I am an Xer who manages a small but crucial team at my workplace (in an EU country). I had a lady resign last week, and I have another who may be about to resign or I may have to let go due to low engagement. They are both Gen Z. Today it hit me: the five years I’ve been managing this department, the only people I’ve lost have been from Gen Z. Clearly I do not know how to manage Gen Z so that they are happy working here. What can I do? I want them to be as happy as my Millennial team members. One detail that might matter is that my team is spread over three European cities.
Happy to provide any clarification if anyone wants it.
Edit. Thanks for all the answers even if a few of them are difficult to hear (and a few were oddly angry?) This has been very helpful for me, much more so than it probably would have been at the Old Place.
Also the second lady I mentioned who might quit or I might have to let go? She quit the day after I posted this giving a week’s notice yesterday. My team is fully supportive, but it’s going to be a rough couple of months.
I think it’s also the thought of, “we need new ideas, and if anyone here had them they would have done stuff by now.” They ignore the toxic culture that doesn’t allow the ideas from existing employees to come out or get traction.
I had an idea for something that was badly needed, but it wasn’t a small side project, it needed a dedicated team. I told my boss, I told his boss, and his boss. I met with multiple teams who the work would best fit with and explained what it was and why we needed it. Nothing. Then they hire some new VP, he says we need it (he doesn’t know I exist), and boom, there is a new team to work on it. I met with that team to explain what my thoughts were on it and the problems in the organization it needed to solve (this is something I had been very close to for a decade). I was completely ignored and dismissed. They made the thing, the roll out was a shit show, everyone hated it because they failed to solve the primary issue I was trying to tell them about. Now 2 years later it’s going to be shut down, because the new people didn’t know the issues, didn’t solve the right problems, and failed to listen to anyone else with actual experience in the organization.
I see this type of thing play out over and over and over again.
Or at the very least, lower level employees often don’t get to give big ideas. A big way to get your ideas listened to is to get promoted in the first place. Small ideas only do so much. Sometimes there’s big, systemic problems that need big ideas to fix.
My thing was a big systemic problem that costs the company a lot of money, but it’s hard to see. Those who don’t have to deal with it (everyone in management) don’t care, because it’s easy to ignore and the payoff is hard to qualify when they are looking for a pay on the back or their next promotion. But I think it would save us millions per year, and allow us to produce more, faster, which would also increase revenue. But, oh well. I’ve basically be told to sit down, shut up, and toe the line.