Gen Z - Key Characteristics no.1 - Well-behaved
This is part of a series of blogs on Generation Z. Over the course of these blogs and through the talk I have put together I explain:
how and why Generation Z is different, naming seven key characteristics
the challenges this presents for leaders and organisations
the actions not only to overcome those challenges but ensure future prosperity.
Gen Z is the most important generational shift yet. Their experiences and outlook are not understood well enough by those who have come before them. Generation Z has huge, as yet mostly untapped, potential to meet the challenges of today.
Gen X behaviour
I used to say about the generation we now call Millennials that they were the first generation to be better behaved than the one before. This was based on my experience teaching in inner-city schools in the first half of my career (mid nineties to mid noughties).
I'm a Generation Xer and got used to seeing grainy footage of the moral panic which was teddy boys, followed by the swinging sixties (Timothy Leary etc) and mods vs rockers as represented by Quadrophenia. A general lack of respect for elders was one theme, as was a perceived lack of appreciation for wartime sacrifices.
For some of those who went to university from my generation there was an element of it being a state sponsored party much of the time. Student bars filled from early evening onwards all week long, with mass movement to nightclubs until 2am and beyond. Attendance at lectures was decidedly optional and many did little work or no work at all.
This was followed by peak holiday antics in early adult life. The student bedroom was traded for the beach as a place to rest during the day, with nightlife to follow. Arriving at work worse for wear was rarely a disaster as long as you made it through the day. There may have been a recession in the early nineties but I do not recall any great uncertainty about what the future might hold.
I was part of the last cohort of young people to go through university without the internet. I then spent the first nine years of my career barely using email. As inefficient as all this seems, we were also protected in a way we could not appreciate at the time.
Changes over time
Over time university tuition fees, and student debt in general, spiralled. The idea of paying off university costs over an entire working life made little sense unless studying was going to be taken seriously. This was particularly when globalisation led to greater competition from abroad, outsourcing and a greater sense of dispensibility. Saving for a property deposit started its shift from the responsible thing to do to an impossible dream.
Changes also came to schools. At the start of my career league tables barely existed and I am not sure every school even worked out their results. Expectations shifted, and levels of accountability went with them.
The required grades to get into university courses started to move upwards. Failing at school and then sorting yourself out remained possible for those who found their niche but was also far less wise.
Generation X vs Generation Z
When I compare Generation Z with my own generation, Generation X, the young people I worked with were far more dedicated, tenacious and better behaved.
One example is seen below. Partly this is the outcome of price, advertising (or lack of it) and health education but that is not the whole picture. The percentage of smokers across the whole population dropped from 45% in the mid 70s to 15% in the mid 10s.
Over the 10s the percentage of smokers in each age group fell, but it was the youngest year group where it fell the most. 18 to 24 year olds fell from the largest group of smokers to the second lowest.
Percentage of smokers over time. Source: ONS
Alcohol also follows a similar trend. This is shown by the ‘percentage who had an alcoholic drink in the previous week’ for the years below. Again each age band now drinks less, but the biggest drop was for the youngest. See the table below.
If you look elsewhere, there is also less casual sex and fighting. Who knows if this is related to fewer young people indulging in cigarettes and alcohol? Oasis’ line about them being ‘something worth living for’ struck a chord with far more in the mid nineties than would be the case now.
24/7 reputation management
Social media, and the permanent availability of the camera, is a key reason as to why Gen Z behaviour has improved. The whole concept of 24/7 reputation management grew with this generation of digital natives. Unlike Millennials they have been managing perceptions of themselves online from a very young age. This has implications for the workplace, as I will discuss in future blogs in this series.
As a Gen Xer, I am very grateful that my university years never made it to social media. I am not saying I behaved in a particularly outlandish way, but we acted as though there would be no sense of a legacy. These days what goes on tour can stay on the whatsapp group and the ability to capture audio, images and video are ubiquitous.
The first iphone was released in 2007 when the oldest Zoomers were 12 years old. Social media precedes the smartphone but Generation Z had technology and software their parents and teachers were not equipped to support. Furthermore the power of it all was not understood, and the risks we are acutely aware of today were not anticipated.
‘Viruses’ were seen as a much bigger issue than ‘viral’ content. The world had not learned how to use it, and the companies themselves had little sense of the regulation it might require. Take a look at this IT Crowd episode for a great example of the indiscriminate way in which adults started out on social media.
It is interesting to look back at the timeline of some of the major players, and how the market has developed in response to consumer needs. The value of Snapchat’s disappearing posts is obvious for those who do not want a lifetime imprint for every employer to see. The same is true of applications where users choose who sees their posts. It is hard to believe that Tiktok is so young but it clearly filled a gap with Zoomers in mind.
In a short blog there is only so much ground that can be covered but I hope you see the point I am making. Generation Z have had a lot to manage with greater online threats and a far less secure future. This has a positive impact on their behaviour in teenage and adult life, but not on everything else as will be covered later in the series.
Other blogs:
Click for the first blog summarising who Gen Z are and why they are different.
And then for the Key Characteristics:
no.1 - Well-Behaved
no.2 - Prudent
no.3 - Pragmatic
no.4 - Diligent
no.5 - Apprehensive
no.6 - Diverse
no.7 - Patience
Accompanying videos are all here and also on YouTube
Click on the link to book Alex to speak at your event about Generation Z.
