Gen Z will save workplace culture.

“Sometimes you will meet idiots who are technically adults and authority figures.”

-A quote from Mindy Kaling that I had pinned up at my desk for over a decade.

This is my first piece in a series I’m calling gen z will save the workplace.*

Time and again, I hear from managers and HR professionals that gen z is out of touch, entitled, or worse: totally inept. Spoiler alert: they said all of that (and more) about millennials, too. A tragic take, I fear.

Another spoiler: I learn just as much from the youth as I do from the experienced. If you choose to simply write gen z off, I promise that you are missing out. They’re fast learners, they’re technologically light years ahead of us, and they have a infectiously healthy attitude towards work-life balance that is going to heal toxic office cultures over the next decade - mark my words.

As a young professional in the mid- and late-00s, I was frequently timid and unsure of myself, despite being smart, capable, and deeply conscientious when it came to my work ethic. There are a lot of reasons for this (which I have explored at great length in therapy!), but the aforementioned attitude of my more tenured colleages definitely didn’t help. I was so deeply worried about making mistakes that it took me years to build the confidence to think outside of the box or take risks that might have paid off handsomely.

If I could step back in time and tell that young woman anything, it would be this: trust yourself to know what to do, and trust in your divine ability do it. The most valuable partner you’ll ever need is yourself.

One thing we all hear frequently is “Nobody knows what they are doing. Everyone is making it up as they go along!” While this idea of a level playing field is generally well-meaning and meant to encourage people to trust themselves, I don’t believe it. Rather, many of us actually do know what we are doing due to experience, education, intelligence, or creativity. Those people should speak up, and their voices should be heard. It’s a lot harder to speak up when we’re afraid.

“Fear is the mind-killer!” Fear holds almost all of us back at one time or another. Most of us need the gift of someone else’s belief in us before we start to believe in ourselves.

Thought-starters for those early in their career:

What’s holding you back from doing your best work possible?

Is there a phrase or mantra you can think of that might help release you from fear? (Try: “I am capable of making informed decisions” or “I may grow if I try new things.”)

Are there people in your life that might have experience you can learn from, if you ask them questions?

Thought-starters for managers:

Do you empower your staff to take initiative and think creatively?

Do you treat mistakes as experiments with results that were different, not less?

When was the last time you told your gen z staff members, “I trust you”?

*(Save it from the women, perhaps?? Too soon, New York Times?)

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