October 24, 2024 • 20 mins
Grace Bowling joins us on the Rebel HR Podcast to challenge stereotypes and share her insights on how Gen Z is redefining the workplace landscape. Discover how this energetic generation is prioritizing flexibility, remote work, and mental health, debunking the myth that they lack a strong work ethic. Grace shares her journey from inside sales to becoming an HR specialist at IFP, highlighting the contrasts between Gen Z and millennials in embracing their generational identity and influencing modern workplace dynamics.
Prepare to be inspired by creative HR innovations that enhance work-life balance, such as the "speakeasy" styled lounge, humorously referred to as "the cave," designed for post-work relaxation. Grace encourages HR professionals to break away from traditional corporate routines and infuse fresh strategies for employee engagement and retention. We wrap up with a lighthearted exploration of social media trends, particularly TikTok, reminiscing about digital communication relics like MySpace and AIM. Join us for a fun and insightful conversation with Grace Bolling that promises laughter, learning, and a fresh perspective on HR practices.
Rebel HR is a podcast for HR professionals and leaders of people who are ready to make some disruption in the world of work. Please connect to continue the conversation!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is the Rebel HR Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The podcast about all things innovation in the
people's space.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm Kyle Rode.
Let's start the show.
Welcome back HR Rebels.
We are continuing ourpodcasting here at the Iowa
State SHRM Conference.
With us we have Grace Bolling,maybe the coolest last name at
the conference.
I'm not sure, but I have afeeling it is.
She is a HR specialist for IFPand we are going to be talking
(00:34):
about some exciting stuff todayrelated to work-life balance and
generational differences.
Welcome to the podcast, grace.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, we are excited to have you and we are going to
start this podcast by wishingyou a happy HR professional.
Thank you so much Becauseevidently that's what it is
today.
All you HR professionals, yougo get them, Go get them.
Hr professionals we're killingit out there, killing it out
there it's also like NationalCupcake Day and National, you
know, like like pet a pet, aleprechaun day.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I mean, who knows?
Yeah, so if you're having areally bad day as an HR
professional, go get a cupcake.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Go get a cupcake.
Yeah, Well Grace, thank you forgracing us with your presence
here on the podcast.
You like that?
Yeah, dab, joke going on there.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
How often you get that.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I don't.
I get like you're very gracefulsometimes.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Okay, okay, sounds good, yeah, well, grace was
really excited to join us todayand I'm excited about this topic
.
She wanted to talk aboutwork-life balance and kind of
the generational differencerelated to the approach to
work-life balance.
But before we jump into that, Iwould like to understand a
little bit more about your path.
So what motivated you to getinto human resources?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
That's a really good question.
I kind of fell into it.
So I started an inside salesfor IFP, which is a
manufacturing company out ofCedar Rapids.
We're half a distributor, halfa manufacturer.
We focus on hydraulics,electronics, pneumatics,
automation, all that fun stuff.
And so I started in insidesales because I knew somebody
(02:06):
who had worked there and I talkway too much to sit at a
computer screen because that iswhat inside sales does and so
there was an opening for arecruiting coordinator under my
boss currently and so I decidedto apply.
And we love internal hiresbecause you know they know the
culture, they know everybodythat works there.
(02:27):
And so I applied for a positionand got it, and I've been in
the HR role for the past yearand a half.
I just passed my SHRM certifiedprofessional test.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So that's good, just got that under my belt.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yeah, I'm happy to never study for the rest of my
life.
So, that'll be, fun, yeah.
And so now I'm an HR specialist, so kind of getting into the
insurance side of things, butI've been working mainly under
the recruiting umbrella for thelast year and a half Nice, yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So with us listeners we have a real live, Gen Zer.
That you do, and the reality isthere's a lot of them in the
workplace now, and so one of thethings that we wanted to talk
about here is that experience,that employee experience, and I
think that, certainly from mystandpoint, we make a lot about
(03:24):
generational differences in theworkplace.
We talk about it a lot.
It's definitely like a hottopic.
It sells, you know, it kind ofsells airtime.
But I'm curious from yourperspective as you look at kind
of the different generationsworking together in the
workplace do you?
notice a big difference betweengenerations of folks.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I think there's this,you know stigma that you know
Gen Z people don't want to work,which you know.
You come across Gen Zers thatdon't want to work.
They just kind of want to havestuff handed to them.
But you know, there is thatportion of Gen Z that do want to
work and they want to climb thecorporate ladder.
And I think a lot of peopleoverblow that when they think of
Gen Z that do want to work andthey want to climb the corporate
(04:07):
ladder.
