Gen Z could have up to ten times more employers than their grandparents had. That’s according to research by Adam Kingl, Adjunct Faculty at Hult International Business School. Companies have already experienced high turnover among millennials in the wake of the financial crash. “Now, with Gen Z mimicking that habit, it's not a surprise,” says Kingl. But if you’re already jaded by attrition spikes and think it’s par for the course, you could be losing talent unnecessarily. “If they’re leaving the organization with frightening rapidity, you've got to change your habits.”  

Job hopping is always more typical among junior workers – it’s something Jo Owen tapped into after co-founding Teach First in 2001. “We realized there’s actually a strong market in what we call the ‘first bouncer market’” – junior workers looking to pivot into something different.  

“The question is: are things different for 20-year-olds today versus 20-year-olds thirty or forty years ago?” asks Owen, who sits on Hult EF Corporate Education’s Global Advisory Council. “Most of the time, the answer has actually been no – but now, it is.”  

Cohort birth years:

- Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 

- Gen X: 1965-1980

- Gen Y (Millennials): 1981-1996 

- Gen Z: 1997-2012 

- Gen Alpha: 2013-present 

Between the cost-of-living crisis and the ripple effects of Covid-19 furlough and lockdown, “the youngest people have had a really rough time as they’ve entered the workforce,” says Owen. “Gen Z are often called ‘snowflakes’ but, you know, a lot of snowflakes make a blizzard – maybe they’re really Generation Blizzard.” 

“If you want to develop people, you have to understand their personal purpose,” says Kingl. “Otherwise, any development you give them is random. Leaders should always have that conversation with their people: ‘Why do you do what you do? Why do you choose to do it here?’” From here, you can connect their development to that story, and personalize their place within the organization. 

“From an L&D point of view, it isn't about trying to extol the purpose of the firm,” Owen highlights. “You have to turn that round and help people discover their intrinsic motivation.” Unilever, for example, runs an in-house workshop: Discover your Purpose. When organizations focus on purpose, it supports well-being too.

As for creating and maintaining connections, consider an alumni network. “Professional services organizations are often world-class at this, but most organizations don't do it,” says Kingl. “It's often more industry specific than common business practice.”  

It’s a missed opportunity, he says. “If people are leaving more often, you still have collective wisdom in the world of people who have been through your company. How can you foster a sense of community among your alumni? Is there a forum where they can talk with you and with one another? Do you hold reunions like universities?” 

It can also keep potential boomerangs warm. “If they're leaving an organization every two to three years, they might come back,” says Kingl. “And if they do, you get all the benefits of their external perspective and the growth journey they've been on. But that will only happen if you exit them well.” This means being supportive of non-linear career paths. “People might still work for you for 10 or 15 years, just maybe not all in one go. Embrace that new way of way of working.” 

“Altogether, there's actually a radical and quite exciting agenda for L&D,” says Owen. “It’s about helping Gen Z discover their purpose, and putting the right experiences in place with the right support. But it all comes down to L&D needing to reinvent itself around new realities.”  

Generation Blizzard is on its way and the forecast is clear: rather than shaping junior cohorts to fit into the workplace, it’s about evolving as a workplace to embrace new ways of working. 

- Next Generation Leadership, Adam Kingl

- The Leadership Skills Handbook, Jo Owen