ARLINGTON, Texas—To engage with Gen Z employees, knowing the latest viral Tik Tok trend will only get you so far. Clear communication, flexibility and opportunities for advancement are far more effective.

That was one of several insights shared by panelists at “The Generational Gap,” a breakout session at NRECA’s Safety Leadership Summit.

Today’s newest line apprentices are Gen Zers—born between 1997 and 2012—and they bring different work and life experiences, values and communication styles to the workplace.

As retirements continue at a brisk pace at electric cooperatives, good intergenerational relationships are especially important. At Randolph EMC, half of the 26 employees expected to retire over the next five years are experienced lineworkers, foremen and line superintendents, according to Kevin Loflin, a crew leader at the Asheboro, North Carolina-based co-op.

Gen Zers prioritize flexibility, purpose and individuality over rigid corporate structures, panelists said. The “because I said so” approach and expectations of instant follow-through won’t work.

“Pack your patience,” said Jimmy Liverman, vice president of operations at Roanoke Cooperative, based in Ahoskie, North Carolina. “Don’t holler at them, or you will lose them. Cussing might have motivated us, but not them.”

The Information Age has profoundly influenced Gen Zers’ attitudes, behaviors and decision-making processes. While panelists agreed that younger workers value their older, more seasoned colleagues, they also want the details and back story on procedures, operations and rules.

And even though Gen Zers value insights from seasoned workers, the questioning attitude might come across as disrespectful, the panelists said.

As digital natives, “they’re always trying to look for things outside what somebody’s teaching them and will question that. They research everything,” said Stephanie Reeves, manager of employee development and recruiting at Blue Ridge Energy in Hudson, North Carolina. “They want to figure it out their way.”

“Let them know what’s going on,” said Liverman.

And if conflicts do arise? Remember that “they want to prove themselves. And sometimes it's about having a conversation of ‘We know you're capable and we know you've got good ideas, but we need you to follow this kind of learning,’” said Loflin.

At the same time, the panelists described Gen Zers’ valuable contributions to their co-ops’ safety culture. Younger line crews’ querying nature embraces a “working smarter and slower” ethic that prizes safety over speed. Feeding into that is their comfort with technology, which down the road can prevent injuries.

At Roanoke EC, Liverman said, younger employees are more likely to use battery-operated tools than their elders. “Younger employees say, ‘I’m not getting a knee or shoulder replacement when I’m 60, so I’m not going to take that chance.”

Co-ops can also help forge bonds between the generations by leveraging Gen Zers’ facility with technology to ease the generational gap.

“It goes back to working smarter, not harder,” Reeves said. “From what we see, older employees want things to be simple. Younger employees want it to be easy. There’s a balance. Encourage reverse mentoring to make sure the older employees are open to the ideas of the younger employees but also find ways that older employees can share their wisdom and experience.”