6 ways to harness Gen Z’s intensity at work

Advice from a millennial mentoring younger colleagues

Picture the scene: a 22-year-old Gen Z creative is asked to do some work on a small project, maybe a social media brief with a few graphics. They come up with a good idea but it’s too intense for the brief—and maybe the client. Their senior colleague tells them to move on, and they react emotionally or retreat into themselves, refusing to engage.

Listen in on any workplace conversation in our industry at the moment and you’re likely to find somebody complaining about Gen Zers, with tales of their lack of resilience, attitudes to workplace culture or excessively emotional reactions. Senior creatives—and that includes millennials—can find themselves quickly running out of empathy and patience with their younger colleagues.

Meanwhile, Gen Zs are turning to social media to bash the industry they work in and everything they see as toxic about it.

There will always be tensions between the generations. But I believe we are missing a trick when it comes to Gen Z; its members have an infectious energy and an intensity from which we can all learn something.

This comes from a weirdly dark place; it’s driven not only by their age but from generational anxiety, a kind of adrenaline rush. They grew up with open-bar social media and a global awareness of fear, from wars to political crises to climate change, more so than any generation. In this environment, the smallest things can become of huge importance; hence, that 22-year-old who really wants to nail even the smallest project.

Gen Zers want to add an extra touch, extra emotion, extra creativity and extra parts of themselves into everything. It’s like a survival tactic as they search for purpose and stability, but it can be turned to benefit if harnessed the right way.

Here are some things I’ve learned as a millennial mentoring younger colleagues:

Develop patience and balance feedback with active listening

One thing that members of Gen Z universally feel is that they are being ignored. And even if they are not, the responses they are getting about their work are often not being put together eloquently.

Avoid phrases such as “We don’t have time to do this right now.” You always have time to tell them that “we will go through this feedback later, but right now we have to keep going.” A small difference, but it shows support while keeping pace.

Let their ideas move through the agency, even if not fully formed

You can teach people how to make good ideas only if you let them hit the light. Even if it’s a bad idea, take a moment to look at it and examine why it wouldn’t work. Provide constructive feedback and have someone senior take a look, too—and make this approach part of the culture. Gen Zers have many ideas, but they are mostly uncut gems—the more ideas are stress-tested, the sooner they will get there.

Recognize that emotions can run high in creative fields

We need to talk more about the emotional overdrive in the advertising industry. We’ve lived through almost a decade of hyper-activism running through almost every type of advertising. It has been injected into everything from fast food to insurance.

Gen Zers are particularly passionate about activism as it allows them to put personal purpose into their work and make sense of the world. But, as with any of us with such ideas, they are emotionally invested. When these ideas are slapped down, it hurts twice as hard. Any kind of activism where you feel people can make a difference is emotionally draining, so let’s respect that. And if it’s the client rejecting their idea, be empathetic too, with a supportive debrief afterward.

Foster collaboration but don’t ignore competition

First, be realistic about competition; it exists. Young creatives will earn promotions if they have good ideas—and can’t all move up at the same time. Equally, encourage them to put their hands up and acknowledge who did the work. Members of Gen Z can be shy about plugging their involvement, which comes from a place of social anxiety and a lack of self-confidence.

Collaboration makes sense, but don’t tell them that your business is a “family”—that will send them running for the hills. They have spent their entire lives reading propaganda of all kinds, and can spot bullshit a mile off—especially “corporate culture” if not genuine and proven every day.

Lead with empathy and apologize when necessary

As leaders, we want to teach Gen Z strength and resilience, but can’t do that with a sledgehammer. Resilience is misunderstood—it’s not body armor or mental Kevlar, it’s trusting that you are in an environment where you know what is going to happen next. If you feel the captain of the ship is not listening to you when you say there’s a crack in the hull, your resilience drops.

Take the time to teach

Above all, take the time to listen to Gen Zers and focus on what they can be taught. We have a fast-paced industry with a history of burning people out. But in the current environment, forcing people to quit and then having to rehire and retrain them doesn’t make financial sense for any of us. Our entire industry is based on communication, so let’s do it better with our Gen Z colleagues.