06 November 2024

The Confidence Gap: Empowering Gen Z in the Workplace

As Generation Z steps into the professional world, organisations face the crucial task of fostering their confidence and self-belief. Here's how HR and L&D teams can support their emerging talent.

By 2025, Generation Z is projected to make up one-third of the global workforce. As this tech-savvy and innovative generation advances within organisations, it’s essential that they feel confident and equipped to meet their responsibilities.

However, our research indicates a significant confidence gap among Gen Z employees. If left unaddressed, this could prevent organisations from fully tapping into the potential of their emerging talent. In this article, we explore the latest data on Gen Z’s self-belief at work and offer practical strategies for HR and L&D teams to support them as they navigate their careers.

The Current State of Gen Z Confidence

Our latest data reveals that Gen Z employees experience notably lower self-belief than their more experienced counterparts—14% lower, to be precise. This disparity reflects the challenges this generation faces as they acclimate to the workplace and handle new responsibilities.

If left unaddressed, this reduced confidence poses a risk not just to their individual performance and growth but also the teams and organisations they are part of.

The Impact of Lower Self-Confidence on Gen-Z Employees

Career Indecision and Low Ambition: A lack of self-confidence can lead to uncertainty in career choices, making it more difficult for Gen Z employees to pursue clear career paths. This indecision may result in lower ambition and stalled professional development¹.
Individual Performance: Believing in one’s capabilities is strongly linked to job performance, especially when initiative is required. Employees with high self-belief are more proactive and engaged, leading to better outcomes².
Emotional Wellbeing: Lower self-belief traps individuals in a negative cycle where the lack of confidence worsens mood, which further erodes their self-belief³.
Response to Failure: Those with low self-belief may struggle to adapt to setbacks. Failure can further diminish their confidence, undermining their motivation and resilience—key factors needed to overcome challenges⁴.
Goal Achievement: Low self-confidence can reduce the motivation to pursue challenging tasks, especially in unstructured environments. This hesitation can prevent individuals from meeting their own performance expectations and goals⁵.

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The Psychological Resilience of Gen Z in the Workplace

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The Impact on the Team

Confidence Contagion: Low confidence can spread within a team, affecting overall motivation and performance. Team members may unconsciously mirror their peers, leading to a collective dip in confidence⁶.
Reduced Help-Seeking Behaviour: Employees lacking confidence might avoid asking for help due to fear of judgment. This disrupts the sharing of knowledge that is vital for team effectiveness⁷.
Weakened Collaboration: Hesitancy to contribute ideas or take on responsibilities can weaken team collaboration. Valuable insights from Gen Z employees may be missed, depriving the team of fresh perspectives⁸.
Increased Conflict: Teams with members who have low self-belief may experience more interpersonal conflict due to miscommunication and reluctance to engage fully in discussions—especially detrimental in project-based work requiring clear communication⁹.

The Impact on the Organisation

Job Satisfaction and Retention: Low self-belief is linked to lower job satisfaction, increasing the likelihood of attrition and affecting the organisation’s ability to retain talent¹⁰.
Increased Absenteeism: In roles demanding high emotional regulation, such as healthcare or social work, low self-belief can exacerbate stress and lead to higher rates of sickness absence due to mental distress¹¹.
Talent Pipeline Disruption: Low self-belief may deter Gen Z employees from pursuing development opportunities, disrupting succession planning and affecting future leadership quality and readiness¹².

How to Support Gen Z Employees to Build Their Self-Belief

Fortunately, there are effective strategies organisations can implement to support their Gen Z talent:

Mentorship and Support: Establish mentorship programs that connect Gen Z employees with experienced colleagues. Mentors can offer guidance, encouragement, and constructive feedback, helping to build self-belief over time.
Incorporate Resilience Training into Onboarding: Equip Gen Z staff to handle their roles confidently by including resilience training in the onboarding process.
Normalise Feedback: Foster a culture of continuous feedback where strengths and areas for development are regularly discussed. This approach helps Gen Z employees build confidence in their capabilities and accept setbacks as an inevitable part of working life.
Recognition and Reward: Acknowledging contributions boosts self-esteem and validates the value of their work. Implement recognition programs that not only celebrate significant achievements but also the small wins.
Skill Development Opportunities: Provide training aligned with Gen Z employees’ career goals to support their professional development and future aspirations.
Train Managers of Gen Z: Offer managers training to foster the confidence of Gen Z team members. This includes strategies for managing pressure effectively, fostering psychological safety, and creating a feedback culture.

Conclusion

Gen Z employees have a lot to offer—they are digitally savvy, creative, and bring fresh perspectives to the table. However, our research shows that self-belief is often a hurdle as they start their careers. By building the confidence of Gen Z employees, organisations cultivate resilient and motivated professionals who are more likely to grow within the company. This investment not only strengthens individual performance but also supports key business outcomes like retention, productivity and innovation. Helping Gen Z thrive means not only future-proofing your talent pipeline but also unlocking new potential that drives lasting success.

Author Bio: Sandra Ordel is a Senior Business Psychologist specialising in workforce resilience and neuropsychology. She supports organisations worldwide to build resilient teams and cultures of healthy performance.