4 ways to prepare for Gen Z in the workplace

guest column

Gen Z is predicted to represent more than 25 percent of the workforce by 2025 — here's how you can prepare your workplace for their imminent arrival. Photo via unsplash.com

As each ensuing generation enters the workforce, they bring with them unique characteristics and desires that encourage employers to take notice, which typically results in proactive steps that significantly improve the workplace. Enter Generation Z, or Zoomers, which is an appropriate moniker given the Zoom era and descriptive nature of their rapid interconnection with technology.

Zoomers, born between 1997-2012, are reported to be the most diverse generation in U.S. history. They are also considered true digital natives born in the era of Wi-Fi, Google, social media, and smartphones. Although the oldest members are only 25, Zoomers are already voicing their opinions about key aspects of the workplace.

As employers continue to define and refine their workplaces to attract and retain top talent, now is an ideal time to address the needs of Zoomers, who are predicted to represent more than 25 percent of the workforce by 2025. Below are four areas for business leaders to consider as they prepare for an influx of Zoomers.

Promote mission and values

Zoomers place a high value on meaning and purpose in their lives, so they want to be associated with companies that have a mission that extends beyond making a profit and makes a difference in the world.

Business leaders should review/re-evaluate their mission and core values accordingly to position the company in a manner that connects to a greater good and establishes ways employees’ roles contribute to meeting organizational objectives.

Companies should prominently promote their mission and core values statements in all recruiting materials, job descriptions, websites and career pages to demonstrate their commitment to being an employer with a higher purpose that aligns with the current environment and workplace needs.

Embrace holistic well being

Although employee wellness and mental health are the topics of many conversations and initiatives, Zoomers expect employers to ramp up efforts and embrace a holistic approach to employee well-being.

Companies should go beyond the basics and realize that many factors influence employees’ lives and their overall health, such as purpose/career, social, financial, physical, community and mental/emotional. For example, it is important for employees to feel connected to the community, so employers can offer paid time to volunteer. Mindfulness programs, meditation apps and EAPs offer mental/emotional support.

Putting programs and services in place that focus on the six areas for a holistic approach is critical to Zoomers.

Consider DEI initiatives

As the most diverse generation in U.S. history, Zoomers are mindful about diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. They are interested in companies that have solid DEI programs in place and demonstrate them through actions.

For example, addressing the composition of boards and executive teams for equal representation; conducting ongoing DEI training in the workplace to raise awareness and institute behavioral change; ensuring a diverse hiring panel and slate of candidates during recruiting efforts; and offering robust mentoring programs for equal learning/advancement opportunities are ways for companies to support DEI initiatives.

Companies should display their DEI stances on websites and in recruiting materials to ensure Zoomers are aware of their efforts to remain relevant and make a difference for everyone in the workforce.

Optimize technology

Zoomers are considered to be true digital natives and have an innate ability to use technology, so they prefer employers that offer the latest technology and tools to enhance their performance in the workplace. In addition, Zoomers are a mobile-first generation that grew up with smartphones and tablets, so many of their activities, such as job searches, employer research, and work applications are conducted on mobile devices.

Employers should optimize technology by using HR technology platforms that are mobile friendly for all aspects of the business, including recruiting, hiring, onboarding, time, and attendance, performance management, training and more. Communication platforms such as Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams should be staples in the workplace, along with relevant social media platforms for instant connections, to help employers remain relevant to Zoomers.

As business leaders prepare for an influx of Zoomers in the workplace by promoting mission/values, employee well-being, DEI and technology, they are also making significant strides toward improving the work environment, which leads to increased employee engagement, retention and performance for sustained business success.

------

Jill Chapman is a senior performance consultant with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

UH researchers develop breakthrough material to boost efficiency of sodium-ion batteries

eyes on clean energy

A research lab at the University of Houston has developed a new type of material for sodium-ion batteries that could make them more efficient and boost their energy performance.

Led by Pieremanuele Canepa, Robert Welch assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH, the Canepa Research Laboratory is working on a new material called sodium vanadium phosphate, which improves sodium-ion battery performance by increasing the energy density. Energy density is the amount of energy stored per kilogram, and the new material can do so by more than 15 percent. With a higher energy density of 458 watt-hours per kilogram — compared to the 396 watt-hours per kilogram in older sodium-ion batteries — this material brings sodium technology closer to competing with lithium-ion batteries, according to the researchers.

