Generation Z has been under scrutiny ever since they have gotten old enough to enter the workplace. Perceptions of them have been they are lazy, spoiled, and overall, not team players. All of them fair assumptions about the internet-based sect of the generation, but in the actual workforce, those stereotypes are not necessarily true.

Whether it is true or not, the perceptions exist, and those negative stereotypes are now impacting the career growth of Gen Z employees. A recent survey from Intelligent.com found four in five Gen Z workers say these opinions have negatively impacted their work experience, and almost half said they have stunted their career growth and promotion.

Betsy Allen Manning of Destination Workplace says there is a disconnect between older management and Gen Z, mostly born of misunderstanding.

"If you just understand who they are, and how they show up in the workplace...you can use that, and tailor it to provide a better employee experience," she says.

Gen Z is different in how they perform tasks. For years, the idea of work has been to take the long way around, no matter how long it takes, because it is the right way. Gen Z sees easier paths and find simpler ways to do jobs quicker. They work smarter, not harder.

That means they also get fed up with being overworked and voice their displeasure with that regularly. That is where a disconnect happens and they rub people the wrong way. But really, they are just telling the truth.

"We have been operating on burnout for forty years and calling it grit...Gen Z calls it what it is...toxic and unsustainable," she says.

Gen Z has called out the wrokplace environment in plenty of ways, demanding mental health days, and refusing to answer the phone on vacation. The former is a little iffy, but the latter is entirely fair.

They want a work life balance instead of an all work imbalance. Unless things change soon, we will see more Gen Z workers flee jobs, and garner more negative stereotypes against themselves.

"They feel like they are being worked to death and burnt out...and many are looking for work, and many say they plan to leave their current job in the next 12 months.

As with anything in life though, there is a solution. Allen Manning says that workplaces need to better understand the Gen Z workers, to better sew up the disconnect in the workplace.

Jimmy Barrett

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