And I think a lot of peopleoverlook that when they think of
Gen Z, and so you're kind ofjust bundled into this category
of Gen Z when you go into theworkforce.
And it's actually going to be30% of the workforce is going to
be Gen Z by 2025, which is ahuge number, and so the baby
boomers are kind of retiring andGen Z is coming in and with Gen
Z, it's just so many new ideasand new approaches and ways to
(04:32):
do things through the workforceand I think that they should be
heard, Because I think a lot ofcompanies are like oh, we've
done it this way, we're going tocontinue to do it this way,
it's going to be like this forthe next 20 years, and I don't
think that Gen Z likes to take,you know, no for an answer.
So yeah, Gen Z is completelydifferent than baby boomers or
(04:54):
maybe even millennials.
I think a lot of stuff is moreflexible.
I think remote work is becomingmore and more, you know, common
throughout workplaces justbecause of Gen Z, and I think
mental health is a huge thingwith Gen Z as well.
And I like that it's coming tothe front.
Mental health is such a hugething and we're not really
(05:16):
afraid to address it, so that'sa huge thing.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Do you see Gen Zers in a place where they're trying
to battle the stereotype of theydon't want to be labeled Gen Z,
just like we all kind of have alabel on millennials
Millennials being promoted toofast, they want something for no
effort.
You know things of that nature.
Do you see Gen Z not wanting tobe a stereotype like that?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Not necessarily.
I think you know where Gen Zdiffers from millennials.
Millennials kind of want to getaway from that title, but I
think Gen Z is like I'm a Gen Zand I'm loud and proud, you know
, like this is how I am and thisis how it's going to be, and I
have all these ideas and I wantto come work and all that.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So yeah, Are you a millennial Patrick?
Speaker 4 (06:04):
I'm still X, you're still X, you're still X.
You're the last year of X.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
So technically I'm an elder millennial.
That's what you would call me.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
You're a junkie, yeah , yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Good for you.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Or an exennial, or whatever I'm in the middle.
That's a good one.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Are you like an avocado toast millennial?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
I like avocado toast.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
What does avocado toast millennial?
I like avocado toast okay whatdoes that mean?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
what does that mean?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
what's an avocado toast millennial like we, just
like avocado toast likemillennials are like obsessed
with avocado toast.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Like what's going on with that?
I don't know.
I mean, just eat like guac andbe done with that.
Why do you have to put it on?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
but then you put an egg on top of it, it's better.
I don't know, it tastes good.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I thought you said you like avocado toast.
I do like avocado toast.
That just blew my point rightthere.
That's good.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Okay, so what's the Gen Z version of avocado toast?
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I don't know, I don't know, I'll think about it.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I don't get it.
Tiktok, tiktok yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Is Snapchat millennial too?
Maybe it's good, I don't know.
You're gonna, you'd laughtwitter is millennial.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Twitter is millennial , yeah now that it's like x now
it's x, that's a millennial yeah, okay, get to know that's so
for everybody out there thatenjoys avocado toast, just know
you are being stereotyped andreviled by gen z.
I just want everybody to beaware of me.
So now that we've got that outof the way, so how does that
relate to work Like?
(07:28):
Don't try to turn this intolike a hard hitting podcast.
Now I'm like personallyobjectified because of my love
of avocado.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Avocado toast in MySpace.
It's just MySpace.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I know you had a MySpace factory.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
I might still do.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I'm sure I do, but I haven't used it.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Do you have your like top three songs and whatnot?
Oh yeah, yeah, tom was myfriend.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Tom was everybody's friend.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Right now I'm thinking of avocado on pizza and
on hot dogs, and on likeeverything, yeah, so like my
mind just went that way.
Okay, sounds good.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
All right.
So now that we're completelyoff topic, a great place to have
avocado toast is on vacation,so let's talk a little bit about
work life balance.
Do you like that lead in?
I did my best.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I don't know, it was all I could do.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
It was all I could do Better than me, I'll get inside
.
So you know, one of the thingsthat I struggled with early in
my career as a millennial in myworkplace, in a in in my
workplace, was primarily, uh,gen X and baby rumors.
They were the, they were thepeople in power.
You know my approach was toessentially like, try not to be
a millennial.
Like you know, I grew a beard,I tried to not act my age and
(08:43):
you know I did that for about 10years until I was in a point of
like positional power that Ididn't have to act that way.
I don't think that's the mostmentally healthy way to approach
it.
So I'm curious on your approach.
