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If your company is losing Gen Z talent, chances are, the problem isnt themits you. The phrase “quiet quitting” has become a catch-all for blaming Gen Z workers for workplace disengagement. Older generations stereotype them as unmotivated, unwilling to go the extra mile, and too demanding. But heres the reality: Gen Z isnt disengagedtheyre just done tolerating bad leadership. My research, including surveys, interviews, and case studies across industries, shows that what many have labelled “quitting” is actually a rational response to workplaces that lack fairness, structure, and alignment with employee values. Instead of writing off an entire generation, leaders should be asking: What are we doing wrong? The real problem: Leadership that hasnt kept up Gen Z grew up amid economic uncertainty, social justice movements, and an increasing focus on mental health. They dont just want jobs; they want workplaces that prioritize psychological safety, transparency, and fairness. And yet, many companies still cling to outdated management stylesrigid hierarchies, inconsistent expectations, and vague career paths. If leadership is unclear, unresponsive, or inequitable, Gen Z isnt going to stick around and suffer in silence. Thats not “quitting”thats self-respect. Why traditional leadership fails Gen Z Leadership models that worked for previous generations often fall flat today. Take transformational leadershipwhich focuses on vision and motivation. It sounds great, but often lacks the psychological safety Gen Z craves. Servant leadership, which emphasizes employee well-being, is a step in the right direction but can also fail if it lacks structure and clarity. Gen Z doesnt just want a charismatic leader who inspires them; they want fairness, clear expectations, and leaders who actually listen. When those elements are missing, disengagement is inevitable. This is where the model I developed, Engaged Empathy Leadership Model (EELM), offers a solution. A better leadership model: kindness, fairness, structure Through my research, I developed the EELMa leadership framework designed to retain and engage Gen Z talent by focusing on three essential elements: Kindness: Leaders who genuinely care and empathize build trust and psychological safety. Employees are more engaged when they feel valued as individuals, not just as workers. Fairness: Gen Z expects equitable treatment in promotions, pay, and opportunities. If they sense any sort of favoritism or lack of transparency, they disengage. Structure: Gen Z demands clarity in expectations, consistent feedback, and transparent decision-making eliminate the ambiguity that leads to frustration. Remember, structure isnt about rigidityits about alignment. Real-world success: Companies doing it right Forward-thinking companies are already proving that when leadership evolves, Gen Z thrives. Ive seen it work in several instances. One tutoring company increased retention by replacing traditional performance reviews with casual one-on-one check-inssometimes over coffee or even during a round of golf. Employees didnt stay because they had to, they stayed because they felt heard. Then theres the production company in the manufacturing and retail space that shifted bonus structures from individual seniority-based rewards to team-based outcomes. This resulted in less resentment, better collaboration, and a more engaged workforce. The last example Ill mention is a restaurant that implemented structured weekly feedback sessions. This provided a format for open conversations where employees could ask questions, voice concerns, and get clear guidance. These town halls werent just for top-down critique; they allowed employees to critique leadership in a respectful way and engage in honest discussions. The result? A dramatic boost in engagement and retention. Debunking the ‘bad attitude’ myth One of the most persistent myths about Gen Z is that they have “bad attitudes.” In reality, they simply communicate differently and expect clarity. Workplace conflicts often stem from misaligned expectationslike a Gen Z employee thinking a text message is fine for calling in sick, while an older manager expects a phone call. And lets be clear: no generation is inherently more or less hardworking. Employeesof any agego the extra mile when they trust leadership and see a future for themselves in an organization. The end of the ‘quiet quitting’ myth Gen Z isnt quietly quittingtheyre actively deciding where to invest their energy. If leaders fail to evolve, disengagement isnt a mystery, its a predictable outcome. But for companies that embrace kindness, fairness, and structure, Gen Z wont just staytheyll excel. The question isnt whether Gen Z is willing to work hard. The real question is: Are leaders willing to evolve?
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E-Commerce
As the Los Angeles area stares down the long recovery process from recent wildfires that burned thousands of homes, one architecture firm is trying to help by giving away one of its residential designs. New York-based Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture is donating all the architectural plans, sections, and 3D models of a fire-resistant home, potentially saving homeowners tens of thousands of dollars in design fees. “We were archiving unbuilt projects around the time of the Los Angeles fires, and we came across this idea that we had for a house on a coastal area,” says Enrico Bonetti, the firm’s cofounder. “We loved the floor plans and then we realized that the design, the typology, and the materials would work very well in a fire-prone area.” [Image: Bonetti Kozerski Architecture] Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture is known for its high-end work, including the headquarters of Pace Gallery in New York, the interiors of actress Angelina Jolie’s fashion house Atelier Jolie, as well as several yachts and private homes. Rather than let this home’s unbuilt design languish in its archive, the firm decided they’d offer it up for anyone to use, for free. “We felt that we could make a small contribution to the people who lost their homes by donating this project to them,” Bonetti says. [Image: Bonetti Kozerski Architecture] The free house plan is a simple but modern design, covering 3,700 square feet, with a rectangular floorplan that’s mostly open on the ground floor, with three bedrooms on the second floor. Large windows along the length of the house stretch from the floor to near the roofline, and wide picture windows punctuate one end. The design features several fire-resistant design elements, including metal cladding, masonry walls, and an eave-less roof that eliminates one of the common places falling embers can spread wildfires. This pro bono design is one of many efforts, large and small, being made by the architecture and design community to assist in L.A.’s rebuilding. Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia recently announced that his prefabricated housing startup Samara would be donating $15 million worth of homes to fire victims. Ad hoc groups of designers in L.A. are also pooling resources and sharing expertise to accelerate the rebuilding process. [Image: Bonetti Kozerski Architecture] Granted, free plans for a house are not a house, and the cost to build will be high, particularly in the fire-damaged L.A. region. But when architectural plans can account for 10% of a home’s cost or more, Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture’s donation represents tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars a potential client doesn’t have to spend. Interested homeowners in the fire-affected area will be able to download the free house plans from the architects’ website. They would then need to find their own general contractor to take the next steps. The architects say the project is ready to build, but can also be tweaked to fit the needs of different sites or the spatial demands of the end users who might want less than 3,700 square feetor perhaps much more. “This plan could be adaptable but it’s a very space efficient starting point,” Bonetti says.
