How to work with Gen Z minority woman employee

[Anonymous]

I am concerned with your preoccupation with her identity. It sounds like you have probably committed a microagression and are creating an uncomfortable/hostile work environment since you talk about her minority status so much. If I was your manager and saw this thread, I would remove managerial duties from you. It doesn't sound like you are prepared for supervision.

[Anonymous]

OP - this is a tough spot for you. And a potentially dangerous one. If you make this about her race (which you shouldn't, obviously) even in the hope of trying to figure out her world view, you put yourself in jeopardy. You need to focus exclusively on performance.

FWIW, I occasionally ruminate on what a disaster of an employee i was straight out of school. Smart, but undisciplined, anti-authoritarian, and smug. I thought I knew best and was reluctant to take direction. And I worked very inefficiently. Some people were more patient than others, but what finally snapped me out of it was somebody laying down the line and telling me I needed to accomplish X by open of business the next day, no exceptions. I stayed at the office until 2pm trying to get my code to work. And something clicked that I wasn't entitled to employment, I was there to earn it.

I wasn't a model or a minority and there was none of that complexity for me. But the path to success was the same. Somebody - sometimes multiple people - explaining to me in clear terms what the expectations were.

Keep it simple and uncomplicated. Focus on the work and don't get distracted by social elements. That's the fastest way to success for her and the least risky way for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She knows she won’t be fired because she is a minority. And she is loving watching white people squirm.

She is probably on a probationary basis. If she is straight up refusing to work with key employees she won’t be there long. Reality will be a slap in the face that this attitude doesn’t work in the real world. It will be the comeuppance she needs to succeed at her next job.

[Anonymous]

Using her faith, race, or ethnic background is probably her only weapon on this fight. She clearly lacks confidence in her abilities and has a chip on her shoulder already. People like that usually use Bs excuses. You can either engage, or ignore as best you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What reaction specifically? Nothing has been said to her. My company is over 2/3 minority. There are only a handful of people in the company who make their minority an important thing].

Yep. The racism is starting to trickle out…

The only racist in this scenario is the gen z employee. Try wrapping your pea brain around reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think making this about her demographics might be a mistake here. I've had new employees pushback across demographics, the key is to set clear boundaries and expectations and enforce them. There's also an extent that you respect someone's autonomy when appropriate and avoid micromanaging. If you're struggling on a particular issue or want some guidance on where the line is for your organization you should speak to your boss. For me, finding that boundary line one of the hardest aspects of management when I first took it on.

The only reason I bring up demographics is because it was in all the work she submitted for the job application so clearly she thinks it defines her and is her worldview. There are plenty of minorities at my workplace where this doesn't define them at all.

This is a good point. Considering her 4 years of college have been dominated by the woke Olympics, she’s clearly latched onto these dynamics in some form or another. Plus the underlying characteristics that seem to define how gen z approaches things, I can see this would be really challenging without “triggering” an escalation that would ultimately be a distraction.

I think you have to treat her like any other employee that is conducting themselves this way. Intervene, correct, and document. Bring in your manager and HR for help early so there are multiple eyes on the process and steps to protect yourself later. Make an attempt to shape her work mentality (this is her first job afterall) but not getting it right the first time is just part of learning for many college grads. She may need to be let go to learn her lesson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think making this about her demographics might be a mistake here. I've had new employees pushback across demographics, the key is to set clear boundaries and expectations and enforce them. There's also an extent that you respect someone's autonomy when appropriate and avoid micromanaging. If you're struggling on a particular issue or want some guidance on where the line is for your organization you should speak to your boss. For me, finding that boundary line one of the hardest aspects of management when I first took it on.

The only reason I bring up demographics is because it was in all the work she submitted for the job application so clearly she thinks it defines her and is her worldview. There are plenty of minorities at my workplace where this doesn't define them at all.

This is a good point. Considering her 4 years of college have been dominated by the woke Olympics, she’s clearly latched onto these dynamics in some form or another. Plus the underlying characteristics that seem to define how gen z approaches things, I can see this would be really challenging without “triggering” an escalation that would ultimately be a distraction.

