#it makes it easier to solve this misunderstanding /gen

[silverdrag0ns]

Hey, I’m the one that made that comment in the tags about the “alcohol”. I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt, anybody, especially people with sensitivities to alcohol. I think it’s just because the word “alcoholic” is such a super charged word to it sparks a reaction out of me. I’ll go ahead and change those tags. To me, when I saw this, I thought it was people getting upset cuz it was the you youngest brother but that wasn’t the case. Anyway, I understand that that was probably out of line, I’m sorry what I said had a negative effect, I try not to put that energy out there

it's alright, i read too much into things sometimes (my autism is trying to overcompensate because i struggle with reading tone, so i overanalyse instead) so it's also on me.

i'm not accusing you of being insensitive or malicious (/srs), i just wanted clarification on if i understood the intent of your words correctly. it doesn't make you a bad person because someone (me) interpreted your words negatively.

don't frett too much over it, alright?

[gavotteandgigue]

Gav’s Fic Master List

I basically only write DC, and pretty much focused around Jason, JayDick or DickJay, other Jason pairings or Jason Gen. I actually don’t have that many fics, but this seems like the thing to do.

Fics are tagged with warnings on AO3. All fics are complete unless marked WIP.

JayDick or DickJay Fics:

Notes in italics on the sexual dynamic, if any. I understand this is important to some people in determining if they want to read a JayDick or DickJay fic. I’m including just so its easier for those of you who want to read a specific dynamic can find them in my fics. The ones marked as ambiguous I personally wrote it so it could be either way, but folks are welcome to interpret.

Dreamscape Series: DC/Sandman Crossover in which Jason makes a deal with Death he doesn’t remember, and it spirals from there. Mind the tags. Dark with a lot of horror elements.

In Dreams We Promise - Jason makes a deal with Death. Dick gets kidnapped, and its all related to Jason’s deal with the Endless.

The Bonesaw Spider  - There’s something about Jason that’s piqued the interest of a mysterious entity.

Dum Spiro Spero (While I Breathe, I Hope) - enter John Constantine, a goat, a strange doppleganger, and more horror-esque adventure.

(Features JayDick but Jason ‘bottoms’ in a past relationship for a side character. This relationship dynamic is referenced throughout the series.)

The Robin String Quartet - What if the batboys were actually classically trained music conservatory students? I swear its not as boring as it sounds! Its actually kind of angsty. (JayDick)

The Cracks in Your Glamour - Another music fic, but this time Jason and the Outlaws are a rock band! Falling in love with a bit of angst. (JayDick)

The Undateable Jason Todd - In which Dick thinks he’s playing matchmaker, but he ends up just being a creepy stalker. Misunderstandings happen, with both of them too clueless for their own good. (Ambiguous dynamic, probably leans DickJay)

Phantasmagoria - Horror fic. Psychological spiraling as Jason isolates himself after a pit-induced rage. The sexual content in this is very light. (sex scenes are not really explicit. Could be read as ambiguous dynamic.)

Three Songs of Shattering - This one actually isn’t as angsty as it sounds. A triptych of stories exploring the evolution of Jason and Dick’s relationship. Light angst. Crushes. No music, I swear! (Ambiguous dynamic)

The Space Between Our Hearts - Basically a space opera with JayDick. This is honestly one of my favorite fics I’ve written. (Ambiguous dynamic, mentions switching)

Hold Fast to Dreams - collab fic/art with some of my favorite people in fandom. I only wrote one piece of this (Chapter 2), but the rest is fantastic. Parallel/past lives premise. (my piece of this is somewhat ambiguous)

Through the Open Window - A sort of horror/mystery/thriller/romance featuring Jason having come back from the Lazarus pit with a mysterious ability. Dick finds out at an inopportune time and they have to work together to solve a case. (DickJay)

love is less always than to win - a mostly lighthearted and humorous take on the shovel talk trope, but this time Artemis steps up in defense of Jason. Shenanigans involving poetry ensue. (DickJay / bottom!Jay dynamic originally written with the intention of posting for DickJay week 2021)

Jason Gen Fics:

The Flickering of Dying Light - Sadfic. A story about Jason and the downward spiral his mother faced in the last year of her life. Told through they eyes of Catherine Todd.

