Great Expectations: What Gen Z wants from the workplace

By Sam Adeyemi

The business world is changing.

By 2025, it’s estimated that up to 22% of the U.S. workforce will be working in a fully remote capacity. Many industries consider a four-day workweek an inevitable shift in the coming years, and mental health support will soon be a standard way of attracting new hires.

Simply put, the young talent of the 2020s is bringing a host of new expectations to nearly every industry, and each industry’s leadership must evolve their working culture in response. Those that do will attract more innovation and creativity to the workplace, as well as align themselves with many of the values and standards that will soon be adopted by every generation.

But what are these expectations? What do Gen Z professionals want out of their workplace? And what do they need to succeed? I’ve coached multiple generations of successful executives, and I think the latest wave of new talent is craving connection, control and a clear vision.

Connection: Does your working culture cultivate human relationships? Many Gen Z workers first entered the workplace in and around the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning a larger-than-usual chunk of their professional lives has been spent at a distance from their coworkers. Not surprisingly, this has dehumanized the workday far too much for many of these young team members. In fact, some surveys indicate Gen Z is increasingly interested in returning to the traditional office to make more personal connections with their work.

The digital world leaves fewer and fewer opportunities for organic social connection. As such, the best leaders look for opportunities to facilitate conversation and collaboration wherever possible. Weekly digital breakouts. Targeted conversations. Rotating collaborative relationships. The path to more personal connection will look different for every organization.

Control: Do your employees play a part in their own management? According to a report from Upwork, over 40% of Gen Z and Millennial professionals are now engaged in some sort of freelance work. The flexibility and personal ownership offered by the gig economy are undeniable, and many of the most educated young workers are consequently flocking to those opportunities. These professionals want a direct say in their workload and a more active role in picking and choosing their projects.

A forward-thinking workplace needs to be searching for ways to offer more meaningful control to their team members. A team’s leadership is an integral part of this process because the transition demands deference and a more passive form of team management. Even when the result is happier employees and greater long-term success, this change can be difficult for leaders who are too attached to their own authority.

Clear Vision: Is there a values-driven purpose behind what you do? Wanting purpose out of your work is not a new thing. Still, finding that purpose is becoming increasingly important to workers every single year. By 2018, nine out of 10 workers reported that they would trade a portion of their life savings for more meaning in the workplace. This attitude is even more prevalent with Gen Z and Millennials, who are struggling more and more from work-related stress and thus prioritizing professional goals outside of money and retirement. This young talent wants to know their work means something on a grander scale.

Leaders with a clear vision communicate every objective in a way that is both straightforward and accessible. These executives understand the personal goals of each team member—they’ve had those conversations—and they seek to connect each company goal to personal motivations and career milestones. After all, the evolution of every team member will serve the evolution of the organization as a whole.

Atlanta-based Dr. Sam Adeyemi is CEO of Sam Adeyemi, GLC, Inc. and founder and executive director of Daystar Leadership Academy (DLA). More than 45,000 alumni have graduated from DLA programs, and more than three million CEOs and high-performing individuals follow him on top social media sites. Dr. Sam’s new book is Dear Leader: Your Flagship Guide to Successful Leadership. He holds a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University and is a member of the International Leadership Association. He and his wife, Nike, live in Atlanta and have three children. Learn more at SamAdeyemi.com.