Category:
E-Commerce
When Connor Hovey began talking to his co-workers at Trader Joes in Louisville about forming a union, he knew it wouldnt be easy. What he didnt expect was that the campaign would transform from a marathon into a race without a finish line. Two years after Hovey and his co-workers won a union election in Louisville, their fight for union representation remains in limbo. The grocery chain with a progressive reputation filed six objections with the National Labor Relations Board after workers voted 48 to 36 to join Trader Joes United, an independent union. Every objection was tossed twicefirst by an NLRB hearing officer and later by a regional director. But last month, the workers path to certification stalled again when President Donald Trump abruptly fired Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden appointee, leaving the board unable to rule on the companys final appeal. The boards paralysis has prevented thousands of workers like Hovey from seeking redress from an agency whose very mission is to enforce worker rights, while providing employers with new opportunities to stall disputes. At the same time, the lack of a functioning arbiter of labor relations has left workers and their advocates wondering if the time has come to employ more confrontational tactics in labor disputes. It became clear the NLRB was already underfunded, understaffed, and overworked, said Hovey. Now [with the freeze] we may not have a decision on our election for several more years. Catherine Creighton is a former National Labor Relations Board attorney now at Cornell Universitys School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Without a functioning board, she said, You can organize, but if the employer doesnt agree to recognize the union or bargain, theres nothing you can do about it. For workers, theres nowhere you can go. Trumps firing of Wilcox, whose term was not due to expire until 2028, represented an extraordinary assertion of executive power over an independent agency; on the same day, Trump fired two commissioners on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, leaving that agency, too, without a working quorum. (Wilcox has since filed a lawsuit contesting her firing, arguing that it violated some of the very labor laws she previously enforced.) The freeze at the National Labor Relations Board comes while attorneys for Elon Musks SpaceX and Jeff Bezos Amazon, which are both facing labor complaints, argue in federal court that the NLRB is unconstitutional, in part because it impedes executive power. Attorneys for Trader Joes have also asserted, in NLRB proceedings, the unconstitutionality of the NLRB. Spokespersons for the National Labor Relations Board did not respond to queries about the number of cases currently frozen at the board, though last year the board issued 372 decisions. Amazon has at least eight cases pending at the board, including an appeal of a judges decision ordering a new election at a 6,100-employee warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, due to numerous labor law violations the company committed during a 2022 campaign. In January, the NLRB reported that the board was hearing 62 separate cases in which administrative law judges had determined Starbucks had broken labor laws. Along with contesting the Louisville election, Trader Joes is appealing a judges finding that the company threatened workers and froze wages at two unionized stores. The lack of a functioning board will exacerbate the backlog of cases at the NLRB, said Caren Sencer, a labor lawyer with Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld who represents multiple unions whose cases are now stalled at the National Labor Relations Board. It already felt indefinite, she said about the slow pace of NLRB proceedings. Now it actually is. The current NLRB paralysis affects cases that have reached the board, not those at lower levels. But it does provide new motivation for employers to appeal lower-level cases, since they know that without a quorum the case will eventually stall out. The lack of a quorum can also open up new avenues for objections. This happened recently in Philadelphia, where, for the first time, Whole Foods workers voted to unionize on Jan. 27, the same day Trump fired Wilcox. Attorneys for Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, filed objections to the results, asserting among their complaints that the election wasnt viable without a quorum at the board. For Creighton, of Cornell University, the lack of a quorum renews an age-old debate among labor: Is it worth trying to organize within the slow-moving NLRB? Why go into enemy territory? she asked. It was the only game in town, but now its nothing. She said that workers and unions, faced with a nonfunctioning or hostile board, may increasingly choose tactics like strikes to get what they want. In her departing statement, former National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, a staunchly pro-labor figure, hinted as much, writing that if the agency doesnt protect workers rights, she expects workers will take matters into their own hands. Hovey, the Trader Joes worker in Louisville, has come to a similar conclusion after several years of union organizing. Its important to recognize that direct action is the only way to receive the benefits youre looking for. You cant depend on a government agency. Gabriel Thompson, Capital and Main This piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.
Category:
E-Commerce
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