Beyond Stereotypes: Rethinking Generational Trends at Work

In this thoughtful and engaging episode, Sarah Sladek sits down with Erin Mantz, founder of Gen X Girls Grow Up and VP of Marketing at Zeno Group, to explore the evolving dynamics of generational communication and workplace engagement. Erin shares insights from her recent Fortune interview about Gen Z's communication preferences and challenges stereotypes with her own professional observations.

The two dive into the rising importance of connection, mental health, and mentorship in today’s workforce. They reflect on how generational differences—especially between Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z—affect leadership, employee satisfaction, and innovation. Erin also introduces Project Gap, an initiative designed to close communication divides between today’s leaders and the next generation.

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Membership IQ. This is where you go to get smart about membership. And I'm so excited to be joined today by Erin Mantz and I'm going to put on my special hat for talking to Erin. And it says Gen X girl because that's who I am. But also I got this great hat from Erin as the founder of Gen X Girls Grow Up. I don't know, have I grown up? I can't, some days I feel really mature and other days I feel really immature. But Erin, welcome to the podcast. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself? Thanks Sarah. Well, and I have to say there's a reason behind the name, right? So I think a lot of us Gen Xers feel like we haven't grown up, right? I have a big birthday coming up on Tuesday and I feel actually like I'm still in high school, which is good and bad. But thank you for having me here, I really appreciate it. It's always great to chat with you about Gen X and everything going on in life and the workforce and the world. Yeah, fantastic. Well, I want to start today talking not just about Gen X, but I want to talk a little bit about Gen Z, because you just wrote an article in Fortune about Gen Z. So tell our audience a little bit about what that was about. Sure. So I was interviewed for an article in Fortune by journalist Sydney Lake. And what that was about was a new study that came out around Gen Z's fear of talking on the phone. And so the journalist actually did a couple takes from folks. I think I had a bit of a contradictory observation in that my experience with Gen Z's on the phone actually did not jive with the study, which I think said 25% of Gen Z's are not comfortable talking on work calls. I've actually found Gen Z's to be very well spoken, confident and articulate on the phone. Much so that I don't think a week goes by where I'm not thinking, wow, these early career folks really have it together. They sound so together, way more so, I think, than like when my Gen X friends and colleagues were starting out in our careers, which was a gift, by the way, of course, all phone calls. There was no texting or like chat. It was you had to speak. So I'm actually very impressed. Now, I do work in communications. So is that am I perhaps exposed to more Gen Z's who are in communications? And maybe that's why my perspective is a little bit different. But yeah, it's important to look at as the communication styles really do supposedly differ across the generations. I still think some things ring true overall. Yeah. Well, you know, and it's a reminder that generations can't just be. It's important to look at trends and trend lines and common traits, but recognize that not every single person has the same identical trait just because they're part of a generation. So I do think I do think we're seeing some interesting trends, which are actually going to continue to evolve here in the next few years, because older Gen Z's tend to be more mature and act a little bit differently by and large, not across the board than the younger Gen Z's because the younger Gen Z's have been more influenced by social media at a younger age, as well as pandemic at a younger age. And so they were really kind of in those critical developmental years. And I think I think we're going to continue to see some of that play out as more Gen Z's enter the workplace, and we'll see some differences between the older Z's and the younger Z's. But I could be wrong. But that's my theory. I think I think we're seeing some of that. Yeah, I agree with that theory. I will say, too, just, you know, I have two Gen Z kids. And they're four years apart, and there's differences, certainly some of its personality and temperament, but it's a big difference how they and their grades are experiencing things. Right. And that four year difference. So I couldn't agree with you more. Yeah, it's fascinating. But irregardless, this is such a time of change. And so I'm curious to know what is kind of top of mind for your organization right now, whether you're talking about Gen X girls grow up or xenogroup or whatever the case may be, just kind of what are the trends you're observing? What's what are the hot topics? Yeah, there's a lot of hot topics, right? And, you know, there are certain things I see from kind of more of a pop culture lens as Gen X girls grow up. You know, I have a community of nearly 34,000 now for Gen X girls grow up on Facebook, right, where we're we take a little bit more of a lighthearted approach to content. And we're kind of celebrating the fun and the traits we grew up with music and movies, etc. So that's meant to be fun and just put a smile on people's faces. Go over to the work world, which I like to call my day job, which I love and I'm currently working as vice president of marketing at Xenogroup. And, you know, I came to the agency with many decades. I'm not going to age myself, but you already know I'm Gen X. Many decades of work. It's a very large organization. So I feel like I've seen a lot of different corporate cultures and experienced it. And