Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future

by Jean M. Twenge

It also sounds unsafe. Even as COVID becomes endemic, it will be difficult for some to go back to 2019-style cavalier attitudes about getting sick, whether that’s COVID or the flu. Gen Z was already a highly cautious generation before 2020, and they are likely to remain so for their entire lives. This also has implications for sick days and flexibility—Gen Z expects to be able to make their own choices about whether they feel well enough, or safe enough, to go to work. The days when in-person attendance can be required no matter what, with penalties for not showing up, may be gone. Managers will increasingly be balancing the need for sick leave with the need for employees to be present. In office jobs this can be solved with remote work in some cases, but in service sector, manufacturing, and health care jobs the solutions are not as clear.