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• September 30, 2022
• By Joshua Reid
• Advice , COVID-19 , Generation Z
• business , covid , covid-19 , gen z , next generation , pandemic , technology , workplace , young workers , zoom , zoom meetings

The Workplace for Gen-Z in a Post-Covid Era

This article is also published on GenZAcademy.com

The culture of a business is a part of its ability to market to their clients and other potential business partners. COVID-19 has business’ marketing shifting towards an online platform. Although this seems to work for the time being, will the online, Zoom-style meetings and interaction with clients and potential business partners last once the pandemic is over? For Gen-Z, the business culture pre-COVID was a chance for a job, internship, and post-graduate opportunities; however, the pandemic changed the landscape of how businesses conduct their services.

For Gen-Z, the workplace culture will be drastically different post-COVID.

In an article by BCG titled “How Marketers Can Win with Gen Z and Millennials Post-COVID-19,” authors Carmen Bona and Lara Koslow note that recent history gives an example of how marketers and businesses can “lean in on digital channels and [target] young consumers.” Additionally, Bona and Koslow ask an important question that businesses should inquire about: How can marketers take advantage of this moment of disruption when consumer behaviors and loyalties are in flux?

For businesses who are looking to the next generation to enter the workforce, finding ways to use the pandemic to their advantage to market their services to Gen-Z should be something they look into. Gen-Z is the future of the workforce, and if companies are willing to take advantage of the pandemic to figure out ways they can market themselves to Gen-Z, that might benefit the company in the long run.

“We can expect the pandemic to have more significant impacts on consumer behaviors than previous crises did, amplifying the impacts of marketers’ responses and enabling winners to emerge more strongly and rapidly than ever before.”

Carmen Bona and Lara Koslow

Bona and Koslow also argue in the context of the pandemic that it shifted the social structure of a company and that coming up with a “winning marketing strategy” for Gen-Z would be “the ultimate challenge and opportunity for brands.” (Bona and Koslow) For a business, a marketing strategy is a great tool to not only how they can market their services and products but also to expand their knowledge of current and upcoming business trends and what their clients are looking for in terms of services.

For Bona and Koslow, even if COVID-19 didn’t occur, Gen-Z and Millennials are in a particular position for businesses “given their increasing spending power in the coming years and their ability to influence older generations.” Gen-Z’s ability during Covid-19 to market themselves through social media or virtual internships and job opportunities comes from their ability pre-COVID to interact with people, thus, setting them up for potential jobs and internships in a post-COVID era. 

Although Generation Z is known for being a generation steeped in new technology, they are also able to build relationships and connect with individuals who could guide them down their chosen career path.   In his article “Gen-Z and the post-Covid workplace, ” Harsh Mall notes this fact.

“The youngest generation entering the workforce is comfortable in their digital skin. They know how to build rapport and connect naturally in virtual engagements.”

Harsh Mall

In the article, Harsh Mall argues that compared to millennials who are tiring of the virtual platform, Gen-Z is thriving in it, finding ways to make even the virtual messaging outlets like Zoom or Google Meet enjoyable. For Mall, Gen-Z are the “digital natives,” and “They are setting the precedent for remote working and following their lead will better prepare us for the post-COVID workplace” (Mall).

However, Mall wants to note that for Gen-Z, it’s more about independence than isolation. For Mall, one example of freedom over isolation is that as a part-time MBA (Master of Business Administration) student at NYU, he and his colleagues were grateful for the online recorded lectures and ability to hold group assignment sessions online. 

For Gen-Z in a post-COVID era, this independence and flexibility could be what drives the new business model. Flexibility played a crucial part for many businesses during the pandemic,  as it allowed employees to balance their personal and professional lives properly. Being flexible and independent in a post-COVID era could allow Gen-Z to maximize their time and not just work from the office but from home.  It would also enable Gen-Z to develop their digital and communication skills further.

Sources

Bona, Carmen and Lara Koslow. “How Marketers Can Win with Gen Z and Millennials Post-COVID-19.” BCG. Accessed 15 June 2021.

Mall, Harsh. “Gen-Z and the post-Covid workplace.” FoundingFuel”. Accessed 15 June 2021.

Photo by Beth Jnr on Unsplash