I've heard a lot about it. And, you know, we can't really even go on LinkedIn or anywhere without hearing about these trends around employee disengagement. Employees are really disengaged. Gen Z is no exception. And I actually read, I think it was this morning, that 61 percent, I think this was a Harris poll stat around Valentine's Day, 61 percent of folks would rather look for a new job than look for a new partner or love interest, which I thought was crazy. But but perhaps true. So as we see kind of employee disengagement rising, I think it brings a lot of needs to the forefront that are always there. But one is like that's that need for connection. Gen Z's particularly at work, I think, want and need that physical connection and mentorship, perhaps being somewhat in the office. Not everything can happen, you know, over a webcam, as we know, and obviously hybrid and return to office is a huge debate right now. And everyone's different. Again, I don't want to generalize about the the generations. Right. I think some of it also comes down to personality. You may have a real extroverted, you know, Gen Xer who can't wait to get back in that office three days a week. And you may have an introverted Gen Z who's much more comfortable being at home four days a week. So, again, I think we have to, you know, have a broader lens than just generations. But I think what we're seeing is, you know, a need for connection, a need for mentorship both ways. Right. And if some companies kind of get rid of that middle management layer. It's even a bigger issue because now folks who relied on their manager and perhaps look to them day to day for support, guidance, connection, communication. Where do those folks go now? Right. Perhaps they don't have access and communication to, you know, the leader above that manager or the leader is above that manager. So I think connection is a real key. Yeah, I agree with you. And, you know, there are so many stats coming out about things like loneliness. Anxiety, depression, you know, over connection, under connection. But the point being that kind of this process of being human and how we work and what brings us happiness. I feel like all of that's kind of under the microscope right now. I'm trying to figure out. It is under the microscope right now. You know, I'm like, gosh, like how many more study and every day there's research trends. It's a lot to keep up with. It could literally be somebody's full time job, which I'm sure it is at some organizations if they're smart. And I think the other reason, like some Gen Xers feel like, wow, like this is everything's under the microscope right now. All this new research is coming out. One, some of it is new research too, right? But, you know, I will say 20 years ago, no one really cared that much or looked that closely at whether employees or generations were like happy or satisfied or lonely. I mean, I don't want to overstate this, but like you came to work and like you needed to do your job and do it well. I don't know if any of managers like, how's that? How's your day going? Like, oh, how's life? Are you happy? You're like, oh, like let's go for a coffee. Are you lonely? We just didn't have that kind of work environment or climate. So part of it is just like people care more now. They recognize that connection between caring and productivity or caring and engagement and everything and anything and everything, all of it around mental health is okay to talk about now. You hear Gen Zs say, I need a mental health day or my focus this year is on my mental health. I need an hour to go take a walk. You just didn't hear that when I was earlier in my career. Oh, my goodness. No, not at all. Not at all. So when we think about some of these changes, which are pretty monumental, really, when you think about it, we're seeing major social change happen. But what would your advice be or what strategies are you seeing that are really effective for leading in a time of change? One thing I always come back to is listening. Listening to employees, listening to the folks that work for you, listening to the people that you admire and respect at work. But really, it all comes down to that. I mean, you can tie that to things like relationship building and reaching out. But sometimes you learn a lot by listening and observing. And so making sure if you're a company that you have an employee listening program in place, making sure if you're a manager, if you have one direct report or 10 direct reports, those one-on-ones or those chances to listen, they're still really, really important. So I think listening and also recognizing that everybody's different. So while some people may want to connect and kind of pour their heart out, another one would just be, you know, I'm having a good day. So-and-so happened. What do you think of that brief? So I think flexibility also comes along with that and recognizing we can have study after study and trend after trend, but people are still individuals. And so you need to kind of have a radar on and pick up on that and adapt your communication style a little bit to whoever you're talking with. Yeah, agreed. I get asked questions like this often in my line of work. And I will often say just what you said, you know, it's listening, it's relationship building, it's just having dialogue. Like, let's not jump to conclusions or make assumptions or rely on stereotypes, but it's taking the time to actually have a conversation, which sounds so basic. It's kind of like going back to what we learned in kindergarten, you know? But I think in the hustle and bustle, we forget the value of that. So it's so incredibly important. So let's bring it back to generations. And that's big. You talk about Gen X, you've been talking about Gen Z, all the generations, all the things. And I'm curious to know what types of trends you're observing right now in terms of generations. You