The Canepa Lab used theoretical expertise and computational methods to discover new materials and molecules to help advance clean energy technologies. The team at UH worked with the research groups headed by French researchers Christian Masquelier and Laurence Croguennec from the Laboratoire de Reáctivité et de Chimie des Solides, which is a CNRS laboratory part of the Université de Picardie Jules Verne, in Amiens France, and the Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France for the experimental work on the project.

The researchers then created a battery prototype using the new materia sodium vanadium phosphate, which demonstrated energy storage improvements. The material is part of a group called “Na superionic conductors” or NaSICONs, which is made to let sodium ions move in and out of the battery during charging and discharging.

“The continuous voltage change is a key feature,” Canepa says in a news release. “It means the battery can perform more efficiently without compromising the electrode stability. That’s a game-changer for sodium-ion technology.”

The synthesis method used to create sodium vanadium phosphate may be applied to other materials with similar chemistries, which could create new opportunities for advanced energy storage. A paper of this work was published in the journal Nature Materials.

"Our goal is to find clean, sustainable solutions for energy storage," Canepa adds. "This material shows that sodium-ion batteries can meet the high-energy demands of modern technology while being cost-effective and environmentally friendly."

------

This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

Houston hospital names leading cancer scientist as new academic head

new hire

Houston Methodist Academic Institute has named cancer clinician and scientist Dr. Jenny Chang as its new executive vice president, president, CEO, and chief academic officer.

Chang was selected following a national search and will succeed Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, who will retire in February after 20 years of leadership. Chang is the director of the Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and the Emily Herrmann Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research. She has been with Houston Methodist for 15 years.

Over the last five years, Chang has served as the institute’s chief clinical science officer and is credited with strengthening cancer clinical trials. Her work has focused on therapy-resistant cancer stem cells and their treatment, particularly relating to breast cancer.

Her work has generated more than $35 million in funding for Houston Methodist from organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, according to the health care system. In 2021, Dr. Mary Neal and her husband Ron Neal, whom the cancer center is now named after, donated $25 million to support her and her team’s research on advanced cancer therapy.

In her new role, Chang will work to expand clinical and translational research and education across Houston Methodist in digital health, robotics and bioengineered therapeutics.

“Dr. Chang’s dedication to Houston Methodist is unparalleled,” Dr. Marc L. Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, said in a news release. “She is committed to our mission and to helping our patients, and her clinical expertise, research innovation and health care leadership make her the ideal choice for leading our academic mission into an exciting new chapter.”

Chang is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Stand Up to Cancer Scientific Advisory Council. She earned her medical degree from Cambridge University in England and completed fellowship training in medical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital/Institute for Cancer Research. She earned her research doctorate from the University of London.

She is also a professor at Weill Cornell Medical School, which is affiliated with the Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

Texas A&M awarded $1.3M federal grant to develop clean energy tech from electronic waste

seeing green

Texas A&M University in College Station has received a nearly $1.3 million federal grant for development of clean energy technology.

The university will use the $1,280,553 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a cost-effective, sustainable method for extracting rare earth elements from electronic waste.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a set of 17 metallic elements.

“REEs are essential components of more than 200 products, especially high-tech consumer products, such as cellular telephones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, and flat-screen monitors and televisions,” according to the Eos news website.

REEs also are found in defense equipment and technology such as electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, and radar and sonar systems, says Eos.

The grant awarded to Texas A&M was among $17 million in DOE grants given to 14 projects that seek to accelerate innovation in the critical materials sector. The federal Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical material — such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, lithium, magnesium, nickel, and platinum — as a substance that faces a high risk of supply chain disruption and “serves an essential function” in the energy sector.

“DOE is helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign supply chains through innovative solutions that will tap domestic sources of the critical materials needed for next-generation technologies,” says U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “These investments — part of our industrial strategy — will keep America’s growing manufacturing industry competitive while delivering economic benefits to communities nationwide.”

------

This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

View All Listings