Working With Gen-Z Is Great (And Other Lies I Tell Myself) 😆

Hiya!

Generation Z - people born roughly between the mid-90s and the early 2010s - are a little different than us Millennials. For the most part, I find, in a good way.

Gen-Z is more digitally native and more inclusive than Gen-Y. They really value authenticity and are more engaged in advocating for social causes. Their attention spans may be a little shorter, and they tend to only communicate in memes, but they’re entrepreneurial, they generally have a more globalized perspective, and they don’t accept the status quo just because things were always done in a certain way.

All of these are good things in my eyes.

Now, having said that, working with Gen-Z is a different story.

It can be “a bit” of a challenge.

Let’s start with my most recent hire at Rise Up Media.

For the first few months, I thought that she was a vampire.

She’s generally not online before noon and essentially doesn’t leave the house during the daytime. She seems to complete most of her work between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. and doesn’t shy away from sending me updates at 2 a.m. in the morning.

To be honest, none of that bothers me as long as the work gets done.

But I do find it a bit odd. 😊

In her defense, though. she (usually) does make it to the virtual team meeting on Monday morning at the “ungodly time” of 9 a.m. but typically doesn’t switch the camera on because she’s usually still in bed in her pajamas.

I guess that’s what peak professionalism looks like these days. 🤷

And she isn’t the only one who has blessed me with the joys of learning to work with Gen-Z.

Another more recent hire, a freelance writer in her mid-20s, told me when I asked her how she was doing (after she was off for a week) that she “feels like a Samsung.”

Yes, that’s what she said.

Obviously, I had no idea what that meant, and when I asked her to clarify her statement, she told me to Google it, and then she just logged off.

I couldn’t imagine ever responding to any of my old bosses like that back when I worked in banking, but hey… it’s a brave new world out there. 😂

In case you are wondering, the expression I feel like a Samsung comes from some guy on TikTok who went viral a few weeks back. It’s supposed to mean something along the lines of “not feeling great” because Samsung phones aren’t as good as iPhones (or something like that).

Fortunately, one of my sisters is a Gen-Z, and she was able to clarify. I usually go to her when I have no f**king clue what my Gen-Z colleagues are saying to me.

Wait, there’s more!

While I think it’s great that the younger generation takes mental health much more seriously than my generation ever did, I have noticed that “mental health days” somehow always end up falling on a Monday.

Don’t get me wrong, if someone in my team is going through a rough time, I want them to take the time they need to recover. There are more important things than work.

Having said that, I’d prefer if the “I need to take a mental health day” message didn’t come in the morning of the day they are taking off.

But hey, at least that’s better than when I find out about the mental health day AFTER it was taken without a heads-up. Gen-Z - in my experience - do that too sometimes. 🤷

Here’s what I have learned (so far) working with Gen-Z that might help you as well:

• They tick differently than Millennials (and other older generations), so you can’t expect them to act the same way.

• Just because you told them to do something doesn’t mean they will necessarily do it (or at least not by the deadline you assigned them).

• If your work environment is toxic, they won’t stick around for long.

• If your company values don’t align with theirs, they will leave.

• They probably won’t reply to your email, so you will need to send them a DM on their preferred social media app to get a timely response.

• They value clear, open, and honest communication and feedback (and won’t listen to your corporate jibber-jabber).

I have actually been advised by several founders (all Millennials) to tread carefully when hiring Gen-Z staff because of their “unconventional” approach to work.

I disagree with that, though.

Just because Gen-Z doesn’t willingly take on any and all tasks assigned to them and regularly questions if the tasks they receive even make sense doesn’t make them “bad workers.”

While some may have unrealistic salary expectations (especially those who just recently joined the workforce), everyone should be paid their worth. And at most companies, that’s probably not the case. So, I think it’s good that the younger generation is pushing for more.

Finally, the fact that they generally aren’t willing to “break their backs” for the company is probably also a good thing. Yes, of course, as a business owner, you’d love to have your team work 24/7 and be nothing but productive nonstop. But that’s just not reality.

After all, there’s more to life than work.

And that’s an important lesson many Millennials can learn from Gen-Z!

Interesting stuff I found online 🤓

1,000-year-old fossils of 'alien' corpses displayed in Mexico's Congress 👽

I am not gonna lie. It’s pretty cool that the Mexican government decided to show off the alleged aliens they found. Of course, not everyone believes they are real, and we can all go on speculating about whether we have been visited by intelligent extraterrestrial life or not. I, for one, want to believe, but even I am a little skeptical about those two little hombres.

AI Companies Desperately Hiring Authors and Poets to Fix Their Crappy Writing ✍️

Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me. Don’t get me wrong, ChatGPT and its “mates” are great tools if you know how to use them in the right way, but for writing original content, they aren’t all that (yet).

People Used to ‘Mail’ Their Children to Their Grandparents back in 1913 👶

So, this isn’t exactly hot off-the-press news, but last week was the first time I heard about this. Apparently, a little over a hundred years ago, parents in America could use the Postal Service to “mail” their children to their grandparents. OK, so it only happened a few times, but still, it’s pretty crazy. It was banned a year later by the Postmaster General. I guess he thought it was a little unsafe.

What I am reading 📖

I am reading (and listening to the audiobook version of) Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller.

The book is about how to tell a great brand story but without the “woohh woohh” elements of branding and doesn’t talk about what fonts to use.

Instead, it teaches you how to craft a brand story where the customer is the hero, and the brand acts as a guide that helps the hero get their desired outcome.

Anyone thinking about their company’s branding or working with a business on their brand should read this book. I have purchased over a dozen copies and have handed them to friends in business and marketing. 📚

What I am watching 📺

Castlevania on Netflix 🧛

I started exploring anime during the pandemic once I had finished almost everything else on Netflix, and I really enjoyed some of the American-made anime shows. Castlevania - based on the video game series - is by far my favorite of them. I am currently rewatching it, and since it’s been a while since I first saw it, I’m enjoying it again.

Castlevania is a great show to watch if you are into anime or considering exploring the genre. 🧛

Hit me up! 👋

When I’m not writing the world’s 49,375th-best newsletter in the world, I run a content marketing agency called Rise Up Media.

If you’d like to work with me directly or with my team to help you drive customer acquisition, just reply to this email or email the team at [email protected].

Stay connected,

Alex Lielacher