I think you have to treat her like any other employee that is conducting themselves this way. Intervene, correct, and document. Bring in your manager and HR for help early so there are multiple eyes on the process and steps to protect yourself later. Make an attempt to shape her work mentality (this is her first job afterall) but not getting it right the first time is just part of learning for many college grads. She may need to be let go to learn her lesson.

For all the chatter about diversity, these schools aren't preparing young people to work in a diverse world. If this employee can't navigate how to work with an older white woman, whom she is dismissing out of hand, then she hasn't been well served. What happened to The Golden Rule?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - this is a tough spot for you. And a potentially dangerous one. If you make this about her race (which you shouldn't, obviously) even in the hope of trying to figure out her world view, you put yourself in jeopardy. You need to focus exclusively on performance.

FWIW, I occasionally ruminate on what a disaster of an employee i was straight out of school. Smart, but undisciplined, anti-authoritarian, and smug. I thought I knew best and was reluctant to take direction. And I worked very inefficiently. Some people were more patient than others, but what finally snapped me out of it was somebody laying down the line and telling me I needed to accomplish X by open of business the next day, no exceptions. I stayed at the office until 2pm trying to get my code to work. And something clicked that I wasn't entitled to employment, I was there to earn it.

I wasn't a model or a minority and there was none of that complexity for me. But the path to success was the same. Somebody - sometimes multiple people - explaining to me in clear terms what the expectations were.

Keep it simple and uncomplicated. Focus on the work and don't get distracted by social elements. That's the fastest way to success for her and the least risky way for you.

In many ways this was me too, but the gen x leadership was slow to adapt in the mid 2000s… it made new college graduates like me who understood technology a bit impatient and smug. I think we were inefficient because we were working in outdated systems and processes that were inherently inefficient and we understood things could be a lot more efficient. I’d say I simmered a bit but the folks who are in their 50s and 60s modernized.

For this example, it is useful to reference how the world was when you graduated, how you fit in, where leadership was in your first job, and how everything shifted in the years after… it will likely reveal that no matter how much of an outlier she seems, some parts of her approach, if they’re indeed common to her generation, will seep into the mainstream eventually…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think making this about her demographics might be a mistake here. I've had new employees pushback across demographics, the key is to set clear boundaries and expectations and enforce them. There's also an extent that you respect someone's autonomy when appropriate and avoid micromanaging. If you're struggling on a particular issue or want some guidance on where the line is for your organization you should speak to your boss. For me, finding that boundary line one of the hardest aspects of management when I first took it on.

The only reason I bring up demographics is because it was in all the work she submitted for the job application so clearly she thinks it defines her and is her worldview. There are plenty of minorities at my workplace where this doesn't define them at all.

This is a good point. Considering her 4 years of college have been dominated by the woke Olympics, she’s clearly latched onto these dynamics in some form or another. Plus the underlying characteristics that seem to define how gen z approaches things, I can see this would be really challenging without “triggering” an escalation that would ultimately be a distraction.

I think you have to treat her like any other employee that is conducting themselves this way. Intervene, correct, and document. Bring in your manager and HR for help early so there are multiple eyes on the process and steps to protect yourself later. Make an attempt to shape her work mentality (this is her first job afterall) but not getting it right the first time is just part of learning for many college grads. She may need to be let go to learn her lesson.

For all the chatter about diversity, these schools aren't preparing young people to work in a diverse world. If this employee can't navigate how to work with an older white woman, whom she is dismissing out of hand, then she hasn't been well served. What happened to The Golden Rule?

Wasn’t the Golden Rule on the same list as being on time and using proper grammar and punctuation, etc as being inherently racist??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am concerned with your preoccupation with her identity. It sounds like you have probably committed a microagression and are creating an uncomfortable/hostile work environment since you talk about her minority status so much. If I was your manager and saw this thread, I would remove managerial duties from you. It doesn't sound like you are prepared for supervision.

+1

The racism rearing its ugly head on this thread is shocking (from not only the OP, but almost everyone else as well). Clearly OP is the big problem here. My crystal ball shows HR removing her.

