In this discussion, Sheena Butler-Young, BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent, unpacks the unique challenges managers face with Gen-Z employees in the fashion industry. Sheena highlights how Gen-Z's high expectations around remote work and salary are amplified by a labor shortage that grants them leverage. Unlike Millennials, this generation demands transparency and real communication over traditional sales tactics. The conversation also emphasizes the need for brands to understand these desires instead of relying on stereotypes.
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insights INSIGHT
Gen Z’s High Expectations
Gen Z is perceived as demanding, receiving 30% higher salaries than typical for their experience.
Executives worry that high entry-level salaries might become unsustainable during economic downturns.
insights INSIGHT
Balancing Needs
Executives struggle with Gen Z's salary demands and expectations for flexibility, especially remote work.
This struggle stems from balancing progressive policies with business needs and profitability.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Hiring Challenges
A CEO of a $10 million fashion business finds hiring difficult.
Young professionals are either leaving New York or demanding high salaries for limited experience.
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BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young explains why managers in the fashion and beauty industries are struggling to balance their youngest employees’ expectations against the needs of their businesses.
Background:
The youth-obsessed fashion and beauty industries can’t get enough of Gen-Z talent: they believe they need to recruit more entry-level employees in order to maintain relevance and attract new customers. But the cohort is entering the workforce with big expectations — not only around salary, but remote working, too — that many companies feel unprepared to meet.
“Gen-Z is entering the workforce amid a labour shortage… So that’s real leverage behind the demands they’re making,” explained Sheena Butler Young, BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent.
Key Insights:
Gen-Z is the latest in a long line of generations accused of impatience entering the workforce.
A key difference between Gen-Z and its Millennial predecessors is that the job market currently favours job-seekers rather than employers — so their demands are more likely to be met.
Fashion is finding demands surrounding remote work particularly hard to deal with given the collaborative nature of most jobs.
Brands shouldn’t get caught up in stereotypes about young talent, but find ways to actually understand job-seekers’ desires.
Often, the generation that hates being sold to and just wants transparency, honesty and open lines of communication about career progression.
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