“Gen Zis bringing new expectations to the workplace, driven by theirdigital upbringing as well as their self-identified emotionalbarriers to success,” says one researcher. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Gen-Z has something to say about their working ethic. Accordingto a new report, Meet Gen-Z, from the The Workforce Institute atKronos and Future Workplace shows that Gen-Z things they are thehardest-working generation.

One-third (32percent) of Gen-Z believe they are thehardest-working generation ever with millennials ranking as thesecond-hardest working generation at 24 percent. Almosttwo-fifths (36 percent) of Gen-Zers believe they “had it the hardest” which is tied with theSilent Generation (ages 75-94), which generally began entering theworkforce during or just after World War II.

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While Gen-Zers believe they are hardworking, one in four(26 percent) admit they would work harder and stay longerat a company that supports flexible schedules, with flexibility desiredmost in Canada (33 percent), the U.K. (31 percent), andthe U.S. (31 percent).

“Gen Z is bringing new expectations to the workplace, driven bytheir digital upbringing as well as their self-identified emotionalbarriers to success,” says Dan Schawbel, research director, FutureWorkplace. “They have strong feelings about how and when they wantto work, especially compared to generations past. With Millennialsmoving into management roles, we're entering an inflection point inthe employee-manager relationship – and leaders will need tofamiliarize themselves with the priorities of this latestgeneration of workers in order to effectively manage and developthem.”

Around the world, more than half (56 percent) of Gen-Z isoptimistic about their professional future, led by India where anincredible 44 percent of 16- to 25-year-olds are“extremely optimistic,” followed closely by U.S. Gen-Zers at31 percent.

However, Gen-Zers who are employed today are the leastoptimistic: Half (50 percent) of those who are currentlyserving in an internship and one-third (28%) of those workingfull-time are only “moderately” optimistic about their professionalfuture.

The overall optimism of Gen-Z is met with many emotionalbarriers this generation feels it must overcome to achieveworkplace success, including anxiety (34 percent), lack ofmotivation/drive (20 percent), and low self-esteem(17 percent). Anxiety, specifically, is a greater concernamong female Gen-Zers (39 percent vs. 29 percentfor male) and most prevalent in Canada (44 percent), theU.K. (40 percent), and the U.S. (40 percent).

Read more: 

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• Gen Z is ready to learn, if you're ready toteach
• 3 ways millennials, Gen Z will pressure benefitcosts