You know, as you're workingwith different generations that
are in power, what's yourapproach in kind of embracing
(09:05):
your Gen Z-ness in the workplace?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
What's your approach in kind of embracing your Gen
Z-ness in the workplace?
Yeah, so mental health, like Iwas talking about, is a really
big thing for me, and so beingin a position where, you know, I
kind of am in a leadershipposition at 23 years old, which
is really really weird becauseeverybody else is, you know,
older than 30.
Um, and so a lot of thosepeople you know they work, work,
(09:32):
work and I love that.
They love to work.
I really do, um, but I am aperson who puts myself first, um
, when it comes to work.
Uh, not that I don't love mycoworkers and I love my
employees and I love my job, butI love the beach and I love
drinks on the beach, right?
(09:53):
So I think, you know, talkingwith some of my coworkers that
are, you know, baby boomers orGen X, or even, you know, those
older millennials, they don'tlike to take vacation, and I
understand, because when youtake vacation, you're off and
people are emailing you and youcome back to 10,000 emails.
I personally love that.
I take my vacation.
(10:14):
I only think about vacation andmy personal life, I don't think
about work, and I think it'sjust a really good reset.
I come back, I'm refreshed, Idon't feel burnt out.
You know, I have a betterpositive attitude and I spread
that to others.
I go through the shop everysingle morning.
I'm like good morning, goodmorning.
And if that's something that Ican do for myself, then why not
(10:36):
take those days?
So you know the older generationwhen they are like, oh no, I
can't take a day off, I can'ttake my lunch because I have to
work through my lunch.
Like, go, take your hour lunch,right, it's just one hour, they
don't need you for that onehour.
Somebody can cover you.
But it's just hard to getthrough.
(10:59):
You know, because thatgeneration was kind of brought
up that way, that work is themost important thing and that
they need to do it for the restof their lives, until they
retire.
And so I actually had an oldercoworker tell me well, no, you
need to save up in your 401k andretire with a lot of money and
then you can go travel.
But I think a lot of Gen Zersthink well, I want to go travel
now, when I'm young and I can goclimb mountains and I can go
(11:21):
sit on the beach and have funand, you know, go to the clubs
or go to parties and whatnot.
Um and so you know benefitswith retaining and retracting
Gen Z employees and youngergeneration, they're not really
looking for you know benefits atthe moment they're looking for
flexibility, they're looking for.
You know what's your PTO?
A lot of people are going tounlimited PTO, which is crazy to
(11:45):
think about, and then just likethe values of the company.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
So that's a question that I had for you regarding
your organization.
You have more and more peoplecoming into the workforce.
They have more flexibility,they have more PTO.
When you're in manufacturingwith some of these organizations
that just don't have thatability to allow flex schedules
and come and go as your daypleases, like how is your
organization kind of adjustingto that generation coming in
(12:11):
that wants those differentthings, because that's more
important than just for a week?
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:15):
absolutely so.
We have um our presidentactually added an extra week of
pto for everybody to use um andthen a lot of different things.
You know we like to say ifpeople are struggling to get
their work done, well, let'shire more people.
You know, I want somebody to beable to cover your shift if you
can't be there.
I don't want you to have tostress and come back and be like
(12:35):
, oh, I got to do, you know thisand this and this that I didn't
get done.
As long as the older generationyou know is willing to train, I
think that is the best thingthat a company can do, because
you know a lot of not a lot ofbut some baby boomers and some
Gen X are like, you know, I justwant to do my thing.
I don't want to train people.
(12:55):
Well, who's going to take over?
Right, we have to train thenext generation and get them to
up to speed to be where we wantthem to be.
And so, yeah, I thinkflexibility is a huge thing with
us.
You know, we make it very knownwe're a family owned company.
We've been in business for 52years.
We make it very known that youknow, we care about our
employees and we care about themand their mental health, and so
(13:20):
you know we take a lot ofopinions from our employees.
What can we do better?
What can we do for you?
And so, being a Gen Z andrecruiting Gen Z, it's so nice
to have that say in HR of like,what can help us recruit the
younger generation Like wetalked about earlier.
(13:40):
We actually added a speakeasy.
Not a speakeasy, we call it thecave in our um building.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yeah, hey yeah, I think cave sounds creepier than
speakeasy.
Well, it has a full-size nightlike a bat caver.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
It's like it's like, uh, almost like a speakeasy, but
you you have to have, uh, yourbadge um scans into to get a
drink, but you can't get a drinkuntil you're off work.
So it's locked until after workand everybody has this badge.
You can get a badge.
Yeah, everybody has a badge forthe speakeasy.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Are there certain positions that don't have the
badge no Unless you're?
