One recent September morning, we participated as hosts in the Columbus Foundation's Big Table, "a community-wide day of conversation." Ours was a terrific conversation.
As you may know, Lora and I do a lot of talking about workforce and talent. On this occasion, we decided to use the Big Table to turn the tables (pun intended) to listen to others talk about their experiences and challenges with workforce and talent.
We were selective in our invitations. We identified seven or eight business executives from various industries, including construction, healthcare, logistics, and hospitality. We suspected these leaders had lots to say about hiring and retaining workers.
Our provocative question: "What's up with workers today?"
With that, they were off! A lively and thoughtful exchange of ideas ensued. I learned a lot and gained new insight on things I thought I already thoroughly knew. Some of my takeaways:
Treat people fairly and consistently across the organization.
"My job as your boss is to help make it easier for you to do your job. But it's your job. You have to take ownership."
When people feel their values align with the company's, they tend to look at their work as a career rather than "just a job."
Enhance business processes to improve "life" at work (i.e., make it less burdensome/bureaucratic). Then communicate the enhancements and make it easy for people to find and implement.
One of the leaders around our Big Table shared her observation that, even though young people are tech savvy, wicked smart, and courageous, "they are not sufficiently benchmarking what they are asking for." Instead, they ask for -- maybe even demand -- salaries that are way outside their levels of experience. Their requests, which are seen as unrealistic and unreasonable, leave their bosses dumbfounded.
Later that day, I came across an article from Columbus Business First, Gen Zers say they're underpaid. Here's why young workers are feeling salary pressure (subscription). According to the article, 87% of workers between 18 and 27 say they are underpaid. Of those, 19% say they'd need $100,000 or more to cover their basic needs. Most of these respondents currently earn between $30,000 and $60,000 per year.
(Interestingly, all those surveyed who make less than $30,000 feel their pay is fair. Go figure!)
The report's author implies that it's not that these workers have unreasonable or unrealistic expectations. “The broader issue at play is the growing disparity between the rising cost of living and stagnant wage growth.”
Later that evening, I met a friend for dinner. She complained about having to sit through a training about Gen Z. As a generational peer of mine (Gen X), she admitted to rolling her eyes at some of the stuff being presented. "You know, I just kind of checked out. I mean, why do we have to do all this stuff to make them happy? We never got this special treatment."
I proposed a different way of thinking about it. Instead of a binary (I'm right, they're wrong) or zero sum (if they win, I lose), treat the information presented about younger workers as insight. So when they come to you with a request that seems out of bounds (maybe even outrageous), you won't be surprised (perhaps even outraged).
Instead, you can have a productive conversation about how to address their needs. It's not that they deserve or don't deserve to earn $100,000. They just deserve to be listened to and taken seriously.