- The racial justice protests will be a defining moment for Gen Z
- The coronavirus is having a profound impact on older Gen Z, more than any other generation
- The importance of a Generation Defining Moment and what that means to Gen Z
Jason Dorsey, CGK President and leader of 65 generational studies across four continents, was recently interviewed by Yahoo News to discuss several key topics affecting Gen Z. Using CGK’s latest research, Jason talked about CGK’s work studying Gen Z in the midst of a pandemic, mass protests, and a rapidly evolving situation in the economy that leaders are working hard to address.
Jason also talks about these topics and more in his forthcoming book, Zconomy, How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business—and What to Do About It. It is a must-read for all leaders, influencers, and trendsetters who are hiring, marketing to and employing Gen Z
Gen Z demands results as they participate in protests for racial justice
Protesting is not new to the United States. The voices of our nation have spoken out against injustice from its nascent beginnings. And as we know, the Declaration of Independence itself was a protestation against the King of England. Now, in 2020, Gen Z is taking a part of what is arguably their first mass-protest movement.
As Jason shared with Yahoo News, “We believe these racial injustice protests will be a generation-defining period for Gen Z, as they are the first widespread protests in which Gen Z has witnessed and often supported or even participated in. Gen Z is also starting to see them as creating a sense of results, even if the results are viewed as not enough, from impacting politics and national media conversations to changing advertising and social commitments.”
How we are seeing Gen Z adjust to the pandemic
Concurrent with the protests and going on several months now, the pandemic has been upending lives and livelihoods across the globe. As we have noted previously, it is Gen Z above all other generations who are feeling the financial impacts. As they have only recently entered the workforce, they tend to be the first laid off or furloughed. Our research also has shown that they have the most pessimistic view of the future even after the pandemic ends.
However, there are many bright spots. As Jason continued in “The reality is you could have a younger part of [Gen Z] that becomes very accustomed to learning online, collaborating online, accessing information and being able to take that and then apply that as they get older into the workforce, higher ed, you name it. So all of a sudden it’s gonna be normal for them to collaborate, solve problems and engage using a variety of different technologies, which would not have happened if this horrible pandemic had not happened.”
Generation Defining Moments affect all generations
Every generation can recall a time that transformed society to some degree. For Baby Boomers, it might be Kennedy’s Assassination. For many Millennials, it was 9/11. And now, our research is showing that the COVID-19 pandemic is the generation-defining moment for Gen Z.
As the article mentions, Jason believes that institutions will be affected in major ways, including schools, health care, and the police. As he said, “So these are the types of things that happen during what we call a generation-defining moment, which this is, [that] really changes you and your view of the world. You remember where you were, what happened, how you felt and you carry that forward with you.”
How Can Leaders Connect with Gen Z Now?
In this unprecedented time, leaders, marketers, and educators must have the most up to date insights and tools to drive results with Gen Z now. At CGK, we are constantly researching how Gen Z and all generations are thinking about spending, work, brands, family, education, the economy, and much more throughout the pandemic.
Our team and is providing these insights to you with strategic advisory sessions, webinars, and virtual keynote presentations to help leaders at all levels be accurately informed with missing data and solutions to drive results at this critical time.
Contact our friendly team here to learn how our customized research and generational strategies can help your team and organization lead and solve challenges through this time of uncertainty. We are all in this together.