Let the Night be Dark for All of Me - Gen Talia & Jason fic, in which Jason needs some of Talia’s badassery. Egyptian Mythology. Light Angst.

If all the soul-and-body scars - Gen fic focusing on the aftermath of Jason's mental health crisis. It's going to get dark, but will focus on familial relationships, especially Bruce & Jason.

Jason/Other Pairings:

Conditions of Use Series (Ra’s/Jay):

Of Good Use - Ra’s/Jay noncon fic. Set in the YJ verse around Season 3, where Ra’s takes advantage of a catatonic Jason. Dark.

Dirty, Pretty Thing - Continuation of the first story, in which Jason comes back to himself, but is still missing his memories. Really dark.

Twisted Fate Series (Slade/Jay):

Stay My Tragedy - My take on the soulmates trope, except Jason is paired with the Joker. Slade intends to change that.

Twisted Fate - In which Dick and Bruce are not pleased with Jason’s situation

The Fell Clutch of Circumstance - In which Jason is in trouble and Slade and Dick try to find him

Lost November (Slade/Jay/Roy) - My collab fic with raii. Elemental magic woven in with urban fantasy. Angst with a bit of fluff. Not explicit, but has bottomjay vibes.

HUG ME (Slade/Jay) - Light-hearted non-explicit Sladejay fic.

A Second Chance at Strife (Bruce/Jason) - No capes Jason who's been traumatized through being trafficked as a child. Main paring is Brujay, but explicit non-con situations with the antagonist.

For more Other/Jason pairings and rarepairs that are darker themed, check out marquisedesaad

[maychorian]

Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #58

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

A Crack in the Foundation by Emerald_Ashes Words: 3,553 Author’s Summary: A rescue goes wrong. It ends up leaving Hunk and Lance stranded, severely injured, and with no means of escape. My Comments: Based on a prompt I gave the author a while ago, but I totally forgot about it and I would have read this fic anyway, haha. Love this scenario, obviously, and it’s written very well. Hunk is such a sweet guy, even when Lance is rambling and near-delirious from a concussion.

Reflections by hollo Words: 2,246 Author’s Summary: ~ originally printed in Starboy: A Lance Zine ~ …Nostalgia filled him, a distinct and deep sadness that was becoming like a close friend. It came now and then, sometimes falling on him swiftly and sometimes creeping up, silent and nearly unforeseeable, like a thief in the dark. He’d thought he’d get used to it eventually, used to the distance and the lack and how everything and everyone he knew and loved was so, so far away. Sometimes he thought he had - but maybe he’d just gotten used to putting it aside, ignoring it during the day and during the missions so he wouldn’t be distracted from whatever Voltron was being faced with at the time. And they were faced with so much, an entire universe of unknown that they had to face down and deal with, day after day after day… My Comments: Lovely and bittersweet interlude with Lance and the blue lion.

Compromised by gringle for StandinShadow Words: 3,117 Author’s Summary: Keith ignored the rolling sensation of pain radiating from his stomach. “I’m uh… I’ve been injured. I can make it-” probably. Keith was never a betting man in the sense that he’d think in terms of probabilities. He just worked toward a goal, and he either succeeded or failed, and he can’t fail this. “-I just need more time.” “That information is invaluable in overcoming this sector of Empire Control. You have five minutes, or until we’re compromised ourselves,” Kolivan stated, grim and final. Another click, and Kolivan’s voice went silent. My Comments: Great hurt!Keith and concerned Kolivan, with an especially amusing ending. I would love to see a part two, though.

Unrelenting by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 6,195 Author’s Summary: Hufflepuffs are loyal. They’re just. They’re hardworking.Not everyone sees it that way. Hunk does, but it’s not always easy. For Hunk’s Birthday My Comments: Part of a previously recced series, and you should totally read the whole thing. I love this view of Hunk, all the different aspects of him through the years. It’s very realistic and really reminded me of adolescence, that kind of awkwardness and uncertainty that eventually gives way to understanding and pride, or at least acceptance of self. Great stuff.