What about under 21?
Do they have the badge nounless you're?
What about under 21?
Do they have?
Speaker 3 (14:26):
the badge.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
No, they cannot drink if you're under so there you go
for all your hr benefitspackages.
Just add a speakeasy in thebasement called the cave, and
that's gonna get all your ginshere about this.
All, yeah, patrick's like I'mgonna go work there, yeah, yeah,
this guy's like pac-man buckhunter as a shuffleboard.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, so we really really, really like that
work-life balance here ifp thereyou go, there you go, sounds
good.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, so it's, it's.
It's really interesting, youknow, I think, um, so, and I am
certainly one that, like I don'tnecessarily like take vacation
in the true sense of the word,like I'll, you know, I still got
my cell phone, I I'm stillchecking email, I'm still kind
of available and when I'm notworking I'm still doing like
some other type of work or sidehustle or something like that.
(15:14):
And I think that's very kind ofcommon in the in the millennial
, uh, generation, at leastcertainly in my age bracket.
So what you're saying is youknow, it's like let's shut it
off completely Right, which isvery, very different.
So help me understand that kindof the benefits of taking that
(15:35):
approach.
Like, what do you find when youactually truly shut off, for
yourself and for others?
What are the benefits of doingthat?
Speaker 3 (15:45):
for yourself and for others.
What are the benefits of doingthat?
Yeah, I just think it's areally good way to, you know,
reset, um and rebalance yourself.
Uh, through vacation, even ifit's, you know you're taking a
couple days off, you don't haveto go anywhere, you know you
don't have to go to the beach orthe mountains, or you know you
don't have to go out of town.
Just lay on the couch for acouple days, watch tv, whatever
you want to do, whatever makesyou feel good, where you're not
(16:06):
consistently thinking about workand you know the things that
are stressors in your life.
Sometimes, as us HRprofessionals, we're
consistently thinking about onething all week like, oh, I dread
this meeting I have to go to onMonday, I dread this thing or
this review I have coming upright.
So just a break away from thathelps your mental health so much
(16:30):
.
And I think that a lot of peopledon't realize that, and I think
mental health is just a hugehush-hush word for the older
generations.
No, they don't want to talkabout it.
I'm a Gen Z-er and I think alot of Gen Z go to therapy and I
think that's the best thing foryou.
Honestly, it's not for everyone.
(16:51):
I completely understand that.
But I go to therapy and it'sjust someone to talk to and help
you through your problems andit doesn't even like you don't
even have to have a problem, youjust can go talk to somebody.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Oh, we all got problems.
I will say you do haveemotional intelligence, because
instead of calling us all old,you use the term older than 30.
So thank you for beingemotionally intelligent.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
No, problem.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I'm sure that speaks to the years of therapy, so that
you don't offend all of us.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I feel so wise now that I've been to like some
therapy sessions because I likewill pull quotes that she said
and I'm like did you like thatone?
Yeah, that was that's all me.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
That's all me.
All right, we've got time forone more question and I'm
curious to hear your response.
Where do you think HRprofessionals need to rebel?
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Ooh, rebel?
That's a good question.
I think that they need to getout of their comfort zone.
I think you know I hate theword corporate.
That's my least favorite wordCorporate America.
I hate it.
Yeah, but we're here to help.
You know I'm on TikTok,obviously as a Gen Zer, so
(18:06):
there's always those corporateTikToks and I just die in them
Like I laugh so hard becausethey're so stereotypical.
I hate it.
Big old corporate media.
Yeah, exactly the hierarchy.
You know I want HRprofessionals to you know kind
of get out of that corporateroutine.
I want them to try somethingnew.
You know whether that's thinkof some new ideas for employee
retention or employee engagementor onboarding, or you know
(18:30):
insurance or health and fitness,and just kind of get out of
their comfort zone and think ofnew ideas without, well, with
changing you know, theireveryday routine for their
employees.
So yeah, bring some ideas toyour boss.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
I love it.
That's what we're all abouthere, so I'm glad we could have
you on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Grace, where can people?
Speaker 1 (18:50):
connect with you and follow what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah, so IFP.
We have a website, it'sifpusacom.
I am on LinkedIn, Grace Bowling.
Yeah, so just message me onthere and reach out whenever you
want to.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
And TikTok right and TikTok yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
G Bowling on.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
TikTok G, bowling on TikTok.
There you go For all you Gen Zlisteners.
There you go G.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Bowling on TikTok powered on Twitter, probably, we
actually have a TikTok oh mygosh, there you go yeah, I'm
trying to get one.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
I haven't locked in in three years.
