Stop bucketing employees by generation. An individual's desire for remote or in-office work is dictated by their personality (e.g., extroverts needing social energy), life circumstances, and learning style, not their birth year. Ascribing preferences to "Gen Z" or "Boomers" is a flawed and divisive heuristic.
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Bashify’s founder learned to hire not just for skills but for personality-role fit. She seeks extroverted people for client-facing roles, while preferring detail-oriented introverts for back-end tasks like packing kits. This nuanced approach improves job satisfaction and team dynamics.
The biggest downside of remote work isn't lost productivity, but the elimination of serendipity. It removes the chance encounters that lead to friendships, mentorship, and cross-pollination of ideas. For those needing to build a network, the convenience of working from home comes at the high cost of isolation and stunted growth.
Managers misinterpret Gen Z's demands for flexibility and rapid promotion as laziness. In reality, new income streams, like earning $50,000 a year from TikTok brand deals, give them unprecedented leverage and options, forcing a necessary evolution in management and retention strategies.
Contrary to popular belief, Gensler's research and internal experience show that younger employees are the most eager to return to the office. They recognize that in-person work is critical for learning, mentorship, and building the "social capital" necessary for long-term career growth.
The lack of forced structure, in-person mentorship, and social guardrails provided by an office environment is particularly detrimental to young men who are still developing professional discipline and maturity.
Unlike previous generations who respected positional authority, Gen Z grants influence based on connection and trust. They believe the best idea should win, regardless of who it comes from. To lead them effectively, managers must shift from exercising control to building connection, acting as mentors rather than gatekeepers.
The common stereotype that Gen Z employees lack work ethic for leaving at 5 PM is often a harmful misjudgment. One example cited an employee who left on time to work a second job and care for a parent with stage 4 cancer. Leaders should get curious about external pressures before assuming laziness.
When choosing between a higher-paying office job and a lower-paying remote one, base the decision on your primary source of energy. If you thrive on human interaction, the in-office environment is more valuable than the pay differential because it fuels your soul and performance. For some, the environment is non-negotiable.
Beyond the threat of AI, some business leaders believe Gen Z graduates are challenging to hire due to cultural issues, not automation. A perceived lack of temperament, motivation, and executive function, possibly a "COVID era phenomenon," is leading some companies to prefer hiring older, more experienced candidates instead.
Leaders complaining about Gen Z's lack of social skills are missing the point. This generation lost two critical years of in-person social development due to the pandemic. The responsibility falls on leaders to coach these skills, not punish employees for a gap the company didn't create.