Keepsake by fandomtrashpanda Words: 2,277 Author’s Summary: Hunk never takes off his headband because it’s the last piece of Samoa he has. *set before and during the events of the show* My Comments: Wonderful little moment with Hunk. I love the idea of the headband being a memento from someone important to him, and there was some nice stuff with Hunk and Lance, too.

Missed Scenes (and Misunderstandings) by LitDragonWagon Words: 6,224 Author’s Summary: Lance isn’t sure why Shiro hates him, but he wishes he could figure it out and fix it. Featuring the worst of misunderstandings, Lance’s inferiority complex, Shiro the most awkward bean, Keith the accidental relationship therapist (who solves problems with violence), Hunk n’ Pidge as the brains, and far too many italics. Gen fic. My Comments: Sequel to a previously recced fic. So, so sweet. I adore Lance and Shiro getting closer, platonically, and all the hugging and cuddling is wonderful.

Black Paladin Week by kitsune13tamlin Words: 7,846 Author’s Summary: I am slow at updates but over on tumblr there was a Shiro-week (check the tag blackpaladinweek for all kinds of Shiro goodness) a while back that I participated in and this is the collection of those short stories. Each day had a different subject and each chapter is the story for the new subject. Chapter title is the day’s subject of choice. Seven short Shiro stories simultaneously! My Comments: Wonderful collection of ficlets, some angstier than others. Very well-written and lyrical prose, a pleasure to read.

The Sparkle in Her Eye by heroami Words: 3,002 Author’s Summary: When was the last time Allura left the Castle for a non-mission reason? The Balmera? That was forever ago. No wonder she was so disappointed. And to think, all she wanted was something sparkly. Lance paused as an idea began to form in his head. It was high risk, but could lead to high reward. My Comments: So sweet and adorable. I absolutely believe that Lance would do this, and Allura’s reaction was so cute.

A Name By Any Other by IcyPanther Words: 3,558 Author’s Summary: To avoid another one of Shiro’s exhausting training scenarios, the Paladins settle on a bonding activity and opt to talk about their names. What they thought would be a light-hearted topic turns deeply personal when they realize that no name is as simple as it appears. For behind every name there is a story just waiting to be told. —– “Names?” Shiro repeated, raising an eyebrow. Pidge nodded vigorously. “Yes. Like, how we all got our names. Other than Keith none of us are using our actual ones, right?” “Excuse me?” Lance protested. “Lance is my real name!” “You’re from Cuba,” she said pointedly. “And we’ve all heard you go on about your siblings. They have Hispanic names. You do not. Therefore, Lance is not your real name.” My Comments: Fluffy and sweet with just a touch of angst and some lovely bonding. Great read.

these old bones by achievingelysium Words: 4,937 Author’s Summary: He’s always been fascinated with dinosaurs. Keith isn’t entirely sure why—maybe it’s because their footprints are still here, even after so long. Maybe he’s hearing the echoes of history calling for him. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because he sees himself in those old bones. A Keith character study told in three parts. Originally written for the Aphelion zine. My Comments: Lovely language and prose in this character study and backstory for Keith. All of images and emotions were vivid and striking.

oh my god, he’s in quarantine by prettyshiroic (AnalystProductions) Words: 9,532 Author’s Summary: Whilst with the blade of Marmora, Keith gets sick and is put in quarantine. It’s not at all what Matt expects. - There are some talks to be had. And Matt’s attempts bring karma to the yard. He is such a fool to have not foreseen any of this. My Comments: I absolutely adore this characterization Matt, goofy and nerdy and caring and big-brotherly, especially since Keith needs a whole lot of big-brothering. A real pleasure to read.

The Real MacGyver by A_Zap Words: 4,864 Author’s Summary: Some people talk about how someone can be the genuine article, the real McCoy. In that case, Hunk is the real MacGyver, capable of making whatever the team needs from what he has on hand. 5 times that Hunk used his engineering skills to help out the Team/the cause, and one times he used his skills for fun. My Comments: Adorable and heartwarming and amazing, with just a touch of angst. Hunk is so very much the best, and it’s great to see him getting some proper appreciation. The end was fun and funny, too.

