In this month's NACS Magazine column "The Big Question," we spoke with Hannah Ubl of Good Company Consulting.

Compared to previous generations, what's different about Gen Z in the workforce?

But for most people who are Gen Z—people born between 1996 and 2010—they've had to grow up so fast. I was talking to someone the other day, she said "I was nine years old when the recession hit and that completely transformed my life. I remember how that affected my parents. I remember the serious conversations in our household." Gen Z is just so much more practical, I feel like, than generations before. They've had to be.

You see people talking about this generation, and how they're asking for higher wages, or they're pushing back on the finances, and it's kind of like, of course they are! They grew up during two recessions and then they lived through the pandemic and saw the kind of financial impact that had.

Gen Z tends to have Gen X parents, who are so different than Baby Boomer parents. Boomer parents tended to be more like, "I want to empower you to shoot for the stars and craft your own way." And Gen X parents tend more towards, "Do you know how difficult the world is out there?"

With Gen Z, what we're seeing is, because they are so practical, if you're a leader for any kind of company, say to them, "I care about you as a person. I'm going to give you some resources to train you. So even if you leave here, you can take the skills you learned at this company and they are transferable somewhere else." I think Gen Z is drawn to places that invest in them.

To continue reading, check out the April 2024 issue of NACS Magazine.