Life-changing lessons that older people can learn from assertive Gen Zs

If there is one thing the older generation may want to pick and learn from Generation Z, it is the power of saying no. No to settling for less. No to being shortchanged. No to living for the gallery. The audacity to demand our worth and the boldness to walk away from systems, relationships and routines that do not serve us.

Most of us who came before them grew up to accept everything without question. We were taught to be grateful even when we were shortchanged. We learned that asking for a full glass when offered half was greed and assertiveness bordered on disrespect. We grew to understand questioning authority was sacrilegious. We stayed in jobs that drained us, put up with obnoxious politicians and suffered in toxic relationships because we were conditioned to conform.

Not so the Gen Z.

Take the workplace for instance. I once worked with a very talented Gen Z graphics designer in a reputable firm that observed the 8 to 5, Monday to Friday routine. Edwin walked in at 10am on his first day. When asked why, he explained that he would never wake up early to sit in traffic just to clock in at 8. He asked to be given clear deliverables and timeliness to work with instead. Management struggled with this concept even when he was delivering beyond expectation. He walked away when it became clear he couldn’t fit in.

A quick question comes to mind, between productivity and conformity, what truly counts?

The average Gen Z wants to be evaluated by their output and not how they show up in office. They want their ideas and innovations taken seriously and implemented and not buried under layers of bureaucracy in the name of standard operating procedures. They expect fair compensation for their efforts and have no qualms about quitting when they feel unappreciated. A Gen Z will pour themselves into a purpose driven startup that promises a good challenge before they settle for the security of a mundane 8 to 5 job.

Politically, the Gen Zs are clear about their convictions and cannot be cowed from speaking up and calling out what they find mediocre. They demand that everyone earns their respect. Age and title do not count. Character does. While the older generations were taught not to question those in leadership, this generation will disown you before they identify with incompetency and hypocrisy.

Their idea of success is as wild as it is intriguing. The goal is to live a life full of meaning. It is not about retiring with a pension at 60. They hustle hard and celebrate just as hard. They are the most aggressive entrepreneurs, going out of their way to do businesses once viewed unconventional. Just recently, I read about a young woman, a graduate, who has built a thriving business from doing thrift shopping for busy clients. They are discovering gaps we never saw and turning them into successful ventures.

Socially, they are walking into uncharted waters and forcing conversations that were considered taboo to the table. They are unwilling to compromise their mental health to fit in. They are questioning long standing societal ideals to the world’s consternation: Why should I follow a script that does not resonate with my goals? Why must I get married? Why should I stay in a relationship that makes me unhappy? Why should I build that home in the village, heck why should I tolerate my toxic relatives?

For the older generations, these questions feel like rebellion but maybe therein lies our liberation.

Maybe we can learn to push back from the Gen Z. To question the hegemony that for so long has informed our decisions, choices and world view and start living lives that are driven by purpose and values that resonate with our inner selves.

Gen Z is teaching us that walking away is not a sign of weakness but self worth and reminding us that we do not have to continue shrinking ourselves to fit into places and spaces we have outgrown. There is more to life than what we allow the world around us to dictate.

Ms Wekesa is development communication consultant. [email protected]