Make My Messes Matter by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 4,937 Author’s Summary: After a nightmare about the Galra ship, Ryou tries to sneak out of the castle to deal. On the way out, he’s spotted by Keith My Comments: Part of a previously recced series. I love Ryou connecting with the Voltron team and making relationships on his own terms, and this was particularly nice for the resolution of some conflict earlier in the series between he and Keith. Yellow was a wonderful additional presence in the fic, too.

Together We’ll Be by hanbunnotsuki Words: 4,570 Author’s Summary: At the end of a mission, Team Voltron find a lost space-puppy, separated from its pack. While they try to get the little one back to its family, the team adopts it as one of their own. Even the briefest and littlest encounter can leave its mark on one’s heart. My Comments: Absolutely heartwarming, and so adorable. It was lovely to watch all of the members of Team Voltron bond with a furry little friend, though it couldn’t last forever.

blue by FeyduBois Words: 2,089 Author’s Summary: Lance is stranded on an alien planet while the paladins regroup. He was just going to chill for a bit, he didn’t expect to fall prey to a predatory hallucinogenic jungle, and he certainly didn’t expect to meet the Blue Lion’s last paladin. My Comments: Very fun and interesting read. The descriptions were entrancing, and the previous Blue Paladin was very cool. I like what canon gave us for Lance’s predecessor, but this alternate vision is wonderful too.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

Why it sucks to be a snake in space (73848 words) As Color Fades Away (268320 words) The Purity of Sin (91236 words) Shadows of Stars (155620 words)

[coopdigitalnewsletter]

11 Feb 2020: Why political software sucks. Writing for death. Remote working.

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter - it looks at what's happening in the internet/digital world and how it's relevant to the Co-op, to retail businesses, and most importantly to people, communities and society. Thank you for reading - send ideas and feedback to @rod on Twitter. Please tell a friend about it!

OK, this one’s a bit of a linkorama.

Sustainability, data and AI in retail

Pandora, Zalando, IKEA, Amazon ramp up sustainability focus - how long until retail businesses must have a clear, strong sustainability position if they’re to avoid losing customers and revenue? - not long, believes this newsletter.

UK consumers warming to AI, with 54% happy to resolve queries with bots.

IKEA are promising new data controls for customers - that link might be behind a paywall so it’s explained here.

“In the future, all but the most convenience-based retailers will begin to use their stores as media to acquire customers and their media platforms as stores to transact sales. Put another way, media is now a cost of sales and rent is now a cost of customer acquisition.” - a retail opinion.

“Amazon Choice” labels look like an editorially curated quality filter but are just a popularity algorithm.

The impact of coronavirus on China-centered supply chains - now that China is responsible for around 15% of global manufacturing, the concerns for supply chains are real.

Why political software sucks

In the US, the Democratic party’s Iowa caucus votes were delayed by flaky software (and here’s how caucuses work). Some interesting commentaries on the underlying causes of unreliable software:

“The space is dominated by decision makers who are stuck on a very short term decision making cycle. Structurally there is no space for long term investment, despite everybody stating that this would be good [...] In normal tech circles we’d have a bunch of free software libraries and tools we build on together, but the campaign tech space doesn’t have this because decision makers fear our tools will be taken and used by the other side.”

“no one should have been solving the problem of making the caucuses more innovative. transparency & speed was what it sounds like the actual needs were, & those are often best served by rock-solid last-gen technology, optimized & tested to heck.”

“well-intentioned but underfunded and lacked comprehensive organizational buy-in [...] the product testing cycle and margins are nonexistent [...] a hard market where everyone hates you and no one has money to pay you”

Software is always harder than it first looks, even to fellow developers commenting online! The comments above recall Conway’s law (“organizations which design systems ... are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations”). But here you might extend that slightly: the software you get reflects the organisations’ communications structures, but also the values and the incentives that commissioned it.

Writing for death, care promises

Designing content for people dealing with a death: “There’s no room for doubt or misunderstanding. That means the words we use must get straight to the point. By trying to be kind, we often use more words when we should be helping people to understand what they need to do as quickly and simply as possible.”

