To Connect With Gen Z, Let’s Break the Vicious Stereotype Cycle

The Diary of a CEO might be the UK’s most popular podcast. It’s hard to say for sure. But last year Steven Bartlett’s show surpassed ten million downloads in a single month, with the Dragon’s Den star enlisting the likes of James Corden, Karen Brady, Jimmy Carr, and Maisie Williams as guests. 

It was during an episode of this phenomenally successful podcast that Bartlett mused on the shortcomings of gen z in the workforce. “I have a fear that gen z are the least resilient generation that I’ve ever seen”, he told his guest Simon Sinek. “I think there’s a lot of evidence to support that”, replied Sinek approvingly. 

And so ensued a social media backlash (and backlash to the backlash) which, if nothing else, secured a couple of days for The Diary of a CEO at the top of the online news cycle. But that attitude towards gen z doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s a popular stereotype, and one which infuriates young people just as much as it panders to the pre-existing views of certain members of older generations. In other words, it’s precisely the kind of opinion which performs so well in our outrage and attention-fuelled media culture. 

The appetite for this stereotype comes from a human place. A large portion of today’s business leaders came of age in a generation where presenteeism got you ahead. ‘Work/life balance’, on the other hand, wasn’t really on the agenda. And neither was mental health. You were either ‘tough enough’ to grit it out, or you weren’t. If you were able to thrive within that kind of climate - and if you’re a successful person today, you undoubtedly did - then why would you see the value in changing it? So, it becomes easy to dismiss the popular concerns of gen z as a ‘lack of resilience’ - and viewpoints like Bartlett’s become very attractive.

The trouble is that these opinions can serve to cement misleading stereotypes. My own gen z colleagues have proven themselves to be some of the most phenomenally resilient team members I’ve ever known. Consider the challenges they’ve faced in their first few years in the workforce - a pandemic, war, the cost of living crisis and rampant insecurity in the housing market. To top it off, we appear to be entering a period of re-evaluation about how work works, and its relationship to our lives. Gen Z didn’t choose to be caught in the crossfire of all this, yet they are. 

But regardless of anecdotal evidence, these stereotypes can do deep and lasting damage to the way we think about other people. In the world of marketing, where an understanding of people is critical, this is a recipe for disaster. 

By 2025 over a quarter of the global workforce will be Gen Zers, and we’re to believe that each and every one of these millions of people is an unresilient slacker? It’s time to get real. Like baby boomers, gen x, and millennials before them, this is an infinitely multifaceted generation who are served poorly by being bunched together in a homogeneous cluster. 

In our recently-released research report, we carried out research which showed that 35% of our surveyed gen z respondents were “anxious about the future”. You might find that unsurprising, given the tenor of media coverage. But what about the fact that 45% described themselves as “optimistic” for the future? Or that more than half - 58% - were “happy” in their daily life, compared to 17% who declared themselves “unhappy”? 

Media personalities with large audiences tend to paint in primary colours, but this generation is a kaleidoscope. Without wanting to sound glib, that’s because they’re real people - and marketers sell to real people, not stereotypes. 

There’s a vicious cycle at play here, and savvy business leaders must break away from it. It’s all-too-easy in our media climate to see certain voices making a name for themselves by airing purposely controversial opinions designed to inflame passions on multiple sides of an issue. In terms of clicks and shares, that’s good economics. But an unintended consequence is that these kinds of stereotypes become more deeply ingrained than they otherwise might be, making it more difficult to shake them off. 

On the other hand, getting this right carries significant rewards. If any business hopes to operate successfully in the future, you’ll be working alongside gen z staff and colleagues. If this generation is set to make up 25% of the workforce in two years, imagine how prevalent they will be in ten. So don’t let stereotypes do your thinking for you, and challenge your assumptions. 

After all, there’s a lot more to gen z than media noise will tell you.