How to re-engage younger workers disillusioned with their jobs
The youngest employees in the workforce aren’t so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed these days, according to new data.
Employee engagement among Gen Z and younger millennial workers (who were born after 1989) has declined the most compared to all other age groups since the onset of the pandemic. For every actively disengaged employee in that age group, there is only one engaged one, Gallup’s most recent survey on employee engagement found. Since 2020, engagement rates overall dropped from 40% to 35% for Gen Z and younger millennials.
Over the years they’ve grown less likely to say they feel they have opportunities to learn, grow and develop at work, which is a key factor driving this, that survey found. But they’re also struggling with feeling like someone at work cares about them, feeling connected to the mission of their organization and feeling like their opinions matter.
Gen X employees also saw engagement rates decline though not as much, while Baby Boomers on the other hand have become more engaged with their jobs in the past few years. But Baby Boomers are swiftly exiting the workforce and Gen Z and millennial workers will soon outnumber them, plus they have vastly different expectations from their employers and their roles than those before them, workplace experts say.
“The younger generation has different values than the older generation, and I think connection means more to them, so of course they’re feeling more disconnected because that’s what they care about,” said Kelsey Bishop, founder and CEO of Candor, a team culture-building platform.
Naturally, the transition to remote and now hybrid work has been a challenge for all generations, and it’s been particularly challenging for younger people who have had limited experience in the working world.
“Older workers have largely established their careers and work relationships and have been more resilient to the workplace changes of recent years,” said Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management and well-being.
Employers need to take several steps to better engage younger workers in new hybrid environments and ultimately retain them as they’re much more open to job-hopping than the generations before them. First and foremost they need to communicate a clear, compelling vision of the organization’s purpose, values and goals and ensure they are fostering a culture that truly supports that, according to the Gallup report.
They should also turn to managers and revisit their responsibilities to ensure their subordinates are getting meaningful feedback and having regular conversations about performance and development. “Without a plan around in-person time and regular (weekly) coaching conversations with their manager, physical distance turns into psychological distance,” Harter said.
Managers should also better encourage collaboration and innovation by asking for and actually acting on younger workers’ ideas and opinions. Another important task is to solidify hybrid plans and expectations for in-person office time to address younger employee’s needs around development, mentorship and overall feeling connected to their organizations and the people they work with.
“For younger workers, development and purpose are keys to moving them from having a gig-worker mindset that has emerged since the pandemic — and is detached emotionally from the organization — to a mindset that is more connected to the organization. In-person time helps to build the strongest learning and loyalty,” the Gallup report said.
Meanwhile, as far as learning and development opportunities go, the way younger generations prefer to learn is “starkly different than older generations, given their status as digital natives and sensibilities shaped by long hours of exposure to TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram,” said Chris Eigeland, co-founder and co-CEO of learning content platform Go1.
“A one-size-fits-all approach to learning will both diminish learning outcomes and undermine an organization’s ability to attract and retain the best young workers. Employers will need to find new ways to tailor content curation, development, and delivery strategies to the unique learning preferences of younger generations if they hope to invest in career development,” Eigeland said.