Scotland’s independent care review has published its comprehensive report on the care system, encompassing “legislation, practices, culture and ethos” - it’s ambitious and essential reading for those working in digital gov, but also those who care about humans.

Remote working

18F’s best practices for making distributed teams work (18F is a digital services agency within the US government). Perhaps there are some lessons here for organisations with many locations: tear down any head office vs shopfront barriers by going “remote first”.

There are now startups explicitly working on making remote staff work easier.

Help agriculture

Digitalfolk, could you help next-gen agriculture get more sustainable and more human-centred? Add your name here: Agriculture is a game-changer! Community of Practice.

Digital in organisations

Six digital strategy plays to drive value in established corporations - some of these plays are common sense (like cutting cost/time/process/error), but this is an interesting read, and it’s good to see some failures discussed as well.

How to scale agile product development and delivery - spoiler: not by imposing some framework.

Co-op Digital news and events

“‘We don’t want to just give people a refund when there’s a problem; we want to give them a genuine response and a personalised experience that they will remember.’ [says Claire Carroll, Head of Sales and Service at the Co-op.] The Co-op’s trailblazing approach has been a great success: customers actually buy more in its stores after making a complaint. ‘The basket spend is 6% higher’”

That’s from a shiny Salesforce customer success story - Co-op customer service advisors run 3m requests yearly through it. If customers are sending more after a complaint, that means Co-op is handling complaints - fixing the problem - in such a way that’s builds increased loyalty and confidence in the business. The industry term for this is “service recovery” (and that link is an interesting thread of how to win at ecommerce), but you might equally call it putting customers first. As exciting as the Salesforce bit is, this story is really about a Rescue Lasagne.

Public events, most of them at Federation House:

Carbon Co-op’s Beginner’s Guide To Retrofit (a monthly event about retrofitting your house for energy efficiency) - Wed 12 Feb 6pm at URBED, 10 Little Lever Street, Manchester, M1 1HR.

Manchester Law Tech Meetup - Thu 13 Feb 6.00pm.

Open Data Night - February 2020 - Tue 18 Feb 6.30pm.

Conscious Entrepreneurs - Wed 19 Feb 12pm.

Open Data Manchester: Black software (explores racial injustice & the professionals & hobbyists of color who helped build the internet) - Wed 18 Mar 6.30pm.

Returners/Re-trainers (about successful initiatives to create better routes for women returners/re-trainers) - Thu 26 Mar 11.30am

Internal events:

Digital all-hands - Wed 12 Feb 1pm at Fed Defiant.

Co-operate show & tell - Wed 12 Feb 3pm at Fed 6 co-operate space.

Data management show & tell - Thu 13 Feb 2.30pm at Angel Sq 13th floor breakout.

Membership show & tell - Fri 14 Feb 3pm at Fed 6 kitchen.

Food ecommerce show & tell - Mon 17 Feb 10.15am at Fed 5.

Delivery community of practice - Mon 17 Feb 1.30pm.

Health team show & tell - Tue 18 Feb 2.30pm at Fed 5 kitchen.

More events at Federation House - and you can contact the events team at  federation.events@coopdigital.co.uk. And TechNW has a useful calendar of events happening in the North West.

Thank you for reading

Thank you, beloved readers and contributors. Please continue to send ideas, questions, corrections, improvements, etc to the newsletterbot’s typing entity @rod on Twitter. If you have enjoyed reading, please tell a friend!

If you want to find out more about Co-op Digital, follow us @CoopDigital on Twitter and read the Co-op Digital Blog. Previous newsletters.

[kymberlinraee-blog]

Understanding Generation Z

Before, people had a hard time adjusting to the working techniques of millennials but now a completely new generation is emerging. Also called the Gen Z, this generation is distinct from millennials though it also shares a lot of similarities. These are some issues that you may see and ways to solve them when you enter the corporate world.  

