IRISH HR experts claim they are increasingly hearing reports of Gen Z employees who refuse to go beyond their job descriptions, embrace ‘quiet quitting’ and even respond to instructions with a sigh.
And some go beyond a simple lack of initiative, with one expert warning it has become ‘quite common’ for young workers to accept a job, fail to turn up on their first day or even disappear after a week because the reality did not match their expectations.
uncertain
reality → claim → expectations
Damien McCarthy, founder and managing director of HR Buddy, said a manager recently approached him frustrated by a young worker – born in the Generation Z or ‘Zoomer’ age bracket of 1997 to 2012 – who would carry out tasks they were asked to do, but would begin with a theatrical sigh every time.
asserted
they → manage → sigh
‘You can understand how that might get under a manager’s skin,’ Mr McCarthy told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
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McCarthy → understand → Sunday
‘And you can’t fire someone for sighing.’
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you → fire → sighing
He says this is just one example of the complaints he hears from employers about their young workers.
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he → say → workers
Another trend that ‘crops up often’ is the employee who decides that, if something is not explicitly written into their job description, it is not their problem.
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it → crop → description
Ask the internet generation to use their initiative, said Mr McCarthy, and the response is sometimes: ‘That isn’t in my job description.’
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That → ask → description
Other workplace movements that have gone viral online include ‘quiet quitting’ – doing the bare minimum required to avoid being fired – and ‘act your wage’, the idea that workers should only put in the level of effort they believe their salary deserves.
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salary → go → effort
‘We get that all the time,’ he says of such complaints from clients.
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he → get → clients
Mr McCarthy believes the issue is partly down to unrealistic expectations.
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issue → believe → expectations
Previous generations, he noted, were generally expected to ‘work their way up the ladder and earn their stripes’ in the workplace.
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he → note → workplace
But social media has created an environment in which young people are constantly exposed to other people’s careers, lifestyles and apparent success.
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people → create → careers
Mr McCarthy worries this can create the impression that ‘everything should fall into their lap from day one’.
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everything → worry → day
He acknowledged these workplace behaviours ‘have been around in some form for years’, but social media has turned them into movements, with young workers publicly sharing videos of themselves doing no more than their contractual duties.
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themselves → acknowledge → duties
Another trend that ‘crops up often’ is the employee who decides that, if something is not explicitly written into their job description, it is not their problem
The Covid pandemic may also have contributed to the shift in workplace attitudes.
Mr McCathy said young people who spent their teenage years communicating through phones and screens have entered workplaces where they are expected to build relationships, take direction, read social situations and show initiative face-to-face.
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they → crop → face
‘There is a gap there with regards to those skills that are noticeable,’ he added.
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he → be → skills
Caroline Reidy, managing director of HR Solutions, said perplexed employers are also encountering a more troubling form of disengagement, workers who simply disappear.
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who → say → disengagement
‘There’s also the ghosting idea, where someone is due to start a job and they don’t go, or start a week and then disappear, because it wasn’t what they thought.
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they → ’ → what
It’s actually quite common,’ she told the MoS.
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she → ’ → MoS.
Ms Reidy believes the phenomenon reflects, in part, a failure to establish clear expectations before a new employee starts work.
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employee → believe → work
The workplace has changed considerably, she says, and employers can no longer assume that younger workers have the same understanding of professional etiquette as their predecessors.
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workers → change → predecessors
‘We now have to set new standards in the work environment,’ Ms Reidy added.
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Reidy → have → environment
Companies are increasingly focusing on training in office and workplace etiquette, including punctuality, dress codes and appropriate conduct during online meetings.
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Companies → focus → meetings
According to Ms Reidy, some employers are finding behaviours that might once have been considered basic professional expectations now need to be explicitly explained.
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that → accord → Reidy
Younger workers may be comfortable networking online but less confident about picking up the telephone to have a difficult conversation, including calling in sick.
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workers → network → sick
Ms Reidy said there is a need for training in emotional intelligence and the ‘human touch’ that can be difficult to develop through screen-based communication alone.
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that → say → communication
‘The issue it presents is somebody may perceive somebody being rude.’
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somebody → present → ?
However, she cautions against interpreting every difference in behaviour as evidence of laziness or bad manners.
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she → caution → laziness
Younger employees can bring speed, efficiency and new approaches to work, she stressed, and the challenge is for employers to adapt while making expectations clear.
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expectations → bring → work
Ms Reidy also noted entry-level opportunities are becoming harder to find for the current generation of younger workers, with automation and self-service technology taking over some roles that once provided a first step into employment.
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that → note → employment
She added that for graduates struggling to get a foothold in the jobs market, the circumstances facing this generation are markedly different from those experienced by their predecessors.
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circumstances → add → predecessors
However, Gen Z employees argue a more relaxed attitude towards corporate culture should not be confused with a lack of ambition.
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attitude → argue → ambition
Social worker and EU Youth Delegate Hope Omoregie, 24, told the MoS: ‘You can see how hungry we are for success.’
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we → tell → success
Ms Omoregie, who uses her annual leave to attend conferences in Brussels, believes Gen Z is trying to redefine success rather than simply follow the career path laid out by previous generations.
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Z → use → generations
‘We’re trying to break beyond the nine-to-five.
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We → try → five
Even if we have a nine-to-five, we’re doing a thousand things on the side.’
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we → have → side
She said this can cause friction with older colleagues, who may struggle to understand younger workers’ priorities and ambitions.
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who → say → priorities
Nor does she believe every minor breach of workplace convention should be treated as evidence of poor performance.
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breach → believe → performance
‘I’ll be honest, sometimes I’m late,’ she admits, questioning why arriving a few minutes behind schedule should automatically count against someone who still completes their work, adding: ‘I still get the job done.’
asserted
job → ’m → work
For Ms Omoregie, the tension reflects a clash between generations with different expectations of work, rather than proof that younger employees are inherently less committed.
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employees → reflect → work
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
