Retaining and recruiting Gen Z workers

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Every smart employer knows to keep an eye out for any looming potential business challenges that sooner or later might throw a wrench into their ongoing performance. I want to bring one of those out into the open right now: the potential for losing your Gen Z workforce.

Despite any preconceived notions about Gen Z – young people born between 1997 and 2012 – Pew Research shows they present one of the most educated, ethnically diverse, and prevalent age groups in our history. “Digital Natives” (meaning no memory of a world before smartphones), they are more socially conscious, more entrepreneurial, avid gamers and music-goers. In addition, Gen Zers are less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to be enrolled in college than previous generations. (As of 2018, 57% were enrolled in a two- or four-year college, compared to 52% among Millennials in 2003 and 43% among Gen Xers in 1987.)