You can find me on MySpace andAOL there you go.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
AIM there you go.
Khk95, aim find me Hook it up,all right, thank you, grace,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
All right, that does it for the Rebel HR podcast.
Big thank you to our guests.
Follow us on Facebook at RebelHR Podcast, twitter at Rebel HR
Guy, or see our website atrebelhumanresourcescom.
The views and opinionsexpressed by Rebel HR Podcast
are those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect the
official policy or position ofany of the organizations that we
(19:59):
represent.
No animals were harmed duringthe filming of this podcast.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Baby.
This is the Rebel HR Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The podcast about all things innovation in the
people's space.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm Kyle Rode.
Let's start the show.
Welcome back HR Rebels.
We are continuing ourpodcasting here at the Iowa
State SHRM Conference.
With us we have Grace Bolling,maybe the coolest last name at
the conference.
I'm not sure, but I have afeeling it is.
She is a HR specialist for IFPand we are going to be talking
(00:34):
about some exciting stuff todayrelated to work-life balance and
generational differences.
Welcome to the podcast, grace.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, we are excited to have you and we are going to
start this podcast by wishingyou a happy HR professional.
Thank you so much Becauseevidently that's what it is
today.
All you HR professionals, yougo get them, Go get them.
Hr professionals we're killingit out there, killing it out
there it's also like NationalCupcake Day and National, you
know, like like pet a pet, aleprechaun day.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I mean, who knows?
Yeah, so if you're having areally bad day as an HR
professional, go get a cupcake.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Go get a cupcake.
Yeah, Well Grace, thank you forgracing us with your presence
here on the podcast.
You like that?
Yeah, dab, joke going on there.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
How often you get that.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I don't.
I get like you're very gracefulsometimes.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Okay, okay, sounds good, yeah, well, grace was
really excited to join us todayand I'm excited about this topic
.
She wanted to talk aboutwork-life balance and kind of
the generational differencerelated to the approach to
work-life balance.
But before we jump into that, Iwould like to understand a
little bit more about your path.
So what motivated you to getinto human resources?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
That's a really good question.
I kind of fell into it.
So I started an inside salesfor IFP, which is a
manufacturing company out ofCedar Rapids.
We're half a distributor, halfa manufacturer.
We focus on hydraulics,electronics, pneumatics,
automation, all that fun stuff.
And so I started in insidesales because I knew somebody
(02:06):
who had worked there and I talkway too much to sit at a
computer screen because that iswhat inside sales does and so
there was an opening for arecruiting coordinator under my
boss currently and so I decidedto apply.
And we love internal hiresbecause you know they know the
culture, they know everybodythat works there.
(02:27):
And so I applied for a positionand got it, and I've been in
the HR role for the past yearand a half.
I just passed my SHRM certifiedprofessional test.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So that's good, just got that under my belt.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yeah, I'm happy to never study for the rest of my
life.
So, that'll be, fun, yeah.
And so now I'm an HR specialist, so kind of getting into the
insurance side of things, butI've been working mainly under
the recruiting umbrella for thelast year and a half Nice, yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So with us listeners we have a real live, Gen Zer.
That you do, and the reality isthere's a lot of them in the
workplace now, and so one of thethings that we wanted to talk
about here is that experience,that employee experience, and I
think that, certainly from mystandpoint, we make a lot about
(03:24):
generational differences in theworkplace.
We talk about it a lot.
It's definitely like a hottopic.
It sells, you know, it kind ofsells airtime.
But I'm curious from yourperspective as you look at kind
of the different generationsworking together in the
workplace do you?
notice a big difference betweengenerations of folks.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I think there's this,you know stigma that you know
Gen Z people don't want to work,which you know.
You come across Gen Zers thatdon't want to work.
They just kind of want to havestuff handed to them.
But you know, there is thatportion of Gen Z that do want to
work and they want to climb thecorporate ladder.
And I think a lot of peopleoverblow that when they think of
Gen Z that do want to work andthey want to climb the corporate
(04:07):
ladder.
And I think a lot of peopleoverlook that when they think of
Gen Z, and so you're kind ofjust bundled into this category
of Gen Z when you go into theworkforce.
And it's actually going to be30% of the workforce is going to
be Gen Z by 2025, which is ahuge number, and so the baby
boomers are kind of retiring andGen Z is coming in and with Gen
Z, it's just so many new ideasand new approaches and ways to
(04:32):
do things through the workforceand I think that they should be
heard, Because I think a lot ofcompanies are like oh, we've
done it this way, we're going tocontinue to do it this way,
it's going to be like this forthe next 20 years, and I don't
think that Gen Z likes to take,you know, no for an answer.
