Give Gen-Z what our grandparents had, and they'll jump at the chance.
This is what it should look like:
* A lifetime job with inflation adjusted income. Work around the tax code by providing a company vehicle or whatever. Wages don't need to be that high, just decent. Gen-Z isn't trying to accumulate stacks of cash.
* No college or trade schools. Just train them in the job. Keep retraining them as the industry changes and technology advances.
* Stay-at-home moms! If both parents have to work, it's not worth it.
* Decent working hours. 40 hours a week max. If work is slow, cut hours back (but not salary of course.) Let them work 4 10s or whatever so they can spend time with their kids. Or let them spend time working on side-projects for the company. Maybe work overtime from time to time, but it better be compensated and rare. Maybe 2 weeks overtime in a year.
* Live near the job with minimal commute. Or better yet, telecommute. They know that driving into downtown city USA is pointless. There's no reason to have your company located there.
* Get a house on less than one year's wages. No mortgage. They don't need a million square feet. A 3 bedroom house with decent sized bedrooms so you can put in bunk beds is sufficient. A nice living room with a kitchen so the family spends their time together. Ultimately, most of the free time Gen-Z will spend is going to be on the computer anyway.
* Some way to accumulate real wealth over time. By the time the Gen-Z employee retires, he wants something he can pass to his kids. He doesn't mind living with a little less than his parents and grandparents in retirement, but he doesn't want to jeopardize his kid's future either.
It really isn't too much to ask. Gen-Z isn't interested in money and pointless expressions of wealth, again. They are looking for quality of life and immaterial things that money can't buy. They want to build family and community. They don't want to sacrifice everything for a company only to be kicked to the curb.
If they could trust the company to be loyal to them, they just might be loyal to the company.
