8 Actions That Align Gen Z Work Values With Your Company Values

Gen Z might be the newest generation to enter the workforce, but they’re also poised to change the landscape of work quickly. By 2025, they’ll account for one-quarter of all global workers. One key to attracting and retaining this growing portion of the workforce is relating to their strong sense of purpose. Gen Z doesn’t just want to find a job; they want to find a company that speaks to their values. 

In the recent webinar Leading Gen Z: The Next Generation at Work, Udemy instructors Deborah Grayson Riegel and Sophie Riegel share tips on building a multigenerational workplace that embraces the newest generation. One of their primary tips is to see Gen Z’s focus on purpose and culture as a positive for your company and to take steps to ensure they feel aligned with its values and vice versa. When Gen Z employees feel purpose with their company, it creates long-term benefits, from higher job satisfaction to lower turnover and stronger collaboration.

During the webinar, Deborah and Sophie explained that among the many strategies leaders can use to engage and retain their Gen Z employees, reinforcing how your company’s values intersect with their own values is an important piece of creating trust with this generation. Build a culture rooted in values by clearly defining and communicating those values. Ensure that everyone from the executive team to interns knows where they can learn more about the company’s values and how they surface in everyday behaviors. 

As also explained in their new course, Leading Gen Z, they suggest leaders incorporate some of the following suggestions into their company’s culture to help Gen Zers see their values in action.  

1. Foster an environment of psychological safety where employees feel comfortable discussing and asking questions about values. 
2. Create online platforms where employees can ask questions and provide feedback. 
3. Discuss how an employee’s actions and achievements align with these values during regular one-on-one meetings. 
4. Make it okay for employees to question how the company’s leadership, or even you as their manager, are thinking and acting in alignment with the values. 
5. Encourage peer accountability where teams hold each other accountable for upholding company values. Accountability might take the form of peer recognition programs that reinforce value alignment as employees acknowledge their colleagues’ contributions through a values lens. 
6. Highlight and reward employees who exemplify the company’s values in their work. 
7. When behaviors deviate from company values, address the moments promptly and constructively. Frame these discussions as a learning opportunity and engage from a place of curiosity rather than blame. 
8. Bring up any value misalignments. If you sense that an employee feels out of alignment with company values, mention it to them proactively rather than confirming this suspicion as they leave the company. 

Organizational values are more than keywords shared during meetings. As Sophie says in the webinar and her course, Gen Z sees their employer’s values as indicators of where they can make an impact, find purpose, and align personal beliefs with their professional lives. 

Gen Z’s perspective on work will have a long-lasting influence on how leaders approach their company’s culture and values. By understanding Gen Z’s broad outlook and how to integrate their organization, leaders can build a thriving multigenerational team. For more insights into managing Gen Z, watch the webinar Leading Gen Z: The Next Generation at Work.