So yeah, Gen Z is completelydifferent than baby boomers or
(04:54):
maybe even millennials.
I think a lot of stuff is moreflexible.
I think remote work is becomingmore and more, you know, common
throughout workplaces justbecause of Gen Z, and I think
mental health is a huge thingwith Gen Z as well.
And I like that it's coming tothe front.
Mental health is such a hugething and we're not really
(05:16):
afraid to address it, so that'sa huge thing.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Do you see Gen Zers in a place where they're trying
to battle the stereotype of theydon't want to be labeled Gen Z,
just like we all kind of have alabel on millennials
Millennials being promoted toofast, they want something for no
effort.
You know things of that nature.
Do you see Gen Z not wanting tobe a stereotype like that?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Not necessarily.
I think you know where Gen Zdiffers from millennials.
Millennials kind of want to getaway from that title, but I
think Gen Z is like I'm a Gen Zand I'm loud and proud, you know
, like this is how I am and thisis how it's going to be, and I
have all these ideas and I wantto come work and all that.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So yeah, Are you a millennial Patrick?
Speaker 4 (06:04):
I'm still X, you're still X, you're still X.
You're the last year of X.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
So technically I'm an elder millennial.
That's what you would call me.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
You're a junkie, yeah , yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Good for you.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Or an exennial, or whatever I'm in the middle.
That's a good one.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Are you like an avocado toast millennial?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
I like avocado toast.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
What does avocado toast millennial?
I like avocado toast okay whatdoes that mean?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
what does that mean?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
what's an avocado toast millennial like we, just
like avocado toast likemillennials are like obsessed
with avocado toast.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Like what's going on with that?
I don't know.
I mean, just eat like guac andbe done with that.
Why do you have to put it on?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
but then you put an egg on top of it, it's better.
I don't know, it tastes good.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I thought you said you like avocado toast.
I do like avocado toast.
That just blew my point rightthere.
That's good.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Okay, so what's the Gen Z version of avocado toast?
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I don't know, I don't know, I'll think about it.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I don't get it.
Tiktok, tiktok yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Is Snapchat millennial too?
Maybe it's good, I don't know.
You're gonna, you'd laughtwitter is millennial.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Twitter is millennial , yeah now that it's like x now
it's x, that's a millennial yeah, okay, get to know that's so
for everybody out there thatenjoys avocado toast, just know
you are being stereotyped andreviled by gen z.
I just want everybody to beaware of me.
So now that we've got that outof the way, so how does that
relate to work Like?
(07:28):
Don't try to turn this intolike a hard hitting podcast.
Now I'm like personallyobjectified because of my love
of avocado.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Avocado toast in MySpace.
It's just MySpace.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I know you had a MySpace factory.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
I might still do.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I'm sure I do, but I haven't used it.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Do you have your like top three songs and whatnot?
Oh yeah, yeah, tom was myfriend.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Tom was everybody's friend.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Right now I'm thinking of avocado on pizza and
on hot dogs, and on likeeverything, yeah, so like my
mind just went that way.
Okay, sounds good.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
All right.
So now that we're completelyoff topic, a great place to have
avocado toast is on vacation,so let's talk a little bit about
work life balance.
Do you like that lead in?
I did my best.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I don't know, it was all I could do.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
It was all I could do Better than me, I'll get inside
.
So you know, one of the thingsthat I struggled with early in
my career as a millennial in myworkplace, in a in in my
workplace, was primarily, uh,gen X and baby rumors.
They were the, they were thepeople in power.
You know my approach was toessentially like, try not to be
a millennial.
Like you know, I grew a beard,I tried to not act my age and
(08:43):
you know I did that for about 10years until I was in a point of
like positional power that Ididn't have to act that way.
I don't think that's the mostmentally healthy way to approach
it.
So I'm curious on your approach.
You know, as you're workingwith different generations that
are in power, what's yourapproach in kind of embracing
(09:05):
your Gen Z-ness in the workplace?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
What's your approach in kind of embracing your Gen
Z-ness in the workplace?
Yeah, so mental health, like Iwas talking about, is a really
big thing for me, and so beingin a position where, you know, I
kind of am in a leadershipposition at 23 years old, which
is really really weird becauseeverybody else is, you know,
older than 30.
Um, and so a lot of thosepeople you know they work, work,
(09:32):
work and I love that.
They love to work.
I really do, um, but I am aperson who puts myself first, um
, when it comes to work.
