They fulfil their protein intake, hit the gym, make money, raise their voice, learn new things, take time for their hobbies, show up at dinner tables for their loved ones, take care of their mental wellbeing, pet cats, and consume great content on Substack and Mubi, all while doomscrolling. They are doing it all.
Described with adjectives like “entitled” and “assertive,” Gen-Z has been heavily misunderstood in the workplace, and the salon business is no exception. Born between 1997 and 2012, they have grown up politically aware, tech-savvy, and with the ability to keep their distance from what does not serve them.
They come off as assertive to people from previous generations because they clearly define their boundaries and see work as a part of their life rather than the whole of it. In conversation with Muskaan Rohra, a Gen-Z hairstylist at Happy in the Head Salon, we try to understand this new generation at the workplace, specifically within a salon environment.
How Conversations Around Boundaries Are Changing
Gen-Z brings a fundamentally different sensibility to work and communication than the generations before them. They are often stereotyped as having a shorter attention span.
However, a short attention span does not translate to a lack of ambition. This is the generation that grew up amid incredible developments in technology, which made processes quick and accessible. Having a shorter attention span is often just about deciding whether something is worth their attention. The reason they tend to have little patience for things that feel unnecessarily slow or inefficient is that they have an early sense of how they can benefit from them, or if they can’t.
Setting boundaries and saying no simply stems from their ability to be clear about what they want, and their refusal to indulge in “grind culture” may paint them as rude. Additionally, a good pay package alone does not hold as much value for this generation. Financial compensation is not their primary factor, because elements like mental health, a healthy work environment, and the people they work with matter just as much. Their reasoning goes: if the environment constantly brings a sense of dissatisfaction, or the work culture is toxic, there is no point sacrificing personal wellbeing for financial gain.
“We are generally more comfortable setting boundaries and saying no when something doesn’t work for us,” explains Muskaan. They learned early on that clear communication is key. There is nothing wrong with identifying one’s goals and working around them. In this age, time is currency, so it matters where you spend your time and attention. Hence, they set priorities around what deserves their attention and what does not.
Their Approach to Work
The idea of hustle culture seems to end with millennials. Gen-Z does not participate in romanticizing burnout, and instead celebrates taking it slow. It is better to work with healthy breaks than to overburden oneself with stretched working hours, which eventually deteriorates wellbeing and quality of work.
“I don’t mind putting in extra hours or going the extra mile when the situation calls for it, as long as it doesn’t consistently come at the cost of my physical or mental wellbeing,” she says. When a client is counting on them and they can see the real impact of stretching their work hours, they willingly do so. Life outside their profession is important too, and people take years to realise what this generation has already figured out. The key is knowing when to give a little extra and when to step away.
Job Hopping and Side Hustles
Gen-Z has found a loophole in the system to earn a higher salary. Job hopping, understood as changing workplaces frequently if they see more to gain elsewhere, is their cheat code. However, this is not the case for everyone. They focus more on what they are gaining from their current workplace. If the perks work in their favour, the challenge of the job, the mentors, the experience, and if the compensation is fair, they are more likely to stay longer. However, if the job is not meeting what they want and is not fulfilling enough, they see no harm in exploring elsewhere, since they have nothing to lose.
This generation is also more likely to have another source of income, known in their slang as a “side hustle.” This includes content creation, social media influencing, video editing, and more. Having a stable job alongside something that fulfils them creatively helps them earn a little extra. It also gives them the confidence that they do not have to depend on a single job, and that if something goes wrong at one place, they will always have a backup. This makes them strong planners with a purpose, people who live loudly in the present while still caring about their future.
The Importance of Personal Expression in the Salon
Gen-Z has been profoundly vocal about occupying their space, and the freedom to express their personality through their style reflects who they are as a person. Through tattoos, piercings, fashion choices and more, people find ways to bring their personality from the abstract into overt expression. Having the space to express yourself through style, especially in a creative field like hair, is therefore a genuine need of the profession. “The way a stylist dresses, wears their hair, or expresses themselves through things like piercings and tattoos can give clients a glimpse into who they are as a person,” she says. It can also become a conversation starter and naturally attract clients who relate to or connect with the stylist’s personality and sense of style.
Traditionally, there was much more emphasis on stylists dressing uniformly or wearing all black. Vidal Sassoon, for example, famously promoted an all-black aesthetic so that the focus remained on the client and the work. That reasoning was fair for its time, but today, allowing a stylist to have their own personal style adds another layer to the client’s experience.
Speaking the Same Language: Connecting With Gen-Z Clients
Naturally, it is easier to communicate fluently with people from your own generation, who speak a language cut from the same cloth. Muskaan admits she has a slightly more intuitive understanding of how another Gen-Z client communicates, or what they are trying to express through a social media reference. That said, this does not take away from the experience of more seasoned stylists, who have adapted over the years to changing trends, references, and expectations, in order to better communicate with clients across generations.
A Different Idea of Stability
This generation focuses primarily on continuing to learn and never stopping growing. They want to keep both their education and creativity alive. Their idea of money and stability is quite different from their parents’, but that is true of every generation compared to the one before it.
“My parents had to navigate struggles at my age that I’ve mostly heard about through their stories, whereas I’ve had the privilege of having a much more secure support system,” she shares. “They gave me the freedom to choose a career that was quite unexpected, supported me through the decision, and made the journey much smoother for me. So for me, stability isn’t simply about having the highest salary or following the most conventional career path. It’s also about having the freedom to build a life and career that I genuinely enjoy, while knowing that I’m continuing to move forward and can support myself doing something I love.”
If there is one thing the previous generation should take note of, it’s this: let this generation have their space. Let them occupy it, loudly. Given the space to bring their own perspective, expression, and creative liberty to the table, they could bring about a revolutionary change.
