Gen Z workers, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, are entering the workforce with a unique set of values and expectations that are reshaping the workplace as we know it. According to a recent CNBC SurveyMonkey report, 12% of Gen Z workers wish they could ban the talk of sports at work, compared to the 9 percent national average. This was a higher rate than any other generation dissing sports at work, as Baby Boomers, Gen X and Millennials only said the same 8 percent to 10 percent of the time.
Most of the other generations were much more likely to say they wanted to ban talking about politics at work. The survey found overall that 47 percent didn’t want this conversation to come up at work, but Gen Z only said that 41 percent of the time. Baby Boomers, Gen X and millennials were much more wary of the topic, with 49 percent, 52 percent and 46 percent wanting the topic banned, respectively.
While politics has a tendency to divide coworkers and could contribute to tension in the workplace, sports have historically been less problematic to discuss in a work setting. The Gen Z disdain toward sports discussions might just come down to how little they like sports in general, though. A 2021 Emory University study discovered only 23 percent of Gen Z called themselves passionate sports fans, compared to 42 percent of Millennials, 33 percent of Gen X and 31 percent of Baby Boomers. And a whopping 27 percent even said they were “anti-sports,” which was in stark contrast to other generations, which said this only in single digits.
But Gen Z has been at the forefront of many changes in the workforce. They’ve pushed for more companies to commit to policies in support of diversity and inclusion, and they may even be deciding where to work based on these policies. In a recent Tallo survey, 69 percent of Gen Z said they would “absolutely” be more likely to apply for a job if recruitment materials included a racially diverse employee base.
They are also pushing for new and advanced technology to streamline workflow processes and are characterized as quick to change jobs if they find a more compelling job offer or salary rate elsewhere. Not everyone is a fan of the Gen Z worker, however. A new Freedom Economy Index report conducted by PublicSquare and RedBalloon found 68 percent of small business owners said of all their employees. And 71 percent said these younger workers were the most likely to have a workplace mental health issue.
Meanwhile, in a ResumeBuilder report, 40 percent of hiring managers admitted they were biased against Gen Z. Still, HR leaders have called out the complaints of some employers over Gen Z’s new take on the workforce and said they come down to general misunderstanding. It’s not necessarily that Gen Z wants to work less, they just have new and evolved expectations of what a company should be for their workers, according to HR consultant Bryan Driscoll.
“The portrayal of Gen Z as toxic for workplaces is not only unjust, but also overlooks the broader context of the evolving workplace,” Driscoll told “Their expectations for transparency, inclusivity and purpose in their work often get misconstrued as entitlement or unreliability.”
They are the generation that entered the workforce at a time of economic instability and a global pandemic, which radically reshaped notions of work-life balance and mental well-being, Driscoll added. “Dismissing an entire generation based on stereotypes is a missed opportunity and borders on discriminatory practices,” Driscoll said.
Since Gen Z is set to become roughly 30 percent of the global workforce by 2025, managers also might need to adapt to Gen Z before it’s too late. “They want to automate things,” recruiter and Integrity Resource Management President Keith Sims told . “It’s not that manual tasks are below them. They just know there is a better way.”
