Understanding Gen Z: The Generation Reshaping America’s Workforce and Democracy

Many of us, whether we realize it or not, have been victims of the “Gen Z Stare,” as it’s known across social media. The nascent trend is described by Fortune as “a vacant, unresponsive gaze, often replacing traditional greetings or small talk in service roles.” 

Examples of the stare underscore an important point – Gen Z is struggling to connect and adapt to older Americans, particularly in the workplace. A recent poll revealed that only 17% of Gen Zers feel that they work well across different generations, and another report indicates that nearly 75% of managers find Gen Z difficult to work with. 

While many of them are just finishing high school or college, Gen Z will soon account for the lion’s share of the US workforce. The group already holds over $1 trillion in collective spending power, according to one recent study. This generation’s influence, both economically and in the workforce, makes their inability to connect with older Americans, and vice versa, all the more problematic for our society.

Gen Z is not just the generation of tomorrow – they are the generation of right now. Today, we’re exploring the enigma that is Gen Z. Let’s get to it. 

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Gen Z’s temperament has been shaped by a whirlwind two decades in US domestic politics. Just consider the major events that have occurred since the turn of the century: 

• The 9/11 terrorist attacks and subsequent wars in the Middle East
• The 2008 financial crisis and recession
• Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 
• The COVID-19 pandemic 
• The events of January 6th, 2021, at the US Capitol 

In the same way that Vietnam defined the Boomers, the Challenger disaster defined Gen X, and the rise of the smart phone defined Millennials, these events have defined Generation Z. While most members of Gen Z do not have direct memories of 9/11, its aftermath – heightened security, fear of extremism, and a culture of vigilance – has profoundly influenced their worldview, contributing to a baseline anxiety and a sense of vulnerability that permeates both personal and professional life, as well as their political temperament. 

It would have been fair to say that many of Gen Z’s formative years were marked by ongoing wars, mass shootings, and economic uncertainty. Then came COVID-19. 

Scholars have observed a split among Gen Zers who came of age before and after the pandemic. Older members of Gen Z (ages 22–29), who were adults before the pandemic, tend to favor Democrats and align with progressive priorities such as immigration reform and social justice. Younger Gen Z voters (ages 18–21), known as Generation C (COVID-19), tend to lean more conservative due to the pandemic’s impacts, like job disruptions and financial uncertainty.

This dichotomy was pivotal in the 2024 election. President Joe Biden won the Gen Z vote by 25 points in 2020; in 2024, Gen Z voters favored Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by a mere four points, a 21-point swing. Christian Iruela Lane, a political science researcher at Harvard, identified two key issues for Gen Z voters: the economy and immigration policy. 

In tandem with its rightward shift, Lane also discovered an anti-establishment bent in Gen Z. “While all age groups have grown increasingly discontent with the American democratic system in recent years, the dissatisfaction is significant among younger people,” Lane said. This is a defining belief of Gen Z. While nearly 70% of older voters strongly agree that democracy is the best form of government, just 27% of Gen Z respondents think the same. 

Gen Z’s split from the typical American’s thoughts on democracy is partially due to how the younger generation consumes media. Many get their news and opinions from social media feeds, YouTube clips, and 50-character-or-less posts, rather than newspapers, online columns, or TV news. The Gen Z media landscape is highly decentralized. The only real qualifications for entry are a personality and content that connect with users, plus a camera and a microphone. Crucially, objective truth isn’t a prerequisite. 

A study from Pew Research on how much trust Americans place in information from news organizations versus social media sites clearly demonstrated this point. Americans between the ages of 18 and 29, when compared to those ages 30 to 65+, (1) placed the least amount of trust in both national and local media organizations, and (2) placed the most amount of trust in social media platforms. 

Even more troubling for traditional media, trust has been eroding steadily across all groups for two decades. While Democratic voters have historically expressed more confidence than Republicans in news organizations, that gap is narrowing rapidly. Today, only 38% of Gen Z Democrats say they trust the media, a striking indicator of how deeply skepticism now runs among younger audiences.

Dakota Hall, executive director of a civic action organization that works with young voters on the political left, says, “What we are seeing with Gen Z voters is that they are not consuming news; they are absorbing narratives… Instead of reading an article in the New York Times, they are going to their favorite influencer, their favorite content creator, or a YouTube streamer. They are getting ‘personal’ insights, feeling a connection. It’s not necessarily telling you how to think or what to say; it is more about building a relationship with you.”

The phenomenon Hall describes is what allowed late political activist and campus speaker Charlie Kirk to connect with young voters from different spheres of life all across the country. They are a generation that likes engagement, that enjoys connecting with others regardless of their political persuasion. 

Business leaders have expressed frustration with the working habits and career readiness of Gen Z, even as key staffing shortages grip sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and public safety. It seems that many Gen Zers aren’t entering the workforce, and specifically corporate America, with the type of skills and work ethic that companies desire. There are many reasons why this knowledge and training gap exists; however, Gen Z’s power to connect, when rightly leveraged, has the potential to add significant value to any organization that chooses to utilize it. 

The future of Gen Z remains uncertain because there is still so much we don’t understand about this generation. Their political affiliations, work habits, and personal values are still being formed. Such is the beauty and frustration of generational analysis. But what is clear is that Gen Z presents an incredible opportunity for our nation, a chance to connect rather than divide, to build up rather than tear down, and to thoughtfully address systemic issues rather than fix what is beyond repair. 

Ultimately, America’s future is in their hands.