What draws Gen Z into professional life, and what makes them hold parts of themselves back?
They can dress like themselves. They still can't act like themselves.
Dress codes may be more relaxed, but standing out can still attract judgement. Trainers, tattoos and even bright colours draw comments that show how older colleagues’ expectations can differ from the official rules.
Nowadays my friends are challenging the frowned-upon attitude towards piercings and tattoosRespondent 46, on dress code
Being professional is not only imposed. Many see it as the job, and keep work separate from a life they would rather share.
Work is a means to make money rather than an identity they choose to share.Respondent 48, on LinkedIn
Others hold back because speaking openly feels risky. Criticism is saved for friends, emotions are managed to appear capable, and personal posts are kept from colleagues. What looks like acceptance may conceal frustration that feels unsafe to voice.
there's certain honest comments and criticisms that are never made in front of senior staffRespondent 47, on who they are at work
They love the pay mostly, they hate how old fashioned work places are. Like one of my friends was told to never wear bright colours to work as no one would take her seriously but to me she is a bright colour
My friend has a giant lion tatoo drawn at her back and on this faithful day, she wore a backless top and a coat on bt, the AC in our office got faulty unexpectedly and made her remove the coat then boom, all eyes were on her and an older collegue reported her to the HR without even correcting her first.
any form of expression that deviates from 'the norm' could and probably will be used against them.
LinkedIn is for seeming professional and bigging yourself up
Nobody loves their jobs, they do it to get paid.
They do not love their jobs they just love making money. One of them told me that if they were not colleagues with the people they work with they would not be friends in any lifetime and having to spend so much of their lives with these people is a mental drain
He loves the creative freedom and flexible hours, but hates endless pointless meetings. He told me about a time he sat through a 2hrs sync that could've just been a quick Slack message, which really drove him crrazy.
neither of us show our true self at work.
They keep silliness and 'controversial' opinions away from work but will discuss these with me. It is probably not the best to talk about polarising topics at work, especially with older people as they are often set in their ways and not genuinely up for a discussion about these things.
I think people tend to keep their emotions to themselves a lot more at work to monitor how they are perceived as capable. I think people are also less willing to share their opinions and speak their mind
One of my friends enjoys the challenge of her job in sales and the friends that she has made at work. She finds it hard to put up with the lack of praise for her work. For example, she was annoyed that an older male coworker who had reached less targets and had done worse overall than her, was promoted over her.
Is Gen Z redefining corporate culture, or finding more creative ways to operate within it?