Just Stop It: What Gen Y & Gen Z are getting right these days.

I heard something yesterday at a national meeting of professionals. To say that the statement bothered me is an understatement.

I have heard it so many times as I am consulting with leaders, and it absolutely amazes me every time I hear it. I heard it again this week on two different coaching calls also. The statement is this: “Gen Y and Gen Z are lazy.”

I have one word for that: Baloney.

Gen Y and Gen Z are laser-focused on purpose, and they are unapologetic about work life balance. There was a well-known TV segment by Bob Newhart where he played the part of a psychologist. And he only used three words in every session. He would listen to all of their problems, and then he would say, “Just stop it.” So, I have three words for everyone in the above camp—JUST STOP IT.

It is common to hear false narratives about these two generations. They don’t want to work like we did. They don’t know how to work hard. They lack loyalty. And they expect way too much way too soon. These are all common comments, and I heard them again this week—TWICE!

Well, studies tell a much different story. Deloitte (one of the largest CPA and consulting firms in the world) published their study of Gen Z and Millennials. And almost ninety percent of them said that having a sense of purpose drives their job satisfaction. Other studies (like Gallup) report that younger employees are more engaged when they feel that their work contributes to meaningful outcomes. And a large consulting company, McKinsey, found that employees under 35 are almost three-times as likely to leave their job if it doesn’t align with their values.

So here is the truth: they are not rejecting work, they are rejecting work and life balance that lacks meaning. One of my sons left a very high paying job with restricted stock options in the tech space. At first, it did not make sense to me, but after talking to him about it, it makes perfect sense. Here is what I learned: Integration of life and work creates sustainability not burnout. Purpose is not a perk, it is a performance driver. Challenging the “way it has always been done” is not entitlement, it is the evolution of business going forward.

So, I challenged the two leaders that I heard from this week. I asked both to shift their thinking. Instead of automatically dismissing their team members, I asked them to try to learn from them. It was a constructive way to ask them to “just stop it".

The company that my son transitioned to has a completely different atmosphere, and it starts with top management. That got me thinking, what if my generation, the baby boomers, demanded the same level of alignment to purpose, values and integration. Would our workplaces, and our outcomes have been even better?

But wait, I think I proved that during my career. I became a partner at a young age after only five years of full-time experience. How? By working a massive number of hours and completely ignoring work-life balance. And as I did that, I started to question my purpose. So, I decided to start a new firm with one of my partners at the old firm who was my senior. Amazingly, he taught me about the importance of work-life balance. We created a unique firm back in the days. We paid more than the employment firms published wage surveys showed. We expected them to take time-off to enjoy family and personal time. We welcomed their input even when we didn’t initially agree with it. And many of their ideas became areas of success for our team. And we stressed a “servant-heart atmosphere” where we served our clients and each other. We believed that each person on our team had a purpose, and we were there to support them. We were not only a team, but we were also a family.

What happened? We had very little turnover compared to our peers in the industry. And our team was very efficient and technically capable. We were early adopters of the iCloud and other technological changes because our team members were intelligent, passionate and focused. We learned from each other, and we were very successful because of the atmosphere in our two companies.

So, my two clients are going to give this a try, and I am excited to see where this goes, because I think I already know.