What Diversity In The Workplace Means To Gen Z

Organisations are recognising the importance of attracting a diverse workforce. This is especially important for high-growth tech companies that want to attract the best Gen Z tech talent.

In a recent survey, more than 80% of Gen Z talent believe that a company’s commitment to diversity is one of the aspects they consider when looking for an employer. That’s because diverse teams are more innovative and are more reflective of the customer base they are trying to attract, which eventually impacts the company’s bottom line. 

Here’s why Gen Z prefers to work in diverse workplaces: 

1. Diverse workplaces are more innovative

A diverse workplace acknowledges each individual’s experiences and the potential they can bring to the company. Recognising each other’s differences can be the key to a thriving workplace with a fair work culture.

Diversity is the presence of difference; in groups is the presence of variety in identities, thoughts, personalities, working styles, backgrounds, and life experiences.

Some people incorrectly perceive diversity as the presence of minority groups in an organisation. However, that’s more about inclusion and equity. 

In a diverse workplace, people with different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences will be working together, which can result in increased creativity. That’s because these people will have differing perspectives and can arrive at different solutions to issues, resulting in a greater chance of a workable solution to any problem.

In addition, working with diverse people can result in increased productivity since they are encouraged to develop more ideas and processes to benefit the organisation.

Having a diverse workforce helps companies enter the global marketplace. For instance, if a company has to do business in Singapore, having an employee with experience working in that part of the world can be an asset for the company.

2. Identity diversity leads to greater insight

Identity is the compilation of identifying labels to social groups, which gives them a sense of belonging. This can be sex, gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, ability, religion, spirituality, age, socio-economic status, language, political leanings.

Gen Z believes identity diversity should be an organisation’s hiring and retention goal. With identity diversity, employees have to put much effort into making their point, resulting in greater insight and making implicit ideas more explicit. The result of the extra effort is better output. 

Most employees today, especially Gen Z, care about identity diversity and prefer to work in a more diverse workplace.

Additionally, a business that demonstrates diversity in its marketing is more likely to attract customers.

3. Groupthink is a no-no

The inclusion of different ideas and opinions is important to Gen Z.

Diversity and inclusion are two terms that are often used interchangeably.

However, these two are different.

While diversity is about representing an entity in an organisation, inclusion is how well the presence of these varying groups is valued and integrated into the environment.

You can be diverse, but if diversity is not inherently valued, then it’s just performative, and cannot be considered inclusive. 

When most people imagine an ideal team, they think of a group with a shared vision that will agree with everyone’s opinions.

However, to push boundaries, there should be a range of ideas and influences, something that a diverse workplace will have.

A variety of ideas is even more important for tasks that require innovation and creative problem-solving. 

In some organisations, the hierarchy often consists of “yes men” or people who are afraid to voice their opinion and will end up conforming to the prevailing sentiments of whoever is in charge.

If this is the case, things could get stale since there will be no fresh perspectives.

Being free to share your opposing ideas will also make employees feel that their ideas are valued. As a result, they will be more likely to be happy at work. 

Having wide-ranging perspectives and ideas can potentially lead to conflict. To prevent work disputes, companies should encourage everyone to undergo compliance training courses to keep them updated with diversity.

Workplace inclusion is one of the most important factors in retention. If employees feel that their ideas, contributions, and presence are valued, they will more likely stay in the company and not consider leaving anytime soon.

Finally

A diverse workplace is not just a place where people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders work together. It is also a place where everyone’s input is equally valued.

While organisations should be selective about who they hire, hiring managers should be aware of their natural biases toward favoring people that look, act, and think like themselves.