Looking to make your Gen Z employees more productive? A yearly performance review isn’t the solution.
Gen Z is rejecting the age-old practice of the annual review process — and for good reason.
The generation — born between 1997 and 2012 — doesn’t want a review on something they did at work months ago, leadership consultant Tracy Lawrence said in a Forbes article.
Unlike Baby Boomers, who view yearly reviews as official report cards for the year or quarter, or Gen Xers who’d rather be left alone than go through the review process — Gen Z would rather have frequent check-ins, personalized feedback and growth-focused guidance to be more productive at work.
According to Lawrence, if a manager isn’t meeting Gen Z where they are, they can expect higher burnout, lower engagement, a poor workplace culture — and possibly even losing their employees.
According to content creator Ben Askins, “Revenge quitting is on the rise” for unhappy employees.
“This is the new idea of people choosing to quit their jobs in the most inconvenient way possible in order to disrupt the business,” he explained in his video.
“It’s a form of protest against what they perceived as unfair treatment.”
To avoid Gen Z revenge quitting, Lawrence said managers need to find other ways to support and give constructive feedback to their younger employees without solely relying on the outdated review process.
“For Gen Z specifically, waiting months for feedback feels alien and disengaging. A generation accustomed to immediate responses on digital platforms finds traditional annual reviews particularly frustrating and inauthentic,” Lawrence wrote.
According to Lawrence, employers “must embrace real-time feedback mechanisms and immediate, relevant guidance” to engage their Gen Z employees.
She recommends weekly check-ins, even if they’re online or through email. She also suggests that since Gen Z cares about peer opinions, getting feedback across the division will benefit and make the feedback process more collaborative.
“Gen Z sees professional development as an extension of personal growth. Structure conversations around skill-building that connect to both career aspirations and personal values,” Lawrence said, adding that young employees will benefit from technology that allows them to track their progress and become more transparent about work incentives and promotions.
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