Uh, not that I don't love mycoworkers and I love my
employees and I love my job, butI love the beach and I love
drinks on the beach, right?
(09:53):
So I think, you know, talkingwith some of my coworkers that
are, you know, baby boomers orGen X, or even, you know, those
older millennials, they don'tlike to take vacation, and I
understand, because when youtake vacation, you're off and
people are emailing you and youcome back to 10,000 emails.
I personally love that.
I take my vacation.
(10:14):
I only think about vacation andmy personal life, I don't think
about work, and I think it'sjust a really good reset.
I come back, I'm refreshed, Idon't feel burnt out.
You know, I have a betterpositive attitude and I spread
that to others.
I go through the shop everysingle morning.
I'm like good morning, goodmorning.
And if that's something that Ican do for myself, then why not
(10:36):
take those days?
So you know the older generationwhen they are like, oh no, I
can't take a day off, I can'ttake my lunch because I have to
work through my lunch.
Like, go, take your hour lunch,right, it's just one hour, they
don't need you for that onehour.
Somebody can cover you.
But it's just hard to getthrough.
(10:59):
You know, because thatgeneration was kind of brought
up that way, that work is themost important thing and that
they need to do it for the restof their lives, until they
retire.
And so I actually had an oldercoworker tell me well, no, you
need to save up in your 401k andretire with a lot of money and
then you can go travel.
But I think a lot of Gen Zersthink well, I want to go travel
now, when I'm young and I can goclimb mountains and I can go
(11:21):
sit on the beach and have funand, you know, go to the clubs
or go to parties and whatnot.
Um and so you know benefitswith retaining and retracting
Gen Z employees and youngergeneration, they're not really
looking for you know benefits atthe moment they're looking for
flexibility, they're looking for.
You know what's your PTO?
A lot of people are going tounlimited PTO, which is crazy to
(11:45):
think about, and then just likethe values of the company.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
So that's a question that I had for you regarding
your organization.
You have more and more peoplecoming into the workforce.
They have more flexibility,they have more PTO.
When you're in manufacturingwith some of these organizations
that just don't have thatability to allow flex schedules
and come and go as your daypleases, like how is your
organization kind of adjustingto that generation coming in
(12:11):
that wants those differentthings, because that's more
important than just for a week?
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:15):
absolutely so.
We have um our presidentactually added an extra week of
pto for everybody to use um andthen a lot of different things.
You know we like to say ifpeople are struggling to get
their work done, well, let'shire more people.
You know, I want somebody to beable to cover your shift if you
can't be there.
I don't want you to have tostress and come back and be like
(12:35):
, oh, I got to do, you know thisand this and this that I didn't
get done.
As long as the older generationyou know is willing to train, I
think that is the best thingthat a company can do, because
you know a lot of not a lot ofbut some baby boomers and some
Gen X are like, you know, I justwant to do my thing.
I don't want to train people.
(12:55):
Well, who's going to take over?
Right, we have to train thenext generation and get them to
up to speed to be where we wantthem to be.
And so, yeah, I thinkflexibility is a huge thing with
us.
You know, we make it very knownwe're a family owned company.
We've been in business for 52years.
We make it very known that youknow, we care about our
employees and we care about themand their mental health, and so
(13:20):
you know we take a lot ofopinions from our employees.
What can we do better?
What can we do for you?
And so, being a Gen Z andrecruiting Gen Z, it's so nice
to have that say in HR of like,what can help us recruit the
younger generation Like wetalked about earlier.
(13:40):
We actually added a speakeasy.
Not a speakeasy, we call it thecave in our um building.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yeah, hey yeah, I think cave sounds creepier than
speakeasy.
Well, it has a full-size nightlike a bat caver.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
It's like it's like, uh, almost like a speakeasy, but
you you have to have, uh, yourbadge um scans into to get a
drink, but you can't get a drinkuntil you're off work.
So it's locked until after workand everybody has this badge.
You can get a badge.
Yeah, everybody has a badge forthe speakeasy.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Are there certain positions that don't have the
badge no Unless you're?
What about under 21?
Do they have the badge nounless you're?
What about under 21?
Do they have?
Speaker 3 (14:26):
the badge.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
No, they cannot drink if you're under so there you go
for all your hr benefitspackages.
Just add a speakeasy in thebasement called the cave, and
that's gonna get all your ginshere about this.
All, yeah, patrick's like I'mgonna go work there, yeah, yeah,
this guy's like pac-man buckhunter as a shuffleboard.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, so we really really, really like that
work-life balance here ifp thereyou go, there you go, sounds
good.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, so it's, it's.
