Engaging with Gen Z
How they surprised me
As part of a work-experience program for a group of 15/16 year-olds, I was asked to present a session on Democracy in the workplace - a fundamental aspect of where I work, and one built from the legacy of the Company’s founder.
Yep, try selling that in 30 minutes to anybody, let alone a group who’d prefer to be anywhere but in that room with me.
They surprised me.
Lunchtime over, the group headed back to the meeting room. As rooms go, it’s a friendly place, with soft green accent walls and an enourmous projector screen, likely visible from the moon.
The first student arrived early, bright, chatty, came for her phone, and left the room. Her eyelids were edged with a fun, sparkly blue liner, her smile genuine. I’m chatty, and she’d engaged quite happily.
Shortly after, and just before our start time, the second student (let’s call them Bert) sauntered in, following behind my colleague, let’s name her Mabel. Mabel was hosting the event and had been with the group for several days.
Bert looked at me, scanned me, actually. I was at the front of the room. Slide one of my presentation was visible on the screen. The clicker in my hand was poised for an easy transition to slide two and beyond.
Bert was vocal yet not aggressive or loud. More quizzical and, by being so, reminding those around him that he’s hand will be raised a lot.
‘Why is she here?’ he said
I smiled.
Mabel ushered Bert towards his seat. ‘You’ll find out soon; she’s with you before you all go home.’
Bert took his seat; the others followed suit.
You know when everybody tells you to read the room? Well, this room didn’t need reading; it was obvious.
A mixed bunch ranging from timid and potentially socially anxious, whose level of discomfort registered the moment they became trapped at the table, clock ticking until final release descended. Some, it seemed to me, were seeking their own level of control by dropping eyes and hunching bodies.
Then there were the bored ones. Eyes blank, cheekbones static, you could almost read their minds.
Do I really want to be here? And who cares about democracy if that’s even what she’s going to be talking to us about? I’ll block it and think about what I’m going to do when I get out of this place. How long did they say I’ve got to be here?!
But the bored ones were lucky, in a way. By having an equally bored friend by their side, living through the pain session.
You’ve already been introduced to Bert; well, sitting with him were three other students: not bored, I’m assuming friends, but fidgety, jokey, not disruptive.
Key for me is getting people talking. And having shared who I was and why I was there, as well as how they live democracy without even realising it, my clicker took us to slide two - the history of democracy - taking us all back to the beginning in 1915.
“Right,” I said, “you’ve all just had lunch downstairs in the PDR?’ - That’s our on-site dining facilities. My head nodded, encouraging them to respond while scanning the room. ‘Yes?’ I said. There were a few affirmative mumbles. ‘Nice food down there, isn’t it? ‘What did you have? Did you have the fish?’ It was Fish Friday, after all.
Again murmurs.
“Great,” I continued. “So, back in 1915, at the very first democratic gathering of employees with the Chairman, the main topics of conversation were around how stale the bread was and the strength of the tea in the PDR. Nothing’s changed; we’re still moaning about it.” Which is not easy to say, when my site has excellent food, all the time. But hey, I was working that room, and yes, other sites do complain.
The easiest way to demonstrate democracy, and much more, though, is to put those you’re talking to into relatable experiences. Super, so, how do I get them engaged in understanding how, at work, we are encouraged to offer opinions, which can include disagreement and suggestions, about how we work, policy, and all that fits in between? Bearing in mind we are a workforce of 69000.
Talk - that’s what we do. We debate. We have structured sessions and very much welcome ad hoc conversations too. And yet we remain friends, despite some very differing points of view.
And so, having further explained the concept of how we manage all that’s heard by having what they would consider class or club reps, and who we refer to as forum reps and councillors. Bert’s hand went up.
“What happens if nobody wants to do that?” (as in become a forum or councillor).
I shook my head. “Not going to happen. There’s always somebody who wants to do it.”
Bert wasn’t having it. “But what if everybody says no, we’re not paid enough, we’re all going out on strike? Then what?”
Nice question, Bert. I couldn’t help wondering if he was related to any of my colleagues.
The room started to stir. Mabel jumped in. “Oh, Bert, you always ask such interesting questions.”
I motioned to Mabel to let it run
One of the bored ones stirred - not so bored after all, it would seem. She looked Bert in the eye, cheekbones still static, her face saying it all. “She’s already told us there are 69000 other people; somebody will do it.”
Touché, mon ami
Internally, my smile was huge as I said. “And there you go, democracy in action. You’ve started a conversation with differing points of view. And Bert, in this instance, you could take this question to our democracy lead and ask them what would happen. And he would need to respond.”
This interaction was mere minutes, and yet being able to refer back to having different opinions and the power of the conversation was, for me, brilliant. They’d got it, they were living it, they just didn’t realise it.
Buoyed by this, there was time for one more bash at demonstrating democracy with them. And having explained how changes to employee benefits meant much discussion in the workplace, where it was possible to influence change, I asked them this.
“Ok, so let’s assume the new iPhone is coming out, all your friends are getting it, and you want it. You’ve gone to the responsible person in your family and told them you want it. They say no, explaining they can’t afford it and how the family is going on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. But you can have the phone, and the family won’t do the holiday. What will you do?”
It was unanimous. A lot of shrugging shoulders, and “I’ll keep on using my old phone.”
“Ok,” I said. “And what if your responsible person suggests that, as you now have a part-time job, you can pay for it yourself, as in I’m not paying for your phone anymore?”
Again, unanimous. Shrugging shoulders and a definitive, “I’ll pay for it myself.”
At the start of this reflective piece, I’d said how this group had surprised me. And they had.
First of all, some of them were in fact listening, and perhaps their body language wasn’t as crystal clear as I thought.
Note to self: what’s that adage of book and covers!?!?
And secondly, no resistance to either not getting a new iPhone or paying for it themselves. I honestly had been expecting some selfish responses along the lines of, I WANT IT, AND I DON’T CARE. At least from Bert!
Agreed, the group was small, and another day, another group, it could all be very different.
Only I left that room, some thirty minutes later, taking valuable lived experience to share at another presentation, where I’d discuss the five different generations in the workplace. In part, asking those present to consider the myths and misconceptions we may have about the 4 generations we do not belong to.
I started the piece above several weeks ago, and since then had the privilege of another session last week. This time, I had 60 minutes to engage. And what a wonderful session it also was.
This time, though, I changed my tactic slightly. Instead of standing at the front of the room, I rolled my chair over to them to join them at the table, presentation ready, and just talked to them first. We had about a 15-minute conversation before even touching the surface of the purpose of my being there. They even started asking me questions.
It was a joyous 6o minutes, to be honest, both sessions will remain with me for a long time, not least of all, listening to the hopes and dreams of young people, hearing their voices, letting them know they have a voice and how best to use it, and how by the end it felt as if they left the room with just a wee bit more awareness of what it’s like to be at work and more importanly to value a deomcratic way of life
Thank you for popping by, see you soon
Loved this! How lovely that they surprised you (and that you let yourself be taken by surprise!) Your approach to teaching by showing live, in-the-moment examples is fab!