First of all, unlike millennials, Gen Zs prefer to be more independent and rely on themselves to make decisions in order to advance in life. In addition, rather than the big and collaborative workspaces that millennials loved, the Gen Z prefers closed-off workspaces.  Instead of working together, they’d rather be judged by their own merits.  This could be a problem in the workplace because especially in a corporate setting, people need to communicate and work together in order to provide the best output they can using the ideas of all the people involved.  A lot of jobs can be accomplished alone, however, with little to no collaboration, it is hard to be sure about things without anyone to double check the work for you.  Also, collaboration allows all employees to pitch in their ideas, participate, and have their say.  I think that a way to solve this is to create a training program wherein the Gen Z will be trained in collaborative workspaces in order to get rid of their independent nature of wanting to do things themselves.  Collaboration is still an important process in every job because it allows room for mistakes, criticisms, and improvement.  Without anyone to say anything about one’s work, there is a bigger chance for error and misunderstandings with the other older employees.  

Another trait of this new generation is that they lose interest pretty fast.  They are quite impatient and do not like to wait at all. In the workplace, they prefer to take on multiple roles in a company if it means that they can advance into a higher position faster.  They also have little brand loyalty and care about whether they are advancing fast or not. This generation is willing to stick around in a company if it means stability and new opportunities to take on new responsibilities for them if not, they will most likely move on to another competitor.  One way to solve this is by learning how to pique their interest and how to keep them interested.  A takeaway from the article said that “we tell our advertising partners that if they don’t communicate in five words and a big picture, they will not reach this generation”. Thus, it is important to keep them interested and give them different opportunities.  

Among all the generations combined, the Gen Z is the most tech-savvy and the ones who are most adept at using technology.  They were born in an era wherein smartphones and social media platforms were already prevalent.  Thus, they are more familiar with new apps, updates, and features.  I think a problem in this would be their lack of research skills and exposure to real things.  Most of them cannot even function well without their phones.  One study even showed that some of them become withdrawn if they are without their smartphones for long.  Thus, a way to solve this is to make sure that the older employees in the workplace are also well-versed with technology, whether it be the different social media platforms or new apps designed to make work easier since these are the ones familiar to the gen Z.  This will also help the seniors better understand this younger generation when they go to work with them.  Although they are younger, it is also important to learn from them.  One article said that this could change the corporate hierarchy because in the future, we might have Gen Z bosses even though they are younger.  Even if the older generation knows more, the fate of our world rests on the shoulders of this new Gen Z.  In addition, they are also the key to reaching the newer generations that will emerge after them.  

Gen Z members also tend to have higher demands than millennials. They will not settle and stay at a job if they do not feel appreciated.  As mentioned above, they also have little to no brand loyalty and are willing to transfer companies if it will benefit them.  Unlike millennials who want to find meaning in their jobs and make the world a better place, money and job security are at the top of their list.  They also want to make a difference in the world but surviving and thriving are far more important in their opinion.  They care about advancing in the corporate ladder fast and are good at multitasking which makes them willing to take on several roles and responsibilities at the same time.  As a senior in the workplace, it is important to make them feel like they can improve in their job and that there are different opportunities waiting for them so that it will make them want to stay.  A solution to this would be to offer jobs that have a different set of tasks involved instead of doing a similar monotonous job all the time. They can also use job rotation in order to fulfill this eager-learning generation’s constant need to learn and improve.  Another thing that can be done is to offer certain incentives after they finish a set of jobs in order to keep them motivated to keep doing their best.  The company may also opt to offer a raise in salary when Gen Z members attain higher positions in the business and give bonuses during holidays.  

Lastly, this generation lacks a clear and concise communication system.  Also called the emoji-generation, the Gen Z rarely sends messages without any emojis which leaves more room for unambiguity and confusion if you come from an older generation.  For example, they send a message with the tears of joy emoji in it.  A senior in the workplace would think that they have a problem or that they are crying.  They also use a new set of words that only their fellow generation members would understand.  Words such as “fire”, “DMs”, and “can’t even” are very common to them.  I believe that a way to solve this is to make sure that older workers in the workplace are also well-versed on words that Gen Z commonly uses so that they can understand each other well when talking at work.  They can also research on the usual words that Gen Z uses on a daily basis in order to be prepared when they enter the workforce. In the case of the Gen Z, it is also important to train them that at work, they still have to use the standard, straight to the point, and formal way of communicating when they use emails, letters, and contracts.  The company may also use a mentor-mentee system wherein an older worker oversees and monitors their work until the Gen Z get used to this type of communication system during their first few months at work.  

