-by-step. “If you want to get promoted, here are the skills you need to develop. And here are the responsibilities and pay you can look forward to.”
The more clearly you paint this picture, the stronger their motivation will be. According to the 2022 Lever survey, career stability is now a higher priority than pay for Gen Z.
⏰ 5. Offer autonomy and flexibility. Kim’s heart was in the right place with her flexible-hours policy. Strive to give people control of their day. They’ll appreciate your flexibility regarding how, when, and where the work gets done.
👉 6. When in charge, take charge. Remember that leading is your job. Generational differences should inform your leadership strategy. But they can’t be an excuse for failing to lead.
If there’s a gap between you and your workers, you’re ultimately responsible to bridge that gap. So, coach your employees to excellence. Show them that they have a future with you. And take ultimate responsibility for their behavior.
If there’s a gap between leaders and workers,
the leader is responsible to bridge that gap.
And what about Kim? She says that career meetings have been great for motivating Gen Z. “It’s easier to be driven when you have a good goal in front of you.”
Tags: #Gen Z #leadership #motivation
Dale Wetmore believes the future belongs to leaders who can leverage the Gifts of the New Generation. He’s been building teams and enabling leaders for over 20 years at companies like Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.
See www.giftofnextgen.com for more information.
