ENTITLED OR WHAT?

By Richard Irvine

I’ve heard Gen Z described in many different ways by their Boomer and Gen X bosses - snowflakes, lazy, disloyal, lacking resilience, drive, ambition, commitment…

But the word I hear used most often is “entitled”. And there’s a degree of evidence to support this assertion.

Stories abound of Gen Z’s reluctance to report to their place of work beyond one or two days a week.

And then quitting at the drop of a hat.

And when they do, they use a Messaging App or a social media story to tend their resignation. Tell the world, why don’t you!

And whilst we’re on the subject of messaging, a full stop at the end of a sentence is just that, a full stop. It’s not a sign of aggression.

And as for mental health…

Right?

Well, no. This particular Boomer begs to differ. I for one have a different read of this.

Let’s be clear, every generation that’s come before has had to suffer the criticism of their elders whilst dealing with the problems that they’ve inherited.

I grew up in the Cold War and on drives to visit my Grandparents on the Yorkshire coast I remember passing an airbase where missiles were lined up pointing Eastwards. A sight that didn’t do much to quell my adolescent anxiety.

Even so, there was a sense of optimism, and assuming we survived a nuclear war, (not to mention staggering around in ludicrously high platform soled shoes), by and large the future looked good.

Not so this generation.

They came of age during COVID, they’re now facing a geopolitical upheaval not seen for a generation, climate change is irrefutable (YES, IT IS DONALD!), there’s a cost of living and housing crisis, the burden of huge student loans, and to add insult to injury, they’re now having to compete with AI for entry level jobs.

This is not business as usual.

No wonder they’re pushing back and reshaping the boundaries that we considered sacrosanct.

But despite all this, what truly amazes me is how adept they’ve become at finding ways around and through some of these challenges.

Digital fluency enables them to solve problems at speed. They’re serial entrepreneurs and show little fear in having a go.

And they’re keen to continue learning. Recruiters cite access to mentoring as one of their top “asks” at job interviews (intergenerational teams, anyone?).

They’re becoming masters of their own agency. And with that a confidence that is often mistakenly interpreted as arrogance by their older colleagues.

Entitled? Yes perhaps they are.

Entitled to our support, entitled to our encouragement and entitled to our trust. I believe it’s the least we can do given the cards they’ve been dealt.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I am the father to three Gen Z teenagers, although my youngest insists that she’s an Alpha).

Richard is Co-founder and Creative Director at A3A