TAMPA, Fla. — Gen Z is making its mark on the workplace.

According to the Pew Research Center, this generation is made up of people born in, and after, 1997. This new wave of workers — which Johns Hopkins University says will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030 — is bringing new challenges for employers and those going after their first jobs. 

Among the values of Gen Z workers, according to Johns Hopkins, are greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, more flexibility when it comes to details like schedules and remote work, and a higher importance placed on a company's ethics and social awareness.

A 2019 report from the Workforce Institute at Kronos found that Gen Z-ers surveyed around the world, including in the U.S., felt unprepared when it comes to certain work-related soft skills. Results show 26% said their education did not prepare them for negotiating, 24% said they were unprepared for networking, and 23% said they weren't prepared to resolve work conflicts.

"They socialize mainly through technology — you know, their cell phone's their lifeline," said Mario Rodriquez, director of business services at CareerSource Tampa Bay. "When you get in an office environment, there's a lot of face-to-face communication, and they're really not used to that."

Rodriquez said CareerSource has noticed a few differences in this younger generation of employees. He said they're less loyal to any particular job and are more willing to leave a position they're not happy with.

They also place a higher importance on work-life balance. Rodriquez said adaptation will likely be needed on all fronts, something that's already been seen at CareerSource. He said staff was recently equipped with cell phones to reach Gen Z clients.

"They weren't answering emails or phone calls," he said. "I can tell you my two kids, they won't answer a phone call or email, but they will answer a text."

He said employers will also need to adjust to retain these younger workers.

"We had to convince a lot of employers," Rodriguez said. "We have to develop our own local workforce, and it starts with the youth. So, if we can make the changes — and they're not really changes that are costly — we're talking about a few tweaks to how you normally do things in order to communicate and develop that path."

CareerSource's Summer Hires program connects people between the age of 16 and 24 with job opportunities to help build skills in the workplace. Elizabeth Rodriguez, 19, was one of this year's participants. She worked as a youth program assistant in the CareerSource offices.

"It was so new, but it felt like coming home because the staff are just so welcoming," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is entering her sophomore year at the University of Florida, where she's majoring in advertising and minoring in business administration. She said before this summer, she'd never worked in an office.

"I wanted to go ahead and see if that fit me, if that's what I wanted to do," she said.

At the same time she was learning the ins and outs of the position, Rodriguez said she also learned lessons she'll be able to use throughout her career.

"Most soft skills aren't really taught in class," she said. "So soft skills that have to do with you being professional, the attire that you should be wearing, the way you should handle yourself."

Rodriguez credited her coworkers for helping her along the way.

"They were leading by example," she said. "I would see — I would also experiment on my own a little bit, but I always had guidance along the way."

She said that helped her feel more prepared to take those first steps on her career path.