Sure, it would take a while before generation Z emerges in the workplace since most of them are just graduating high school. But it is better to do some research and be prepared for when they come and work in order to know how to manage them more efficiently and enable them to work at their best conditions.  Most of the Gen Z qualities that were mentioned in the articles are also not applicable to all its members since it is just a generalization.  Also, there are steps that need to be studied and implemented in the workplace with the older generations in order to prepare for the Gen Z.  this would also take time because the workers need to adjust and steer from their usual working styles that they have grown used to. I believe that it is important to study about this new emerging generation’s behavior in order to better know and be more knowledgeable on how to manage them and where to best place them in a corporate setting.  

[bluebookweb]

Fearing the Gen Z ‘Labor Crisis?’ Highlight the Human Element

According to a study conducted by NRAEF, the restaurant industry is facing an imminent Gen Z ‘labor crisis’: 

“In the next 10 years, we’re going to create 1.6 million additional restaurant jobs in this industry,” Executive Vice President for NRAEF, Rob Gifford said. “And yet, the population we are dependent upon to fill those jobs historically will decline by 1.3 million. So, if you think it’s bad now – if you think the fight [for] talent is difficult now – it is going to get even a lot worse.”

Attraction and retention are issues currently facing employers in every industry, but the transient nature of the food service workforce further exacerbates these issues. The reality is that the majority of those working as waitstaff, hosts, or cashiers do not intend to stay in the industry for the remainder of their careers: restaurant work is a good first job, but not a forever job.So, when faced with these challenges, how are restaurant employers expected to compete in the talent marketplace?

Our own survey of 4,093 Gen Zers revealed that, even more than flexibility or performance-based bonus pay, Gen Z values the human element at work: the top two factors ranked as most important by our respondents were “supportive leadership” and “positive relationships at work.”

 Gen Z employees seek positive cultures where coworkers work well together, leaders provide regular coaching-style feedback, and they are given real opportunities to learn valuable skills. Restaurants have a particular advantage in being able to address all three of these needs for young employees. The challenge is getting leaders on board with a highly-engaged, coaching-style approach to management.

Managers are the key to building a winning culture anywhere, and especially for restaurant teams. They are the ones responsible for spelling out workplace values and expectations, monitoring employee performance, and rewarding or coaching that performance based on expectations. A disorganized or unclear leader almost always results in a disorganized team. When team members are uncertain about where their responsibilities begin and end, or unclear about what is expected of themselves and others, that leaves more room for misunderstandings and disagreements to arise. That doesn’t add up to a positive culture.

By contrast, when a leader makes it clear what is required of each individual and how teams are expected to work together, that makes things easier for everyone. Employees are empowered to act with confidence, have a system for solving problems when they arise, and understand that everyone is being held accountable based on the same set of expectations. That means better service for customers and a better daily experience for employees.

By engaging in frequent, regular one-on-one conversations with employees, managers kill two birds with one stone: 

Recognizing and rewarding individual employee performance, and

Coaching individual employee skills

Both of these things are especially important to Gen Z. The respondents in our survey indicated in open-ended responses that not only do they want supportive leaders, they want those leaders to show them “respect and recognition”:

 But if restaurant employers really want to grab young Gen Z talent and retain them for the long-term, they have to consider skill and career development a core part of their mission. Managers must be ready to not only coach employees on the hard skills and soft skills, they must also be ready to define the larger importance of those skills and how they can be directly applied to an employee’s personal career goals. Paths for advancement within the restaurant, or the restaurant industry generally, must be made clear and available.

If nothing else, building a prestigious reputation as an employer with a positive culture will give you a real advantage both attracting and retaining new talent. If you have leaders who provide employees with the skills, support, and guidance necessary to help them launch their early careers at another job, those employees will remember you. They will be much more likely to get potential new hires applying than simply spending more on advertising your open positions.

  Fearing the Gen Z ‘Labor Crisis?’ Highlight the Human Element posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com