It's really interesting, youknow, I think, um, so, and I am
certainly one that, like I don'tnecessarily like take vacation
in the true sense of the word,like I'll, you know, I still got
my cell phone, I I'm stillchecking email, I'm still kind
of available and when I'm notworking I'm still doing like
some other type of work or sidehustle or something like that.
(15:14):
And I think that's very kind ofcommon in the in the millennial
, uh, generation, at leastcertainly in my age bracket.
So what you're saying is youknow, it's like let's shut it
off completely Right, which isvery, very different.
So help me understand that kindof the benefits of taking that
(15:35):
approach.
Like, what do you find when youactually truly shut off, for
yourself and for others?
What are the benefits of doingthat?
Speaker 3 (15:45):
for yourself and for others.
What are the benefits of doingthat?
Yeah, I just think it's areally good way to, you know,
reset, um and rebalance yourself.
Uh, through vacation, even ifit's, you know you're taking a
couple days off, you don't haveto go anywhere, you know you
don't have to go to the beach orthe mountains, or you know you
don't have to go out of town.
Just lay on the couch for acouple days, watch tv, whatever
you want to do, whatever makesyou feel good, where you're not
(16:06):
consistently thinking about workand you know the things that
are stressors in your life.
Sometimes, as us HRprofessionals, we're
consistently thinking about onething all week like, oh, I dread
this meeting I have to go to onMonday, I dread this thing or
this review I have coming upright.
So just a break away from thathelps your mental health so much
(16:30):
.
And I think that a lot of peopledon't realize that, and I think
mental health is just a hugehush-hush word for the older
generations.
No, they don't want to talkabout it.
I'm a Gen Z-er and I think alot of Gen Z go to therapy and I
think that's the best thing foryou.
Honestly, it's not for everyone.
(16:51):
I completely understand that.
But I go to therapy and it'sjust someone to talk to and help
you through your problems andit doesn't even like you don't
even have to have a problem, youjust can go talk to somebody.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Oh, we all got problems.
I will say you do haveemotional intelligence, because
instead of calling us all old,you use the term older than 30.
So thank you for beingemotionally intelligent.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
No, problem.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I'm sure that speaks to the years of therapy, so that
you don't offend all of us.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I feel so wise now that I've been to like some
therapy sessions because I likewill pull quotes that she said
and I'm like did you like thatone?
Yeah, that was that's all me.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
That's all me.
All right, we've got time forone more question and I'm
curious to hear your response.
Where do you think HRprofessionals need to rebel?
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Ooh, rebel?
That's a good question.
I think that they need to getout of their comfort zone.
I think you know I hate theword corporate.
That's my least favorite wordCorporate America.
I hate it.
Yeah, but we're here to help.
You know I'm on TikTok,obviously as a Gen Zer, so
(18:06):
there's always those corporateTikToks and I just die in them
Like I laugh so hard becausethey're so stereotypical.
I hate it.
Big old corporate media.
Yeah, exactly the hierarchy.
You know I want HRprofessionals to you know kind
of get out of that corporateroutine.
I want them to try somethingnew.
You know whether that's thinkof some new ideas for employee
retention or employee engagementor onboarding, or you know
(18:30):
insurance or health and fitness,and just kind of get out of
their comfort zone and think ofnew ideas without, well, with
changing you know, theireveryday routine for their
employees.
So yeah, bring some ideas toyour boss.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
I love it.
That's what we're all abouthere, so I'm glad we could have
you on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Grace, where can people?
Speaker 1 (18:50):
connect with you and follow what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah, so IFP.
We have a website, it'sifpusacom.
I am on LinkedIn, Grace Bowling.
Yeah, so just message me onthere and reach out whenever you
want to.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
And TikTok right and TikTok yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
G Bowling on.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
TikTok G, bowling on TikTok.
There you go For all you Gen Zlisteners.
There you go G.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Bowling on TikTok powered on Twitter, probably, we
actually have a TikTok oh mygosh, there you go yeah, I'm
trying to get one.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
I haven't locked in in three years.
You can find me on MySpace andAOL there you go.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
AIM there you go.
Khk95, aim find me Hook it up,all right, thank you, grace,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
All right, that does it for the Rebel HR podcast.
Big thank you to our guests.
Follow us on Facebook at RebelHR Podcast, twitter at Rebel HR
Guy, or see our website atrebelhumanresourcescom.
The views and opinionsexpressed by Rebel HR Podcast
are those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect the
official policy or position ofany of the organizations that we
(19:59):
represent.
No animals were harmed duringthe filming of this podcast.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Baby.
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