HP Innovation Journal Issue 13: Winter 2019 | Page 56

quarter of Gen Z expects their gender identity to change
throughout their lives.
That’s why market researcher Mackenzie dubbed the
generation Plurals—because their identities are so fluid
and individualistic. They are the first generation with
no clear majority.
1997–2012
Gen Z was born 1997 to 2012
The digital connection is inherent to that sense of fluidity.
Thanks to the 24/7 news cycle and always-on social media,
the world’s biggest problems—from structural inequality
to the refugee crisis to climate change—are top of mind for
Gen Z and also right in the palms of their hands.
“Gen Z is really the first global generation,” says Jennifer
Wang, director of customer insights at HP. “In previous gen-
erations, Gen X, for example, in the US was very different
from Gen X in China. But we don’t see that differentiation
with Gen Z. They have grown up with access to the same
information and they have all that information at their fin-
gertips, regardless of where they live, as long as they have
internet connectivity.”
2.5 BILLION
Gen Z is 32% of the world’s global
population of 7.7 billion
INTEGRATING TECH IRL
More than half of internet users around the world are
under the age of 24, and this generation spends more than
70 hours a week on their devices, more than any other
generation, according to a 2018 study from Metafacts. The
heavy usage begins at increasingly younger ages, with the
average Gen Z-ers getting their own first phones when
they’re just 12 years old. As teens, a whopping 95% have
access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are almost con-
stantly online, according to 2018 Pew research.
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HP Innovation Journal Issue 13
Clearly, they see technology not just as devices and tools,
but as essential to living their lives. Ninety-one percent
of Gen Z members say they even keep their devices in
bed with them, according to a study from consulting firm
sparks & honey.
This intimate relationship with technology is blurring vir-
tual and actual realities, creating a new sort of existence
that older generations may have trouble understanding.
For example, despite their affinity for digital connections,
84% of Gen Z-ers say they prefer face-to-face communica-
tion—more than any other demographic HP surveyed. They
count using FaceTime and other video conferencing services
as modes of face-to-face communication. They’re redefin-
ing what constitutes interpersonal communication.
$500 BILLION
Gen Z has a purchasing power of $500 billion
A MOBILE REVOLUTION
As younger generations begin to take on more managerial
positions, they’re bringing an openness to remote work-
ing policies with them, building more remote teams, and
encouraging more autonomy among their employees. A
study this year by Upwork predicts that 73% of companies
will have remote workers by 2028. In the same study, 69%
of younger-generation managers said they allow team
members to work remotely, compared with 58% of man-
agers in the Boomer generation.
Fitting into that way of life means equipping employees
with the devices they need to work productively and
securely on the go. To stay competitive, employers are not
only allowing employees to untether from their desks and
the physical office, they’re helping to make it possible—
offering remote access to internal systems, establishing
partnerships with coworking spaces, and providing tech-
nology designed for mobile work.
“Organizations will only become more receptive to differ-
ent workforce structures and individual managers will
customize arrangements specific to single employees,”
says Levit. “Any company that insists on a traditional
9-to-5 schedule is going to be left behind in terms of its
ability to recruit and retain top talent.”