Graduate student studies Gen Z’s workplace tech habits

As part of a paper for her graduate studies, Dawn Janssen, a Graduate Student at ASU, looked at the workplace tech habits of Gen Z. She conducted the study and wrote the paper as a way to dismiss employers’ possible negative outlook on younger employees when it comes to distractions at work.

Turns out, Gen Z assumed they would be told to keep off their cellphones once they entered the workplace, but the opposite happened. When they got to work, they discovered everyone used their phones and other technology for work. They also had concerns that because of technology they would be required to be on call 24/7–something they didn’t want.

We asked who they are. She said they are the people coming into the workforce today. She said they are the people from the early 1990s to the 2000s. They found that how they work in the workplace is very different than they expected it to be. It is also different than their personal lives.

Generation Z is always online and has a phone in their hand, she said, but in the workplace, they are using other things. They are using older methods but also using a lot of emails. She said generation Z tends to adapt and use those other methods as part of their communication.

She explains that people expect this generation to be on their phones all the time, but in school, they have been discouraged from using their phones. They get to the workplace and expect it to be the same, but it is not. So many from the generation are surprised how often they use their phones, she said.

She talks about some of the stereotypes about generation Z. She explains that employers should avoid those stereotypes. She explains that the generation is self-regulated and can use cell phones as a tool.