The Industry through a Gen Z Lens

You’ve heard the characterizations about Gen Z: they live on their phones, are stressed, depressed, or don’t want to work.

My favorite is that Gen Z is the “Grandma generation.” They like to stay home with their hobbies or board games, drinking tea, watching re-runs of 1970 comedies…the list goes on.

The fact is that this overly-researched generation is entering the workforce and will have a dramatic impact on our industry. But when you read the above characterizations, it can’t be positive right?

Spoiler alert — We are looking at them through the wrong lens.

According to Pew Research, Gen Z was born between 1997 and 2012, and the oldest of this generation is now approaching 27 years old. They make up 20.6% of the total U.S. population, with approximately half female.

The business strategist in me celebrates the almost 30 million women entering the workforce who could be in the WHVACR industry. But how do we filter the negative attributes to determine if we want to attract them to the industry?

The Gen Z Perspective

As a mentor for Women in HVACR, I am exposed to a number of Gen-Z members to guide me on my thinking about their generation.

Alyssa McCoy, the market development manager for Owens Corning in the western mountain region of the United States, is a Gen Z leader known for her vibrant energy and inclusive leadership and a member of the Women in HVACR’s mentorship committee.

She shared the following perspectives on her generation:

• Gen Z entered the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The earliest of this generation finished school in May 2020, in very uncertain times. McCoy and her peers entered the workforce with high expectations and big aspirations, only to find face masks and social distancing. This group yearned to make connections, collaborate, and continue their learning. They were met with uncertainty, virtual environments, and broken work processes due to COVID. 
• It’s easy from the outside looking in to assume Gen Z would be perfectly content with 100% virtual environments, and some might be. But Gen Z still craves connection, collaboration, cross-functionality, team-orientation, etc. 
• Gen Z also believes in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework. To them, ESG isn’t a buzzword, it is a core value.
• While many assumed that Gen Z would thrive in a virtual work environment, they struggled with awkward onboarding and team development, lack of mentorship, and visibility for their efforts.
• For five years, McCoy, and her peers heard: “Before COVID we used to…”. Before COVID there were family picnics, bring your child/parent to work day, frequent community events, etc. COVID was a barrier to the connection between companies and the communities they’re in.
• This generation craves community and embraces the opportunity to experience it in person and digitally.
• Gen Z women entering our industry today are courageous. They avidly seek practical knowledge and want to put it to work immediately. They want to share that knowledge with others. Their gratification comes through recognition and validation of their efforts.
• They are hard-wired for leadership. They are adaptable, resilient, collaborative, and value authenticity. They require a clear mission and vision. These Gen Z women are coming into the industry ready to lead.
• They are highly relatable to their customers and peers. Their personal interests vary widely which equips them with the skills to engage cross-generationally
• They are comfortable with adaptable working models.  According to a survey completed by LendingTree in 2024, 55% of Gen-Z have a side hustle, and 45% say they would turn it into a full-time job.
• They embrace technology and its practical uses.

How Gen Z Can Alter the Industry

As a result of their lived experience, Gen Z, particularly the women of the generation, are set to become an asset to the skilled trades industry because:

• They will bring their core values around sustainability to their roles. Their expectation will be that they will develop, advocate for, support, and adopt products and services that deliver environmental sustainability. This will move technology development and adoption forward faster in an industry that is notoriously slow to adopt change.
• They will break or rebel against silos. Collaboration and adaption are core characteristics of their operating style.
• They seek mentorship and will accept it from the best individual to provide it, and not just from their elders. In fact, they don’t always consider their elders as experts. Gen Z will drive the growth in demand for mentorship.
• They will drive alternative employment models that reflect their comfort with side hustles.
• They believe in servant leadership. They are coming into the workforce having seen it in action and a commitment to be a servant leader. This will foster more successful business outcomes.

And when I asked McCoy how her generation is impacting the home service industry, I loved her answer:

“Gen Z are making the trades cool again,” she said. “The trades are built around friends, family, and community. And women entering the trades will build communities. Valuing your community means supporting the trades whether directly or indirectly. Gen Z says it’s very cool to approach work and life from a communal, inspirational, and collaborative place.”

Learning from The Younger Generation

We have much to learn from Gen Z as we work alongside them. And, one of the best things we can do is to provide them with the opportunity to exchange ideas with us by providing them with mentorship programs.

Young women thrive when they join a mentorship program. And McCoy is no exception. She is one of many women to join the Women in HVACR Navigator mentorship program, the fastest-growing mentor program in the industry.

Programs like Navigator help guide the development and impact of the younger and more powerful generations.

Taking time to adjust your lens and be more open about what motivates Gen Z can bring positive changes to the skilled trades industry. After all, it is our responsibility to see they have the opportunity to learn from us.