Gen Z in The Workplace: What? Like It’s Hard?
Written by Hailey Pinto
Published July 18, 2024
High standards. Money-hungry. 9-5 (and not one minute over). Lazy.
Gen Z in the workplace has heard it all. The PR industry has also faced its own stereotypes: “It’s just about getting media coverage” and “That’s so easy, anyone can do it.” (The latter is a personal favorite).
It’s easy to smack a label onto anyone and anything. And PR can prove tricky to explain to people outside the industry, especially when working remotely can appear as if you’re sitting at your computer all day playing Slither.io or Papa’s Pancakeria (IYKYK).
In reality, the “lazy girl” PR stereotype is as far away from the truth as the idea that Gen Z is an “anti-work generation.” We’re only gearing up to be a big part of the workplace – the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that Gen Z in the workforce will make up around 30% of the country’s employees by 2030. We’re also going to be changing some of the way things are done and valued:
Salary becomes table stakes. Yes, we want to make reasonable paychecks but we also value professional development, according to Fast Company.
Flexibility first. Deloitte reports that Gen Zs place a positive work/life balance on a pedestal. (Cheers to Carve’s “loud vacationing” policy. You can read about it in Business Insider.)
Non-traditional moves. Worklife calls out that the road often taken may not always be secure for Gen Z. They often choose out-of-the-box thinking over conventional career flows.
With Gen Z leaders entering the chat, PR will be forever changed. Let’s explore how others might respond to these changes.
Empower Us to Make Change
From the classroom to the office (virtual, in-person, and everywhere in between), Gen Z’s modern ideas and simplified workflows offer a whole new set of eyes. Being new to the team and industry allows us to approach work with a clean slate.
Deloitte’s same Gen Z and Millennial Survey shared that “roughly six in 10 Gen Zs (61%) and millennials (58%) feel more empowered to drive change within their organizations” across client services, learning and development practices, DEI, wellness and mental health, and beyond.
Associate Director of Content Ashton Mathai created Carve’s first-ever wellness committee. “The entire team works hard and does a great job, and the wellness committee gives everyone a chance to take a break, do something fun, and directly influence our company culture.”
We’re also not afraid to speak up when something isn’t working and offer solutions. At Carve, the company-wide expectation is to “manage up and down” to keep everyone striving for intentional, proactive execution. This gives plenty of opportunity for young employees to lead when they see a new challenge or area for improvement.
During my first month at Carve (and fresh out of college), I suggested a rework of what we call our Central Documents for all client-facing initiatives including media coverage, awards and events, and pending opportunities. I spotted duplicate work across Google spreadsheet tabs that had us overcommunicating the same information within the same document.
Overcommunication is key to healthy client partnerships, but doing it efficiently is the sweet spot. We made the change.
PRO TIP: Don’t just listen. Empower us to make and/or contribute to the change so we have ownership over ideas and execution. At the same time, when communicating with Gen Z offer feedback on our thinking, direction, and focus so we can better tailor our solutions next time.
Needless to say, just because something has been done a certain way for so long, doesn’t mean that’s the only way – and fresh eyes from Gen Z in the workplace are sometimes the quickest to spot the opportunity for change.
Acknowledge That Relatability Drives Results
Building real connections with media is critical to our business. Although making blind connections can be nerve-wracking for people newer to the task, diving into the pitching pool is more natural than it seems.
We recently supported the launch of a new pet washing machine. Before crafting the pitch, we focused on building a media list of commerce writers covering the space. It was easy to spot the junior writers in the same place in their careers as mine – similar graduation years on LinkedIn, lively IG feeds, and tweets about Love Island are usually dead giveaways.
Even though they were the journalists and I was the PR person, I approached each pitch with the mentality that we were all part of the same generational team. I found the common ground and ran with it.
As I drafted my pitch to a Jr. Commerce Writer from E! News, I leaned into the relatability of being a Gen Z dog owner with too much laundry and not enough time (or desire) to get it done. It was less about being “professional,” which can be a mental speed bump at times and more about connecting on a human level to convey why they should care about the product.
The reporter instantly related and our newfound relationship eventually led to a roundup placement for another Carve client in the pet space. In our ongoing email thread, we’ve connected about everything from holiday deals to how our dogs take over our camera rolls!
PRO TIP: Building the right target list makes all the difference in creating successful relationships and driving results. Even better, go the extra mile to personalize each pitch based on the reporter’s recent coverage, or maybe even the personality points that drew you to them in the first place.
No matter the generation, using commonalities as a point of connection can help take your working relationship to the next level. Better yet (if proximity allows), ask a reporter to meet up in person to get to know each other, ask questions, and swap tips and tricks. For example, Carver Caroline Phipps had coffee with a local sports business reporter and asked for general advice when it comes to pitching. Here’s what she came back with:
“You generally wouldn’t offer a reporter an exclusive unless you’ve worked together before,” Jacob Feldman at Sportico said. “If you, the brand, or the spokesperson are completely new to them, offering an exclusive can sometimes be off-putting and come across like you just sent a blanket email out to everyone with the same offer.”
Embrace Social Media as a Brainstorming Tool
Technology drives our remote work – it’s quite literally how we log in from anywhere in the world. And Gen Z, who grew up with phones attached to our hips and social media everywhere, is probably most comfortable with merging tech and work.
Take TikTok, for example. According to Pew Research Center, one-third (32%) of Gen Z Americans now look to TikTok as their primary news source, up from 9% in 2020. I know I do.
With Gen Z in PR, TikTok is becoming a whole new resource for exploring trendjacking opportunities, industry news, and more. For example, the NHL Draft was a huge initiative for our client Upper Deck. Every draft pick was shared over X, with livestreams on TikTok. In fact, the first-round draft pick was the first video on my TikTok feed, practically handing me the information I needed to stay up to date with our client.
On instinct, I spent more time scrolling through coverage on the social media platforms I grew up with while others watched on broadcast TV. This media monitoring mix allowed our team to capture coverage and insights from all avenues, which we were able to share with the client.
The moral of the story is you don’t need to put down your phone to do your job, especially when your job is to stay immersed in the media. Social media may be slightly untraditional to some, but it can provide a simple and authentic way to engage with the right reporters – which leads to positive results for your brand.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found LinkedIn post angles, questions to ask executive thought leaders, and more that have sparked ideas for me just scrolling through socials,” Carver Rylie Miller said. “Social media should be embraced as a brainstorming tool instead of a distraction. Ignoring these channels makes it harder to find unique ways to connect with your different audiences, tap into trends, and insert yourself in the broader conversations – you have to mine ideas where people are truly playing.”
Don’t let the Gen Z stereotypes in the workplace fool you – we’re doing our part to modernize PR. If you want to count on anyone to “send it” with confidence, leave it to Gen Z.