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Gen Z Is Heading Into the Workforce — And That’s a Good Thing for Everyone

Stephanie Asymkos

Come 2019, millennials won’t be the new kids on the block anymore.

For the first time in modern history, five generations will coexist and collaborate in the workplace. Traditionalists (people born before 1946) and Generation Z (people born after 1996, according to Pew Research Center) bookend the generations that account for the 129.4 million Americans in the U.S. workforce. In between are baby boomers, Generation X and millennials.

Although unprecedented, the multigenerational mix isn’t to be feared. Research from Dell Technologies predicts that the confluence will spur innovation and technology, and cultivate cross-generational mentorships. Workers from all generations can succeed by better understanding this youngest generation of workers.

Gen Z Defers to Older Generations

Of the more than 12,000 Gen Z students from 17 countries Dell surveyed, 73 percent reported they felt confident about their technological prowess but almost all of them felt unsure about their readiness for the workforce.

The cohort following millennials will make up 20 percent of a multigenerational workforce by 2020. A sentiment commonly felt among Gen Z is that they are deferential to older generations, as they realize they have a lot to learn.

See: Millennials and Boomers Now Finally Agree on This Important Money Decision

Gen Z Prefers Human Interaction

Older generations shouldn’t brace themselves for a 180-degree workplace shift to accommodate newcomers. As the first true generation of digital natives, Gen Z will base their career goals on the company’s proximity to technology and usage of social media. However, the generation also desires more human interaction, preferring collaborative and team-based environments where they can receive face-to-face job instruction or feedback.

Check Out: Who Really Had It Best — Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials or Gen Z?

Optimizing Complementary Skills Among Generations

Human resources professionals and company leaders should proactively seize the unique opportunity and implement multigenerational diversity programs to make the most of the time. The age gap will be wide, but creating mentorships or mixed-aged teams among veterans and rookies will bridge the divide between the two and build on each other’s complementary skills.

Keep reading to learn about why millennials are poorer than generations before them.

More on Jobs

We make money easy. Get weekly email updates, including expert advice to help you Live Richer™.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Gen Z Is Heading Into the Workforce — And That’s a Good Thing for Everyone

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  • UBS Asset, Pictet Seek Out Inflation Safe Havens in Stocks

    (Bloomberg) -- With the global inflation debate intensifying, equity investors are fine tuning their portfolios to guard against the impact of price pressures.A preference for companies with the greatest pricing power is one approach adopted by investors from JPMorgan Asset Management to Pictet Wealth Management. While cyclical stocks remain in favor, fund managers are becoming more selective, as pockets of the economically-sensitive asset class may have run too far, too fast.“You hide in pricing power companies -- those companies that will be able to pass higher raw material costs and wages to the end customer,” said Cesar Perez Ruiz, chief investment officer at Pictet Wealth Management in Geneva. “Luxury, concessions companies linked to inflation are some of the sectors that will benefit, but even some cyclical or commodity companies have now more pricing power than several years ago too.”A jump in U.S. consumer prices in April by the most in a decade has intensified an already-heated debate about how long inflationary pressures can last. Higher-than-expected factory prices in China last month and the surge in commodity prices, have added to the concerns.The worries have begun to weigh on stocks. MSCI Inc.’s global equity benchmark slipped 1.6% this week, its biggest drop since February. Technology shares bore the brunt of the weakness as investors bet the return of inflation will bring with it higher interest rates that could hurt stocks with elevated valuations.Wall Street Can’t Agree If Inflation Is Good or Bad for StocksPrice SettersStocks like U.S. railroad companies and paint manufacturers have historically been good at passing on price pressures, though usually with a time lag, according to Richard Saldanha, a portfolio manager at Aviva Investors.Yet there are differing views about how much this applies right now.“Consensus believes that cyclical areas such as banks and industrials are the place to hide in an inflationary environment,” said Caroline Keen, a portfolio manager of JPMorgan Global Growth Fund. “We would counter that banks are generally not price setters and many industrial companies such as autos are struggling with cost increases, with an inability to pass these on to consumers.”Getting PriceyCyclical names are also getting more expensive. Banks now trade around 1.1 times their book value, above the sector’s 10-year average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The equivalent for materials stocks is even more extreme after recent surges in commodities like copper and iron ore.That has made UBS Asset Management portfolio manager Max Anderl “slightly wary” of classic inflation hedges like financials or miners after a strong rally this year. “We prefer to look at selected stocks in the IT and media sectors that continue to show exceptionally strong fundamentals but have corrected sharply in this factor rotation,” he said.Ricardo Gil, head of asset allocation at Trea Asset Management in Madrid, has chosen to exit industrial shares in favor of oil stocks and some banks.Idiosyncratic IdeasAnother approach is to sidestep the debate altogether and focus on single stock ideas or non-inflation related investment themes.With reflation bets triggering a sector rotation, equity correlations are falling, which is good news for fund managers looking to beat indexes through stock picking. If most equities are moving in different directions, it’s easier to choose one that stands out from the crowd.The S&P 500 Index’s three-month realized correlation -- a gauge of how closely the top stocks in the U.S. benchmark move relative to each other -- remains well below the average of the last 10 years.“Our way to cope is being overweight in equity alternatives such as Merger Arbitrage and CTAs and focus on idiosyncratic ideas rather than broader sectors,” said Bantleon AG portfolio manager Oliver Scharping.Transitory ShockStill, not everyone believes the world is set for a new era of higher prices and JPMorgan’s Keen isn’t making significant changes to her portfolio despite the recent inflation concerns.The portfolio manager sees inflation as transitory due to year-over-year base effects and temporary supply chain bottlenecks and is conscious of structural deflationary forces that remain in place such as technology, high debt levels and poor demographics.“Loan growth remains muted and fiscal stimulus comes with offsetting tax increases,” Keen said. “So far we have seen no evidence to suggest that we are entering a new inflationary regime.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • FTC officials say 7-Eleven purchase of Speedway chain likely illegal despite closing

