One in ten eligible voters in the 2020 United States Presidential election is Generation Z. "Gen Z" includes all people worldwide born after 1995 and presently accounts for almost 30% of the world's population (2.47 billion people). They are the first generation of humans who have lived their entire lives in a world of super-computers, instantaneous worldwide communications, and constant digital interactions.

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Their link to technology is implicit in the way Gen Z members think and act. They are well informed, innovative, and ready to take responsibility for their own lives.

Gen Z has seen the effects of climate change and the world's inability to take meaningful actions. They have experienced the spread of economic and personal, if not political, freedoms across borders and the widening disparity of wealth within populations and between countries.

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They are more likely to be bilingual than any generation before them and more accepting of cultural differences. They are more suspicious of Big Business and governments than previous generations. Most telling, they reflect sharper differences with their elders than any prior generation in the 20th century. For example, Gen Z is twice as likely as the rest of society to care about diversity, inclusion, and tolerance.

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Demographers and sociologists agree that Gen Z will change consumer preferences, business practices, and social mores as they move through stages of their lives. The research found that five times more Gen Z youngsters think businesses do not act in society's interests than those who do, and around a quarter can't name a single brand they think acts responsibly.

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Two-thirds of Gen Z believe that their choices in the products they buy and the places they work can impact the world positively. More than eight of ten of the generation assert that they control their destiny by the choices they make. They expect businesses, governments, and social institutions to accommodate their needs, not vice versa.  

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The Purpose of a Corporation

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Businesses and societies have long operated on the premise of the Golden Rule: "He who has the Gold makes the Rules." As companies expanded across national borders and grew in profits and political power after WWII, some began to question big organizations' purpose. Did behemoths have moral, social, or civic responsibilities beyond making money? "No," replied another Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. "There is one and only one social responsibility of business - to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game."

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Friedman's claim of a corporation's purpose was not universally accepted, especially as instances of corporate abuses - playing outside the rules - appeared more frequently in the press:

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• Ralph Nader's 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed" exposed the automobile industry's neglect of safety features to keep prices low.
• Union Carbide Corporation's disregard of fundamental safety standards at its Bhopal, India, resulted in a deadly leak of the toxic gas methyl isocyanide (MIC) in 1984. The gas killed 25,000 people and left another 500,000 with long term health problems.
• Big tobacco ignored the health impact of smoking and continuing the use of addictive substances - Increased nicotine and ammonia - to increase sales. Despite the adverse health effects, they continued bullying third-world countries to avoid adverse labeling of their products.

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By the late 1990s, academicians and some executives began to promote ideas for businesses to assume more social responsibilities. Books like A New World of Business: Ethics and Free Enterprise in the Global 1990s, Leading With Purpose, and Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business slowly began to affect corporate governance, identifying "that the business of a company has to be beyond shareholder value." The British Academy's Future of the Corporation Project asserted in 2017 that the corporation's purpose is to provide profitable solutions to problems of people and the planet while not causing harm. The CEOs of the Business Roundtable declared a fundamental commitment that corporations should deliver value to all stakeholders, including supporting the communities they operate.

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The pendulum of public opinion seems to be swinging to a consensus that businesses must be operated for a purpose greater than maximizing profits. Nevertheless, support for the latter remains formidable. The Council of Institutional Investors, an organization representing banks, pensions funds, and other shareholder groups, rejected the Business Roundtable Statement, reiterating that the purpose of governance is to "focus on long-term shareholder value." University textbooks such as Managerial Economics and Business Strategy and Managerial Economics promote shareholder primacy theory.

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Bridging the Gap Between Gen Z and Corporations

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A business that continues to operate under the paradigm of profit maximization is likely to decline and eventually disappear as Gen Z becomes the largest population segment. They expect companies to "walk the talk," aligning their actions and products with their public pronouncements and image. Neutrality on such subjects as the environment, racism, diversity, and exploitation is not acceptable to the new consumers and employees entering the markets. Descriptions such as "transparency," "ethical," and "green" are new standards for corporations in the future.

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The survivors of the Great Depression and the second world war composed most of the workforce from 1950 to 1975. They have been gradually displaced by the Boomers (1940-1959). Generation X (1960-1979), and Millennials (1980-1994).

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Today, the workforce includes similar amounts of Boomers (31%), Gen X (32%), and Millennials (34%). The impact of Gen Z is growing as they replace the Boomer and Generation X populations in the workforce and consumer groups.

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Corporate Actions to Attract Gen Z

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Technological change and widescale adoption of automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning are rapidly changing the workplace. Gen Z is exceptionally comfortable with technology, having never lived in a world without the internet. They bring their technological experience and expectations to the workplace, creating significant advantages for companies struggling to adapt to the Information Age's work environments.

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Gen Z expects employers to operate for all stakeholders' greater good, especially on matters of the common interest, an opportunity for all, acceptance of diversity, and full transparency. They typically seek engagement with, and commitment to, their corporate employers.

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Gen Z employees expect to have meaningful, challenging work whose accomplishment leads to higher pay and promotions. But they are more likely than older employees to leave a company if their needs are not met. Whereas a Boomer might stay in an unfulfilling job for five to ten years, a Gen Z employee is likely to leave in five to ten months. The willingness to seek greener pastures reflects their self-confidence and the expectation that they are the difference-makers in the new business environment.

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Every company must not only deliver financial performance but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.‍

Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Inc, Annual Report 2017

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They typically enter the workforce with little work experience or knowledge of accepted business norms. They expect more casual, open relationships with managers and executives than previous generations, even though they are less adept in navigating personal and bureaucratic obstacles. Companies that continue to operate under strict command and control structures may find Gen Z employees challenging to attract or manage.

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Gen Z Actions to Attract Employers

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The burden of finding the right fit between employer and employee is not one-sided, especially when automation and technology are likely to eliminate 20 million jobs by 2030. Gen Z will be affected like other generations of workers unless they continually upgrade their skills to stay relevant. While technical skills are essential, researchers note that soft skills, in addition to technical competence, will be especially important in the future. The critical soft skills most valued by employers in the future include:

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• Social intelligence: the ability to connect to others in a profound and direct way, to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions
• Cross-cultural competency: the ability to operate in different cultural settings
• New-media literacy: the ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication
• Design mindset: the ability to represent and set tasks and work processes for desired outcomes
• Virtual collaboration: the ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team.

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Gen Z members seeking to expand their capabilities, especially in qualitative skills, should consider online and onsite university classes that include reputable certifications on completion. Employers are most likely to seek those employees who can "hit the ground running," in place of expensive, on-the-job training after employment.

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Social and professional networks are the best sources of employment information and opportunity. A Talent Network like noustack.com is a valuable communication channel for Generation Z to keep up-to-date on businesses aligned with their objectives. It guides brands and products consistent with Gen Z goals and a source of like-minded people and students seeking new contacts, relationships, and information about the most desirable employers and current opportunities.

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Final Thoughts

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Few past generations had the opportunities to change the world as exists for Gen Z. The chains of conformity and complacency are always hard to break. At the same time, the energy required to sustain a new movement is unceasing. The challenges ahead for humanity - climate change, pandemics, political, and trade turmoil - are unique, but no greater than the skills and determination of the world's growing young people. In the end, they will make their mark and create a better world for all.

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