Born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z may be relatively new to the workforce, but their influence outweighs their length of service. Across organisations, this demographic is posing big questions when it comes to engagement, and retention – often resulting in sweeping stereotypes and working environments that simply aren’t fit for purpose.
Quick to be labelled ‘workshy’, ‘stubborn’, even ‘snowflakes’, Gen Z is refusing to leave their mindsets, values and needs at home. With front row seats to the experiences of burnout, stress, inflation and redundancies that came before them, they’re acutely aware that health and well-being can’t be siloed from work life – seeking a new working contract that repositions their health and well-being as a necessary condition of meaningful work, rather than a barrier.
In the UK, the total number of non-dependent adult children living at home is a staggering 4.9 million and counting – up 700,000 compared to a decade ago according to latest UK census data from the Office for National Statistics, while in 2023, the average first-time homeowner was 35 in the US, according to The National Association of Realtors - a full decade older than the most senior Gen Zs.
‘There’s a growing awareness in my generation to call out the huge gaps between what our parents could do, and what we can do,’ explains Kess Eruteya, founder and CEO of corporate innovation advisory, Inclusion Z. ‘Our parents may have a had a house and family at our age, but we still need help for the simple things. We’re adults, because we have to do ‘adult things’, but we can’t afford to have the complete ‘adult’ independence.’
Mental health is another key issue for Gen Z – between 2020 and 2022, more than two-thirds of Gen Z in the UK and the US reported struggling with at least one mental health issue, according to Oliver Wyman.
Perhaps partly as a result of this, Gen Z are the first generation to truly embody a holistic view of health – seeking experiences and practises that satisfy their emotional, physical and mental well-being. Research from Paceline Health and OnePoll notes this holistic approach to prevention. The study reveals that more than two thirds (68%) of the cohort define preventative health as taking care of one’s emotional and mental health, including fitness (67%) and nutrition (54%).
Guiding principles
Employers of the next-generation will be tasked with reimagining what it means to be an employee against an ever-evolving backdrop. They will need to act proactively to satisfy Gen Z needs, shifting tack to meet the cohort’s aligning mindset: one where health is maintained through mental, physical, social, financial and environmental well-being.
To empower employers to meet Gen Z’s needs, Cigna Healthcare, together with The Future Laboratory, have created The Gen Z Codes of Conduct. A set of five principles for future benefits design, workplace culture and organisational structure, this framework is designed to enable more equitable working environments to flourish – future-proofing organisations to attract, engage and retain the next-gen workforce.
Download GenZ Full ReportThe five pillars
Whole person health
The most diverse generation on record, Gen Z will shun a one-size-fits-all approach to health and well-being to welcome a new era of ‘Gen Me’. Inclusivity and choice will move from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘need to have’ – tasking employers with becoming human-first in their offerings.
Here, a truly personalised approach to benefit design will take hold – as organisations look to meet the diverse needs and preferences of future generations. A survey by Gartner1 reveals that benefits tailored to employee’s needs can alone boost employee’s intent to stay with their company by 11%, and increase their output by 12%.
Employer recommendation: Treat employees as individuals rather than demographics, taking an intersectional approach to benefits design that enables diverse needs to be met.
Personal purpose
Gen Z are trading the all-or-nothing work advice favoured by generations before, seeking meaningful work cultures and benefits more attuned to their long-term goals.
The cohort are refusing to leave their values or identity at the door, demanding organisations, not just accept, but actively facilitate their authentic selves. As Molly Logan, founder, Irregular Labs explains: ‘Gen Z’s career and their lives are really intertwined, but not in the same way as Millennials and generations before. They are not beholden to the job, willing to work all hours or married to it – but it’s an important part of their identity, and how they envision their future.’
Employer recommendation: Facilitate Gen Z’s personal values and purpose, creating all new inroads for them to discover and develop their sense of self.
Longevity living
Gen Z are living wellness-fuelled existences, embedding health as a core tenet of work, leisure and living. Next-gen health benefits will be tasked with embracing this holistic approach, creating offerings that redefine how the cohort take care of themselves.
This isn’t a generation that defines being ‘well’ as a lack of illness or ailments, but by the ability to live as, and become, the richest, fullest versions of themselves. Notably, Gen Z won’t be willing to wait for a specific diagnosis to be eligible for a physical or mental health benefit. Instead, they’ll expect full access to the benefits that keep them healthy – as they define it.
Facing a socially unstable backdrop, younger generations will reorder their hierarchy of needs to reimagine calmness and stability as the ultimate marker of success – seeking products and services that make their immediate environments the healthiest place for them, every day.
Employer recommendation: Embrace a sustainable approach that recognises health and well-being as a complete facilitation of Gen Z’s emotional, mental and physical needs.
Empathetic tech
Gen Z is embracing pragmatic technologies, willing to exchange data for personalised and predictive health and well-being solutions, while acutely aware of the dangers of being ‘always online’.
Next-gen organisations will combine digital capabilities with Emotional Quotient (EQ) to implement meaningful boundaries for their employees. This will mean fundamentally honouring time off and minimising after hours working, creating workplace cultures that don’t just accept this, but actively encourage it.
This step change will prove key to meeting emerging workplace mindsets, with Gen Z’s digital citizenship giving rise to all-new lexicons around work, progress and success. Employers can take the lead to redefine these boundaries as key to healthy work.
Employer recommendation: Utilise technology pragmatically and progressively to create boundaries for Gen Z at work – championing healthier relationships with digital, and more positive health outcomes.
Collaborative communication
From flat hierarchies to reverse mentoring, Gen Z are acutely aware that seniority doesn’t always equate to superiority. Often, engaging the cohort is as simple as asking them what they want and making it happen.
Collaboration and open-source thinking is key to Gen Z’s working mindsets – where more than one third (34%) think organisation hierarchy should be centred on team collaboration, rather than top-down decision making, according to Inside Out Development. To meet next-gen expectations, benefits design will heed this collective approach, enabling Gen Z employees to have their voices heard in securing the benefits that matter to them.
Employer recommendation: Take an open approach to benefits design to create policies that truly understand what Gen Z want and need.
A positive future
The arrival of Gen Z is undoubtedly positive. It represents the opportunity for change and fresh perspectives, as well as understanding and meeting their workplace needs. This ensures you're future-proofed for whatever lies ahead.
Companies that embrace the new definition of work - and the balance required between life and health - will be able to benefit from Gen Z's influence in the workplace. Those who don’t could find attracting or retaining the obvious talent that comes with Gen Z a greater challenge. Culture has never been more important than it is today.
The pillars above can be used as a basis for positive change, enabling businesses to treat employees as distinct individuals, seeing them beyond the specific role they hold within the company. It’s human-first. And, while Gen Z may be leading the charge, making the change now will undoubtedly be good for the workplace well-being of everyone.
Gen Z and inclusivity in the workplace
Hear insights from Cigna Healthcare International Health CEO of Global Health Benefits Wendy Sherry, joined by Nikki Davies and Oliver Hodgson as they discuss how employers can create a more equitable workplace.