[Anonymous]

While it'd be nice for the manager to focus exclusively on performance issues, the employee in question may not let that happen based on indicators raised by the OP. If she's told her performance does not meet expectations, there's a good chance she will claim she's being discriminated against, and may even truly believe that.

I've had Gen Z employees who have been totally fixated on their minority status or sexual orientation. They underperformed and when given their reviews, claimed the poor performance remarks were because they were in a protected category. They got HR involved, and HR took their side -- had to treat them with kid gloves. And they all got promoted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am concerned with your preoccupation with her identity. It sounds like you have probably committed a microagression and are creating an uncomfortable/hostile work environment since you talk about her minority status so much. If I was your manager and saw this thread, I would remove managerial duties from you. It doesn't sound like you are prepared for supervision.

+1

The racism rearing its ugly head on this thread is shocking (from not only the OP, but almost everyone else as well). Clearly OP is the big problem here. My crystal ball shows HR removing her.

The OP isn’t racist, the employee chose to craft her identity around her demographics, the OP has been clear that the reason she’s using these factors to define is because the employee herself uses them to define. And, the OP is suggesting that the employee leaning on these factors is, in fact, part of the problem. Would you feel better about it if the OP simply left out of the story that the employee is trading heavily on her age and race? It would seem rather incomplete…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While it'd be nice for the manager to focus exclusively on performance issues, the employee in question may not let that happen based on indicators raised by the OP. If she's told her performance does not meet expectations, there's a good chance she will claim she's being discriminated against, and may even truly believe that.

I've had Gen Z employees who have been totally fixated on their minority status or sexual orientation. They underperformed and when given their reviews, claimed the poor performance remarks were because they were in a protected category. They got HR involved, and HR took their side -- had to treat them with kid gloves. And they all got promoted.

100%

Colleges and social media have taught them the grift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am concerned with your preoccupation with her identity. It sounds like you have probably committed a microagression and are creating an uncomfortable/hostile work environment since you talk about her minority status so much. If I was your manager and saw this thread, I would remove managerial duties from you. It doesn't sound like you are prepared for supervision.

+1

The racism rearing its ugly head on this thread is shocking (from not only the OP, but almost everyone else as well). Clearly OP is the big problem here. My crystal ball shows HR removing her.

Keep dreaming. The racist and ageist employee won't last long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - this is a tough spot for you. And a potentially dangerous one. If you make this about her race (which you shouldn't, obviously) even in the hope of trying to figure out her world view, you put yourself in jeopardy. You need to focus exclusively on performance.

FWIW, I occasionally ruminate on what a disaster of an employee i was straight out of school. Smart, but undisciplined, anti-authoritarian, and smug. I thought I knew best and was reluctant to take direction. And I worked very inefficiently. Some people were more patient than others, but what finally snapped me out of it was somebody laying down the line and telling me I needed to accomplish X by open of business the next day, no exceptions. I stayed at the office until 2pm trying to get my code to work. And something clicked that I wasn't entitled to employment, I was there to earn it.

I wasn't a model or a minority and there was none of that complexity for me. But the path to success was the same. Somebody - sometimes multiple people - explaining to me in clear terms what the expectations were.

Keep it simple and uncomplicated. Focus on the work and don't get distracted by social elements. That's the fastest way to success for her and the least risky way for you.

In many ways this was me too, but the gen x leadership was slow to adapt in the mid 2000s… it made new college graduates like me who understood technology a bit impatient and smug. I think we were inefficient because we were working in outdated systems and processes that were inherently inefficient and we understood things could be a lot more efficient. I’d say I simmered a bit but the folks who are in their 50s and 60s modernized.

For this example, it is useful to reference how the world was when you graduated, how you fit in, where leadership was in your first job, and how everything shifted in the years after… it will likely reveal that no matter how much of an outlier she seems, some parts of her approach, if they’re indeed common to her generation, will seep into the mainstream eventually…

This is every generation. I am Gen X and had to work with older Gen X/ Boomers who did not want to learn new technology. If I sent them a spreadsheet they refused to look at it unless I printed it out. Gen Z is not unique and the next generation will come along sneering and looking down on them as well.