CURATED READS FOR GEN Z—AND THEIR Z-CURIOUS COLLEAGUES

first up

Welcome back! I’m hoping this hits my bosses’ inboxes before they give me my performance review (wink, wink).

The dreaded year-end performance review—one statistic found they had made 22 percent of employees cry. 

If you’re a Gen Z employee, it may be your first review. If you employ Gen Zers, maybe you’re worrying about whether a negative eval will push young workers out the door—a valid concern, as a McKinsey study by senior partners André Dua, Kweilin Ellingrud, and coauthors found that 77 percent of Gen Zers were considering leaving their jobs. 

While concern over attrition may feel sharper these days, few people I know ever liked year-end reviews; a McKinsey survey found that a majority don’t think they have positive impact on performance, and half of workers think they’re unfair. (Unfortunately, scrapping annual appraisals can also make it hard to create evidence for promotions and raises, leading to “ghost” ratings that are basically just another review system.)  

So is the only thing left giving a pat on the back? 

Not necessarily. Another thing Gen Z wants is engagement—“quiet quitting” isn’t all too shocking if workers are feeling cut off from office culture, mentorship, or work-friend shenanigans that make 40-hour weeks bearable. We all hoped it’d be more like The Office. Instead, we often feel isolated or purposeless, worrying that the only chance to stave off inflation is to job hop. 

In other words, passivity might be the last thing we want.

The boss relationship accounts for 86 percent of satisfaction at work. If you manage Gen Zers, here’s what to consider as reviews season comes around: 

Start today. The best way to dull the impact of review season is through frequent feedback; why make workers wait until the end of the year to know what you think of their performance? 

Be honest. Gen Z wants their accomplishments recognized, but few new hires would believe they’re doing everything right. Straightforward feedback serves as a road map for them to do better—and imagine a future at the company as they grow. 

Take stock of unique adds. For one, we’re the most digitally savvy generation, and that has benefits—Gen Z workers in one survey reported spending eight hours per week helping older colleagues look for digital files.  

Also, Gen Z is already a quarter of the world population, and dozens of countries have a median age below 25. Tapping young employees’ knowledge as your consumers, clients, or patrons among the generation grow can help companies stay ahead of the curve. 

Consider that your eyes aren’t everywhere. Hybrid work means you might spend less time directly overseeing employees, especially new hires, which can create the illusion work isn’t taking place. Make sure to ask for feedback from your reports’ coworkers too, and spoiler alert: the companies that prize value creation over just “work” tend to come out on top.

Gen Z is also deeply concerned with DEI efforts and creating an inclusive environment—critical work that our Women in the Workplace 2022 report, in partnership with LeanIn.Org, found is rarely recognized formally in performance reviews. 

And if you are Gen Z, here’s what you can do: 

Maybe you’re writing reviews, sweating over your own, or not part of this process at all; nonetheless, it’s a good time to take stock and be proud of what you’ve accomplished this year. Good luck! 

QUOTE US ON IT

“Every manager needs to be able to have conversations that help put on the table some of the social and emotional issues going on in the workplace and be able to coach somebody through them.”

–Partner Bryan Hancock on effective feedback in an episode of The McKinsey Podcast 

VISUALIZE IT

LGBTQ+ employees report feeling much less inclusion at work compared with straight colleagues, in areas from ability to express themselves to receiving mentorship.

Wait, don’t scroll 

New year, new me? Explore our guide to managing yourself and others for advice on how to give feedback, how to manage time, how to communicate better, and more. 
 
Make a friend. Feeling disconnected from coworkers? You’re not alone—research shows that employees’ social capital suffered greatly during the pandemic, and only 15 percent of people felt that their networks had grown at all.

Room to grow. Diversity in private equity has a way to go—in one survey, institutional investors gave an average score of lower than four (on a scale of one to ten) to the representation of gender minorities, ethnic and racial minorities, people from low-income backgrounds, and LGBTQ+ people in their workplace. 

NOT US; STILL GREAT

Share the love. How do you compensate for not having a mentor? You find a million online—Gen Zers are flocking to “career influencers” who provide bite-size pieces of job advice via video that can help level the playing field. [BBC]

That checks out. Collins Dictionary just named its 2022 word of the year: “permacrisis.” Need I say more? [Washington Post]

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— Edited by Sarah Skinner, Gen Z curation editor, New York