New Survey Report from APPrise Mobile: More than a third of managers believe that Gen Z will be more difficult to manage than older generations while many also
anticipate communication and culture issues
NEW YORK, NY – October 24, 2017 – Generation Z (Gen Z) is being met with a high-level of apprehension and doubt as they begin to graduate from college and enter the workforce for the first time. According to a national survey of workplace managers released today by APPrise Mobile, a mobile employee communications and engagement solution, more than a third (36 percent) believe that managing employees from Gen Z will be more difficult than previous generations. According to demographers, Gen Z is comprised of individuals with birth years starting in the mid 1990’s to the mid-2000’s.
Adding to the lack of enthusiasm for America’s youngest employees, more than a quarter of workplace managers anticipate major communications and training-related challenges. Twenty-six percent of respondents believe that it will be more difficult to communicate with employees from Gen Z compared to older generations, and 29 percent expect it will be more difficult to train them. More than 1 in 10 managers (16 percent) also expect Gen Z to negatively impact their company culture.
Despite these projected transitional pains, the report indicates that managers do not plan to cater to the needs and desires of Gen Z. Only 2 out of 10 managers (21 percent) plan to change their management style, suggesting that many “Gen Zers” will need to adapt to the working styles of their more experienced supervisors.
Technology Key to Engagement
Gen Z has always lived in an internet-connected world, with many not knowing a day without smartphones and tablets. Managers responding to the survey clearly see this tech-heavy culture as a positive as 42 percent said that they plan on introducing more technology tools while 44 percent believe that Gen Z’s reliance on technology will be an advantage for them as they enter the workforce.
Technology is also expected to play a major role in workplace communications. According to the report, managers believe that mobile technology will be the most effective way of communicating with employees from Gen Z: 41 percent expect mobile tech such as smartphones and tablets to be the best way to communicate with their team members. This is followed by 34 percent in favor of in-person discussions and 11 percent opting for email.
“Most millennials remember a time when fax machines and landline phones were commonly used and AOL dial-up was the only way to access the internet, but their incoming Gen Z colleagues only know of these things from history books and movies. Bottom line – this new generation of workers expects technology to touch every facet of their life and companies should embrace this sooner than later,” said Jeff Corbin, CEO of APPrise Mobile.
He continued, “There was a day not too long ago that the Internet and email didn’t exist and technology forced a change in the workplace. We are going through a similar evolution now, and those organizations that are forward thinking and realize that their workforce is changing will adapt and usher in a new era of the digital workplace that leverages technology to engage and motivate employees in very powerful ways.”
Additional survey report findings include:
- More managers believe that Millennials will be harder workers than Gen Z – 27 percent versus 16 percent
- Millennial managers appear to be the most worried about company culture – 20 percent of respondents that were 34 years old and younger believed that Gen Z would make it worse
- Connecting over the phone could become a thing of the past as only two percent of managers believed that voice calls would be the most effective way to communicate with Gen Z
Survey Methodology
These findings are based on a Google Consumer Survey of 1,000 workplace managers in the United States. Google Consumer Surveys automatically fields a validated, representative sample of respondents which was weighted against the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey for age or gender of the United States to be representative of the adult Internet population.
About APPrise Mobile
APPrise Mobile is the developer of theEMPLOYEEapp®, an internal communications and employee engagement mobile platform that allows companies of any size to have their own branded app for Apple and Android devices (as well as a web app). It securely integrates with a company’s employee database and allows for the aggregation and distribution of content, workplace tools as well as the instantaneous push of messages, directly to an employee’s mobile device.
Follow the company on Twitter @APPriseMobile
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