Engaging Gen Z in Education - A Crucial Challenge for Schools and Colleges

1. Engaging Gen Z in Education: A Crucial Challenge for Schools and Colleges The Inability to Engage Gen Z, a big problem at hand for schools and colleges alike, is it TRUE or can we create a solution that not only engages them but also gives them leadership qualities, equipping them with emotional intelligence? It is a misconception that Gen Z is difficult to engage. The issue at hand is that they’re over-engaged. Gen Z has grown up with phones in their hand, social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and TVs in every restaurant, bar, and waiting room. They are constantly being stimulated by something, typically many things at once, and it is overwhelming. Imagine having a window open on your computer, with 10 separate tabs, and you’re trying to interact with all of them. That’s what the world is like for Gen Z. As educators, how does this translate to engaging them in academics when there is so much tugging at their attention?

2. According to Microsoft, the average member of Gen Z has an attention span that lasts about 8 seconds - so capturing their consciousness quickly is vital. We also know according to Forbes, Gen Z is most likely to be engaged with something when they see the connection between the work they’re doing and its contribution to the wider world. Practically, this means educators have 8 seconds to show Gen Z why engaging in their material matters. What methods can we use to do this? To start, highlight the real-life importance of the material and education you’re providing - show our youth why it matters! It is also important to understand that you will not capture everyone’s attention, and that is fine. The goal isn’t to engage everyone, it’s to engage most. We can also help by eliminating extra stimulus and other distractions. As mentioned before, Gen Z is overstimulated. Remove the elaborate visuals and animated slide shows. Creating a simple, but direct PowerPoint, and speaking with enthusiasm will garner far more engagement than performative education will - Boston College has proven it! Do not give up on engaging Gen Z. Though they can be tough to engage with at times, they’re worth every ounce of energy it takes to do so. Want to start engaging them now? Connect with me and let's talk!! Visit me at Genzandu.com Gen Z and Mental Health: Our Youth are struggling with their mental health - and it goes beyond the explanation of better diagnosis and intervention and shows a clear pattern: Gen Z struggles with their mental health more than any generation before or after them. Eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, and suicide rates are all going up. According to Charlie Health, up to 42% of Gen Zers have a diagnosed mental health condition. Gen Z has also experienced more trauma than other generations. In their short lives so far, they’ve lived through decades of war, multiple genocides, economic collapse, a pandemic, a rise in mass shootings, and so much more. How do we help? What can we do to help our youth and their struggling mental health? Evidence would suggest that one of the most helpful things we can do is to create spaces for safe and open communication about mental health struggles. In a study conducted by Cambridge

3. University, it was shown that openness about mental health conditions is an easy and effective intervention to improve an individual's mental wellbeing. It has also been seen that openness contributes to a decrease in the stigma around mental health issues, and decreasing stigma has an impact on mental health outcomes and someone’s willingness to access services as well. What does this look like in practical terms? It means making an effort to start discussions about mental health in the workplace, in schools, in our communities as a whole, and withholding judgment in favor of support. It means opening up ourselves, and contributing to the discussion, to show that it is okay and safe for our Gen Zers to open up as well. Our youth are an asset to the world. When we see them wrestling with themselves, we need to support them. Try to understand their problems, rather than dismissing them or ignoring them. What are your thoughts? How can we continue to create an impact on the mental wellness of our young people who are our future leaders? Help is of all Kinds!!... Over my years of coaching, I have interacted with people from all walks of life. If you look at my website and company, GenZ&U, you may get the impression that I only work with Gen Z, parents, or teens. This is far from the truth. As a life coach, I have dedicated my time and energy to anyone who wants to work on self- improvement or growth. I know both from research, and from personal experience, that life coaching has a significant impact on people’s goal attainment, their metacognition (which is thinking about your own thinking), and their overall health. I HAVE A COACH MYSELF!! There is no “stereotype” that I coach - I see anyone who wants to see me regardless of why they want my help. Though my title is life coach, I see myself more as an enthusiastic guide. I help people understand that their power comes from within. I have spoken in university settings to students and educators about burnout, academic success, and believing in yourself. I have run group meetings, where we focus on uplifting each other and holding individuals accountable, finding empowerment in group connection. I’ve worked