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The completion of 7-Eleven's purchase of thousands of Speedway gas and convenience stores is potentially illegal and may raise competitive concerns in hundreds of local U.S. markets, two top U.S. Federal Trade Commission officials said as a dispute between the agency and companies broke into the open on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co, which owned the Speedway chain, and 7-Eleven, owned by Japan's Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, announced Friday they had closed the $21 billion deal involving some 3,800 stores in 36 states.

  • Oil Prices Rebound As Global Oil Glut Drains

    Oil prices rebounded on Friday morning as inflation fears fade and the global supply glut slowly drains, although the IEA did revise its demand projection downward

  • Oil Slides as Inflation Signs Raise Worry of Commodity Pullback

    (Bloomberg) -- Oil slumped the most in over a month alongside a commodities downturn as growing inflation concerns raise the specter of a less accommodative U.S. Federal Reserve.West Texas Intermediate futures fell 3.4% on Thursday to the lowest since the end of April. Prices paid to U.S. producers rose in April by more than forecast, adding to signs of rising inflationary pressures that have gripped broader markets recently. Elsewhere, China’s Premier Li Keqiang urged the country to deal effectively with the commodity price surge and its impact, according to a state television report, echoing previous comments from officials.The latest data “are cementing the view we’re going to have markets that are just fixated on inflation,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp. “All these pricing pressures are ramping up those rate-increase bets. For crude, we’re trying to get a sense of what the path of the dollar’s going to be, and that’s uncertain.”Meanwhile, the Colonial Pipeline -- a key source of gasoline for the East Coast -- is returning to service after a cyberattack last week, adding on Thursday that each of its markets should receive product from its system by mid-day. Still, the pipeline remains running at less than half of its capacity, according to people familiar with the matter.Still, there were some glimmers of hope for the oil market. India’s largest oil refiner is shopping for crude again after a one-month hiatus, providing some optimism that the South Asian country’s demand hasn’t been stalled by a rampant virus resurgence. Indian Oil Corp. issued three tenders to buy crude for loading in the next two months. Going forward, the bullishness of the company’s move will depend on how much it actually ends up purchasing.See also: India’s Top Refiner Shops for Oil Again After Month-Long HiatusWhile the Colonial Pipeline has restarted, fuel shortages are still lingering. The Biden Administration has temporarily eased a U.S. shipping requirement so a single foreign tanker could transport gasoline and jet fuel to the East Coast. A White House official said that the Jones Act waiver was applied to one tanker, but other requests are under consideration.Further resumption of flows on the pipeline will bring relief to motorists after panic-buying emptied out some gas stations and retail prices topped $3 a gallon. In futures markets, the spread between crude and gasoline slumped toward $24 a barrel after topping as much as $27 a barrel earlier this week.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.