What Makes Gen Z Different

An optimistic and nuanced portrait of a generation that has much to teach us about how to live and collaborate in our digital world. Born since the mid-1990s, members of Generation Z comprise the first generation never to know the world without the internet, and the most diverse generation yet. As Gen Z starts to emerge into adulthood and enter the workforce, what do we really know about them? And what can we learn from them? Gen Z, Explained is the authoritative portrait of this significant generation. It draws on extensive interviews that display this generation’s candor, surveys that explore their views and attitudes, and a vast database of their astonishingly inventive lexicon to build a comprehensive picture of their values, daily lives, and outlook. Gen Z emerges here as an extraordinarily thoughtful, promising, and perceptive generation that is sounding a warning to their elders about the world around them—a warning of a complexity and depth the “OK Boomer” phenomenon can only suggest. ​ Much of the existing literature about Gen Z has been highly judgmental. In contrast, this book provides a deep and nuanced understanding of a generation facing a future of enormous challenges, from climate change to civil unrest. What’s more, they are facing this future head-on, relying on themselves and their peers to work collaboratively to solve these problems. As Gen Z, Explained shows, this group of young people is as compassionate and imaginative as any that has come before, and understanding the way they tackle problems may enable us to envision new kinds of solutions. This portrait of Gen Z is ultimately an optimistic one, suggesting they have something to teach all of us about how to live and thrive in this digital world.

As seen in Time, USA TODAY, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and on CBS This Morning, BBC, PBS, CNN, and NPR, iGen is crucial reading to understand how the children, teens, and young adults born in the mid-1990s and later are vastly different from their Millennial predecessors, and from any other generation. With generational divides wider than ever, parents, educators, and employers have an urgent need to understand today’s rising generation of teens and young adults. Born in the mid-1990s up to the mid-2000s, iGen is the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone. With social media and texting replacing other activities, iGen spends less time with their friends in person—perhaps contributing to their unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. But technology is not the only thing that makes iGen distinct from every generation before them; they are also different in how they spend their time, how they behave, and in their attitudes toward religion, sexuality, and politics. They socialize in completely new ways, reject once sacred social taboos, and want different things from their lives and careers. More than previous generations, they are obsessed with safety, focused on tolerance, and have no patience for inequality. With the first members of iGen just graduating from college, we all need to understand them: friends and family need to look out for them; businesses must figure out how to recruit them and sell to them; colleges and universities must know how to educate and guide them. And members of iGen also need to understand themselves as they communicate with their elders and explain their views to their older peers. Because where iGen goes, so goes our nation—and the world.

With bigger challenges come great opportunities, and Marketing to Gen Z wants to help you get ahead of the game when it comes to understanding and reaching this next generation of buyers. Having internalized the lessons of the Great Recession, Generation Z blends the pragmatism and work ethic of older generations with the high ideals and digital prowess of youth. For brands, reaching this mobile-first and socially conscious cohort requires real change, not just tweaks to the Millennial plan. In Marketing to Gen Z, businesses will learn how to: Get past the 8-second filter Avoid blatant advertising and tap influencer marketing Understand their language and off-beat humor Offer the shopping experiences they expect Marketing to Gen Z dives into and explains all this and much more, so that businesses may most effectively connect and converse with the emerging generation that is expected to comprise 40 percent of all consumers by 2020. Now is the time to learn who they are and what they want!

The Generation Z Guide equips professionals to improve recruitment, enhance engagement, and effectively train and develop the post-Millennial generation. Born after 1998, Generation Z ranges from those entering high school, completing undergraduate college, and starting careers. Generation Z is very different than Millennials and their rapid entrance into the workforce is increasing the complexity of managing and working across generations. In fact, 62 percent of Generation Z anticipate challenges working with Baby Boomers and Generation X. Generation Z has never known a Google-free world. Growing up during the most accelerated and game-changing periods of technological advancements in history has imprinted Generation Z with new behaviors, preferences, and expectations of work, communication, leadership, and much more. The Generation Z Guide's insights are research based and the applications are marketplace tested. Learn from leading companies on how best to attract, engage, and lead Generation Z.

A generations expert and author of When Generations Collide and The M-Factor teams up with his seventeen-year-old son to introduce the next influential demographic group to join the workforce—Generation Z—in this essential study, the first on the subject. They were born between between 1995 and 2012. At 72.8 million strong, Gen Z is about to make its presence known in the workplace in a major way—and employers need to understand the differences that set them apart. They’re radically different than the Millennials, and yet no one seems to be talking about them—until now. This generation has an entirely unique perspective on careers and how to succeed in the workforce. Based on the first national studies of Gen Z’s workplace attitudes; interviews with hundreds of CEOs, celebrities, and thought leaders on generational issues; cutting-edge case studies; and insights from Gen Zers themselves, Gen Z @ Work offers the knowledge today’s leaders need to get ahead of the next gaps in the workplace and how best to recruit, retain, motivate, and manage Gen Zers. Ahead of the curve, Gen Z @ Work is the first comprehensive, serious look at what the next generation of workers looks like, and what that means for the rest of us.

No other generation in history has received as much coverage as the Millennial generation. Books, Google searches, blogs, and news articles are everywhere about them. Yet, Generation Z is comprised of our youth and young adults today and has received very little attention comparatively. Those in Generation Z are among our youngest consumers, students, colleagues, constituents, voters, and neighbors. Being able to better understand who they are and how they see the world can be helpful in effectively working with, teaching, supervising, and leading them. Generation Z: A Century in the Making offers insight into nearly every aspect of the lives of those in Generation Z, including a focus on their career aspirations, religious beliefs and practices, entertainment and hobbies, social concerns, relationships with friends and family, health and wellness, money management, civic engagement, communication styles, political ideologies, technology use, and educational preferences. Drawing from an unprecedented number of studies with higher education research institutions, market research firms such as Pew and Census, other generational researchers and industry leaders, this is the authoritative defining work on Generation Z that market researchers, consumer behaviour specialists, and employers sorely need – and it is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the sociology of generations.

Move over Boomers, Xers, and Millennials; there's a new generation--making up more than 25 percent of the US population--that represents a seismic cultural shift. Born approximately between 1993 and 2012, Generation Z is the first truly post-Christian generation, and they are poised to challenge every church to rethink its role in light of a rapidly changing culture. From the award-winning author of The Rise of the Nones comes this enlightening introduction to the youngest generation. James Emery White explains who this generation is, how it came to be, and the impact it is likely to have on the nation and the faith. Then he reintroduces us to the ancient countercultural model of the early church, arguing that this is the model Christian leaders must adopt and adapt if we are to reach members of Generation Z with the gospel. He helps readers rethink evangelistic and apologetic methods, cultivate a culture of invitation, and communicate with this connected generation where they are. Pastors, ministry leaders, youth workers, and parents will find this an essential and hopeful resource.

The millennial generation is rapidly progressing in the workforce. As it does, it brings with it new ways of working and managing efficiency in the workplace. The challenge faced by managers and businesses is how to provide a space that encourages the new ideals of millennials while also balancing the needs and desires of other generational employees. Attracting and Retaining Millennial Workers in the Modern Business Era offers an in-depth discussion on pivotal issues surrounding generational differences and management in the workplace. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant topics such as training and development, promotions, salaries, and career progressions, this book is a vital resource of academic material for business practitioners, managers, professionals, human resources mangers, and researchers who are seeking more information on the emergence of millennial employees.