GUEST COLUMN.

As a child in the 1990s, I vividly remember waiting 15 minutes just to connect to the internet via dial-up, feeling excited to visit the video rental store on Fridays to pick up my favorite movies, and painstakingly sitting by the radio, trying to press record at the perfect moment to create a mixtape. All memories that shaped my perspective on work and technology. 

Like most of us, I grew up without the convenience of Google, iPads, or instant streaming services. However, today is a new era. The next generation, Generation Alpha —those born between 2010 and 2025—have been raised in an entirely different digital landscape. They have never known life without an iPhone, iPad, or social media. 

This generation has also experienced both active shooter training and the pandemic while in school, shaping their perspective on the world and the future of work in ways we are only beginning to understand. 

My Moment of Truth

I recently had a conversation with my twelve-year-old about the types of summer jobs she might be interested in as she prepares to enter high school in the next two years. To my surprise, she told me she wanted to be a “YouTube Creator” to which I immediately thought, “What? That’s not a real job!” I then asked her what kind of work environment she would prefer, and she responded that she wanted to work in an “office”, have “flexible hours”, and enjoy “quality organic food.” This conversation got me thinking—what do other members of Generation Alpha think about work? The next day, I asked my daughter to poll her middle school friends with four questions: 

1. What is the most important quality you want in a workplace? 

2. What qualities do you want in a manager? 

3. What is one characteristic that would make you choose one job over another? 

4. What technology do you use the most? 

I then invited my daughter’s friends over to my house—which she loved—and asked

them the questions directly to validate their responses. 

While this was a small decidedly scientific approach, the responses I received from these middle schoolers made me consider their implications, just in the same way as people in public sector human resources were wise to prepare for the arrival of Generation Z.

For the first question on workplace qualities, I heard terms like “safety”, “fairness”, and “positivity/welcoming environment.” When asked about manager qualities, they mentioned “kindness”, “patience”, and someone who is “fun but can keep people in line”. 

When discussing what characteristics would make them choose one job over another, they emphasized the ability to be “creative”, have “flexible hours”, and “perks like food in the office.” Finally, when asked about the technology they use the most, social media was unsurprisingly at the top. However, one student mentioned using ChatGPT— “not for school, but for relationship advice on how to text a boy.” 

After hearing their feedback, I stepped back and thought, “Wow, Generation Alpha really does think about work and use technology differently than I expected.” So the real question is—what are the implications when they fully enter the workforce? 

Generation Alpha Entering The Workforce

Many of us are familiar with Generation Z —commonly known as Gen Z —which refers to individuals born roughly between 1997 and 2010. According to a Newsweek article,  while Gen Z’s innovative drive is often celebrated, there is also a growing chorus of criticisms. 

If current challenges with Gen Z are concerning for organizations, and particularly managers, Generation Alpha may introduce even more complex issues. Given Gen Alpha’s access to social media and the internet, they are exposed to an unprecedented amount of information and opinions. If McCrindle’s research is accurate, we can expect them to follow Gen Z’s trend of leveraging TikTok to learn new skills and gain knowledge—perhaps even more than they would from traditional authority figures.  This reflects a new level of knowledge and social consciousness—whether accurate or inaccurate—that we have not seen in previous generations at the same age.

So how does the Public Sector, which can be very reluctant to change, get ready, for this new workforce? Here are the top 5 areas that I recommend Public Sector agencies focus on getting ready for Generation Alpha.

1. Emotional and Physical Safety

Based on GenAlpha’s value for emotional and physical safety it will be important that employers ensure that their polices and procedures are easily accessible. Also, have a clear protocol if employees have questions or need assistance

2. Transparency and Employee Development

Generation Alpha may have awareness about career paths, and the desire to know their growth options. Employers will need to make it easy to share career opportunities – full-time and part-time, as well as skills-based training.

3. Manager Capability

Managers will need to have more tools to help them navigate the unique challenges of having multiple generations working side by side. Providing more tools from employee pulse surveys, employee recognition, training and development, and sentiment analysis, will greatly help managers be successful in working with Generation Alpha with others.

4. Communication

Having various approaches for how you are communicating with employees and candidates will be critical in both attracting Generation Alpha and keeping them engaged. Employers will need to invest in tools that allow for multi-channel and tailored and personalized communication.

5. Micro Learning

The days of 1000-page manuals for new employee onboarding and training need to be buried in the past. If you expect for the new generation to consume training it is time to experiment with “chunking” your onboarding and training into smaller sizes. Also, to leverage technology for creating and deploying bite size training as well as guided in app information to help Generation Alpha learn “just in time,”

A Call to Action

If your organization lacks a clear multi-generational workforce strategy, now is the time to develop one. The ongoing need to attract and retain early-career talent will remain a priority for the public sector. Given the latest research on the work preferences of Generation Alpha, public sector agencies will need to make key adjustments to successfully attract and retain these new entrants. Much like the transition from paper to online applications, these changes will require adaptation—but they will be well worth it to capitalize on the efficiency and knowledge that this new workforce brings.

The contents of this Guest Column are those of the author, and not necessarily Barrett and Greene, Inc. 

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