The Debrief: Fashion Execs on Managing Gen-Z | The Business of Fashion

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, just wants transparency, honesty and open lines of communication about career progression. Subs