Generation Z, born between 1994-2009, is now entering the workforce. They are the first digital natives who grew up with the internet integrated into learning and socialization. There are high expectations for Generation Z as the most open-minded generation who sees the world as interconnected and diversity as normal. However, they may be less informed despite access to information due to a lack of filtering. Their intensive digital technology use and preference for autonomy will impact companies and education systems, which must adapt to harness Generation Z's potential for innovation.

1. Generation
The latest generational gap
Executive Summary

2. 3
About
the
report
The first members of Generation Z, born between 1994 and 2009, are now starting
to enter into the working world and claim their space. This is the first generation
that uses the Internet in the early phases of learning and socialization. The
economic and political crisis has left a mark on the personalities of these young
people because their families have suffered crudely from the crisis. The difference
between them and the previous generation, millenials, is that the Z’s begin to use
entrepreneurship earlier as a tool for social change in areas such as environment,
inequality or citizen participation. Therefore they are early to enroll in initiatives that
enable them to find solutions to problems in the environment by creating startups.
We have high expectations in terms of the young Z’s. They are the first generation
to believe that the world is small, diversity is inherent to any modern society and
that the democratic development along with technology is unstoppable and
generate new human rights. Between their most outstanding features are: the ever
present use of digital tools in all social, labor and cultural relations; their creativity
and adaptability to the emerging labor environment; the distrust of the traditional
education system that gives way to new modes of learning, which is more practical
and with respect to other people’s opinions and lifestyles. On the other hand, it is
possible that we are facing a more poorly informed generation than in the past,
despite its ease of access to all kinds of sources of knowledge. This is due to the
fact that the figure of authority is disappearing and there is an installed belief that
every voice deserves to be heard and taken into account.
Thus, rather than being scandalized by their different way of behaving, we have to
do everything possible so that this generation can be an opportunity for society.
This is something that will be reached only if we transform the educational,
labor and corporate world to facilitate the implementation of their extraordinary
capabilities. This way, helped by technology, they will lead the 21st century and
reinvent the economy and employment system to make it a more humane world.

