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09/03/2024

What to do When You Reach an Impasse with a Younger Employee

In today's workforce, leaders must take a relational approach to correction

Last year, I appeared on the Fox Business channel, where Stuart Varney interviewed me about why Gen Z employees are so difficult to manage. He launched the interview with survey results from a nationwide poll on the topic: One of five employers fired a Gen Z member within a week of their start date, according to ResumeBuilder.com. Although I had just a few minutes, I instantly thought about the ideas that I'm sharing here in this column. 

Because the mindset of a young employee has been shaped by such different social media platforms and cultural norms, they often hold a very different perspective than yours and mine. Workplace norms vary greatly from the college classroom, and millions from the Gen Z cohort have never had a full-time job as they launch their careers. 

By 2019, I had turned over the hiring and firing of staff members at my company to our department heads. Some of the hires were bad ones. They weren't bad people, just not a fit for our culture. I saw conduct I'd never seen before. None of these young teammates understood professionalism, nor did they see the big picture. After several displays of disrespect and even contempt toward one of our leaders, I was frustrated. As the founder, I worked alongside the department heads and realized that while my principles were worth standing for, I would need to adapt my approach to these young professionals. Along the way, I began using the steps below. They've not let me down yet. In each case, they were game changers. 

Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.

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