4. with parents and teens, both individually and together, on how to improve their relationships and communication styles. Heck, I even do 1 on 1 work, where I work with any individual who feels they would benefit from my coaching style and life expertise. I think that people often believe that life coaches are people who kiss up to others and tell them how wonderful they are. Or they think it’s a scam, and that there’s no science behind it. I can promise you, my coaching is both research backed, and far from kissing up. I work with people to find their inner power - my goal isn’t to tell people what they should think but to show them that they’ve known what to think, do, and believe all along. They just needed a little help to sort through their brains and a bit of accountability that encouraged them to keep doing it. It would be impossible to limit my work to one setting; that’s the beauty of life coaching! It’s not just about one person’s life. It’s about all of ours as a collective, and how the health and success of each individual works with that of the collective. It’s why I don’t just do 1-1 work. I fully believe that to coach, I need to work with systems as a whole, rather than singular parts of it. If you take anything away from this newsletter let it be this: help is for all kinds. Coaching is for all kinds. There is no one aspect to coaching, nor one type who receives it. Let this inspire you to think about coaching - even if you’ve never thought you needed it or wanted to try it, open your mind to the idea of having another person in your corner. If you’re curious to dig deeper, try a free consultation with me. I can assure you you won’t regret it. Grant, Anthony. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition, and mental health. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal. 31. 253-263. 10.2224/sbp.2003.31.3.253. The Advantages of Gen Z in the Workplace Gen Z: an untapped source of power in the workplace. But how do we understand their power, and make sure we’re taking advantage? The most diverse generation of all existing ones is Gen Z, and it’s something they strongly embrace. Over 88% of them believe that diversity needs to be valued in the workplace. Though

5. diversity is something many employers view as challenging, it’s an underutilized resource. Research has proven that diversity leads to better advertising, workplace relations, and better reception by consumers. Specifically with advertising, diversity has been shown to improve consumer response and contribute to consumer attitudes about companies as a whole. Gen Z is also extremely socially aware. 77% of Gen Zers strongly prefer to work at a company whose values align with their own. Though this may seem challenging to interact with at first, it’s extremely advantageous to employers. Companies with employees who feel aligned with the mission and values are likely to have greater worker retention, better workplace attitudes, and an overall greater level of engagement from both consumers and employees. Not only is Gen Z highly socially aware, but they’re incredibly committed: when they believe in something, they show extremely high levels of loyalty and commitment. Knowing that worker retention is a huge issue currently, this is something for employers to note. Nationally, the rate of worker turnover is 20%. 1 in 5 workers left their company last year! Acknowledging their other strengths, research shows that the biggest advantage of the Gen Z workforce is adaptability. Their generation has faced so much adversity in their short existence. A pandemic, multiple economic collapses, terrorist attacks, global conflict, war, extreme inflation, and so much more. Gen Z has adapted to it all. Adaptability is one of the greatest contributors to increased productivity, corporate resilience, and effective goal setting. Gen Z is underappreciated. The few things I’ve mentioned here are far from all they have to offer, but they begin to scratch the surface of what they have to offer. If you’d like to do a deeper dive into the strengths of Gen Z, please DM me, and let's connect to improve your workforce retention! Kumar, V. S. (2023, November 16). Gen Z in the workplace: How should companies adapt? Imagine | Johns Hopkins University. https://imagine.jhu.edu/blog/2023/04/18/gen-z-in-the- workplace-how-should-companies-adapt/ Pulakos, E. D., Arad, S., Donovan, M. A., & Plamondon, K. E. (2000). Adaptability in the workplace: Development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 612–624. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.4.612

6. Woodward, I., Skrbis, Z., & Bean, C. (2008). Attitudes towards globalization and cosmopolitanism: Cultural diversity, personal consumption and the national economy. The British Journal of Sociology, 59(2), 207-226. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2008.00190.x