know, we have more Gen Zs in the workplace. People are starting to kind of whisper and talk a little bit about alpha. We have less boomers in the workplace now. Like, I'm just curious, what types of trends are you observing? Yeah, I'm observing a couple different things. One is, and I think this is no surprise, but I think it should be restated. I mean, Gen X is actually increasingly being looked at as the bridge. Because even though millennials are between Gen Z and us, when I say us, I mean Gen X, there's a feeling out there that Gen X kind of understands Gen Z. Some of us have Gen Z kids. And there are some traits that are similar, even though they're growing up in a much different world at home and work. So I think sometimes millennials are looking for us to kind of play a role as that bridge. And when they're frustrated, or vice versa, I think Gen X can kind of come in and explain different sides of things. So I think that's one way we're showing up in the workforce, if you will. I agree. I agree. And there are some similarities between Xers and Zs, whether that's because we raised them, or just kind of history repeats itself. There's also some similarities between boomers and millennials. I find it interesting, like kind of when you do, I do a lot of group facilitation exercises, and seeing how different age groups come to consensus. It's very different, you know. Boomers and millennials tend to be a little bit more talkative and gregarious. And Xers and Zs tend to be a little bit more independent, kind of standoffish, sometimes quiet. So it's kind of fascinating, isn't it? It's fascinating, and I think it's needed. I mean, think about, you know, I think of just like a great analogy. I have like a very close group of like seven high school friends, right? We're still a close group, and we're all so different. I mean, and thank goodness, because like we get different perspectives on things. Some of us, you know, speak up more rather than less, but then the ones that maybe don't always have something to say, when they say it, it's like, wow. I mean, what if everybody was alike? I mean, you'd have very little innovation, very little creative thinking, very little like looking at options. And I think it's like the same holds true at work, or on a project, or at a book club, or wherever you are, right? Having those diverse perspectives is really important, and that leads to great ideas, and making sure like we're looking at all the options, whether that's a project, or, you know, again, work, or fun, hobby, whatever it is. I think that that makes for not only interesting conversation, but optimal results. Okay, so continuing thinking about leading in this time of change, generational shifts. What is a success strategy or piece of advice that you could pass along to our audience? You know, most of our audience, they're tuning in, they are leaders in some shape or form. They tend to be, whether they're leading a company or a community, and they're trying to figure out how to lead in a time of change, how to community build. And I'm curious to know what strategies you've seen really work, and or if you have some advice to pass along to them. Yeah, I think the top two things come to mind. So I'll give you a two-part answer is find commonalities and check in. And again, that can be take very different forms depending on your personality. Because while your Gen Z co-worker may not have children, for instance, there may be a TV show you both like, right? Did you catch that last night? You know, did you catch that episode of The Night Agent? Wow, without giving a spoiler, of course. And then check in, right? Sometimes that can be more formal, like you have a weekly one-on-one schedule. Or sometimes it can just be like via chat. You know, hey, how'd your morning go? Or what'd you think of that meeting? And people are busy, right? So I don't mean that needs to launch like an hour-long conversation. But just knowing that those lines of communication are open. And if you don't see or talk to your manager all week, having hearing that check in, I think is really important. So communicate, again, all comes back to communication. Yeah, absolutely. So before we adjourn this conversation, I have such an important question for you. If you are watching this on video, you are seeing that in the background, Erin has this beautiful artwork of a giraffe. And I just have to ask, because that giraffe is colorful and it's quite large. Do you have a name for your giraffe? I do not, but the giraffe has been through a lot. It's been through a lot of moves. It was also an impulse buy, literally on a corner, leaving an art fair. And it's one of the best things I ever got. And it's one of the things I get the most comments on, which is funny enough. That is funny. Well, I really think you should name him, Erin. I do think about that. And next time we talk, I'm going to have a name. He has a great personality. I can see it. He needs a name. But all right. Any comments, any additional comments you'd like to make before we adjourn? I just think, you know, I think it's really exciting that there's so much focus now on generations in the workforce. You know, at Zeno Group, we're launching Project Gap. So we're trying to bridge the gap between the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow, where we've assembled an advisory board of 12 young millennials and Gen Zs from across the globe who can really talk to leadership about agency decisions and business things. And it's one way, again, to have that listening and that two-way conversation. And whether it's formal or informal, I mean, I think it starts with managers, leaders, CEOs, friends and family. Just keep your ears open. Keep communication going. Oh, fantastic. Thank you, Erin. It was a great conversation. Thanks, Sarah. Yes, and thanks to our audience for tuning in. We'll see you next time on the Membership IQ.