3. 4
5
X, Y and Z are not only the last letters of the
alphabet but they are also the names of
the generations that have people younger
than fifty years old. It all began with what the
photographer Robert Capa wrote after the
great wars about the unknown generation X.
From there he took this name for the group
of people born between the 60s and 70s.
After the Y’s appeared, then the millennials
came, a generation that grew up with the new
millennium, hand in hand with the crisis and
technology. The Z’s are now coming out of
the classrooms.
After the release of a report on the habits of
students, this headline appeared “Uncanny
effect of audiovisual stimuli in education”. It
sounded the alarm on the way that teenagers
abuse electronic devices, stating the inverse
relationship between the number of hours
that students are exposed to the five screens
(TV, mobile, tablet, console and PC) and
school performance. Apparently, “students
adopt leisure activities that reduce the effort
involved in, for example, reading a book”.
More than two centuries ago in England, they
warned against technological advances. The
Luddites were a movement led by artisans
who sought against new machines, like the
mechanized looms that were introduced
during the Industrial Revolution in Britain, that
replaced low qualified workers. More than
300 years ago, Miguel de Cervantes, wanted
to laugh at pessimists who stated that there
were harmful effects of excessive reading,
which coincided with the popularization of
printing and paper. He invented the nobleman
Don Quixote, who was sick because of his
consumption of chivalrous novels.
When reading this report, it is possible to
identify the criminalization of the screens,
performed by those who do not know how
to use them, with the Luddites who burned
the new industrial looms because they did
not know how to use them or with those
that demonized chivalresque bestsellers
because they did not know how to write
them. Those who fought against the step of
time in the 17th century and 19th century
used arguments almost as pilgrim as those
that argue that the new technological
formats are too dangerous. Reading novels of
knights does not make anyone go mad; loom
machines are not bad instruments; social
communication today cannot be understood
without a mobile; studying, playing and
reading from a screen will not turn you into
a slob. They are truths that each historic
moment found hard to understand, especially
for those who are not in the heart of the
change because of age, mentality or capacity.
The boys and girls that are now in the
classrooms have been baptized as
Generation Z. They are the heart of this
disruption. They are the generation born with
the internet, which were born between 1994
and 2009. They have grown up entertaining
themselves with the mobiles of their parents
and for them tablets and consoles do not hold
any secrets. What for us is a new innovative
experience like browsing a digital newspaper,
reading a book on a Kindle or listening to
music on Spotify, for them is the natural
support of these contents. That is the key.
For Z’s, Technology is the means and not the
end. That is why pessimists fail at predicting
that this generation is doomed to fail school
due to its characteristics. Literature is key in
education, as well as math or art and it will
remain so regardless of reading on a paper or
screen, doing math on a calculator or Excel or
drawing with rotring or on autocad.
The executive summary of this study, carried
out by the Deusto Business School and
ATREVIA, will conduct a series of interviews
with representatives from Generation
Z: Meriem El Yamri, a twenty something
developer and winner of the competition
for student entrepreneurs called Junior
Achievement, told us that it is terrible learning
with textbooks written by technological
illiterates. Luis Iván Cuende, a 19 year
old hacker and entrepreneur, defended
computing technology and technology
in general as key elements at this time
and not as simple subjects, incoherent as
regards to the rest of the educational system.
Rodrigo Fernández Touza, just over twenty
and already a consulter at McKinsey, does
not understand that, if you can work with
mobiles and computers at work then why it
is forbidden in the classrooms. Finally, Sara
Izquierdo, winner of the National Advanced
Secondary Education Qualification 2015
Award, is keen on having more practical
work in schools and defends technology to
accelerate the effort of students.
Not everything in the garden is rosy. That’s
where you can forgive the intensity of these
reports against the screens. The danger of the
excess of individualism and the pathological
cases of young people in Japan cloistered
at home are known, but anecdotal. There is
more science is around this inactive lifestyle
and the resulting health consequences of
playing on the sofa with a console (although
the advances in technology of videogames
are beginning to convert the living rooms of
houses into children’s sports centers…)
Young people today that devour screens
are members of the latest generation. Not
because they are going to go mad like Don
Quixote or will be brutalized for not reading
signs on paper… but because the members of
Generation Z are the most recent of an era. It
is an era that is dying while beginning another
where technology is changing (it is beginning
to change) everything: jobs, social relations,
travel, buying and also education. They will
be the last generation to do things in a certain
way by starting doing them differently by
having technology as an ally. They will be the
last generation also because finally, z is the
last letter of the alphabet.
The last letter
Iñaki Ortega Cachón Núria Vilanova
Doctorate in economics and lecturer.
Chairman at the Deusto Business School in Madrid
Founder and president of ATREVIA
of the alphabet

4. 6
7
These are the characteristics
of young people that have
grown up with the internet, for
whom knowledge has become
flat, without hierarchies or
compartments. Their personality
conforms into a liquid, diverse
and in-crisis society which
signifies that, with the arrival of the
young Z’s, a much more radical
generational change occurs than
that played by millennials. Are the
classrooms, companies and
society prepared for them?
Self-educated,
creative and
overexposed
to information.

5. 8
9
Generation Z groups people born
with the World Wide Web which is
totally developed and present in the
great majority of homes. Although
academics do not exactly match
the dates that define the age of the
members, it is usually considered that
the members of this generation were
born between 1994 and 2009.
As we can see in the table, how the
different generations arrived to adult
age is completely different. Perhaps
the change that is most evident is the
digital devices that mark each era.
While Generation X grew up with the
walkman, desktop PC and the Game
Boy, Generation Z had a smartphone
and tablet as well as the intensive use
of WhatsApp to communicate. The
development of the Internet had a
great impact in this process: in 1992
there were only 10 websites; in 2013
they recorded 672 million, data that
undoubtedly shows the technological
leap that has been generated over the
years. Finally, the social context has
also marked the difference between
the three different groups: between
1992 and 2013 youth unemployment
rate has increased by more than 20%,
foreign population has multiplied
almost 13 times and the stability of
bipartisanship has given way to the
rise of emerging parties and the lack of
legitimacy of the major ones.
Who forms part
of Generation Z?
Generation Z
(2013)
Millennials
(2000)
Generation X
(1992)
Popular
devices
Smatphone, tablet,
WhatsApp
2G phones,
Portable PC, SMS
Walkman, desktop PC,
Game Boy
Internet
development
672 million
websites
17 million
websites
10 websites
Youth
unemployment rate
55.1% 26% 34.4%
Politics
Lack of legal standing
from the big emerging
political parties
Bipartisanship
stability
Bipartisanship
stability
Foreignpopulation 5,023,487 923,879 393,100
The first members of Generation Z
are finishing university, entering into
the working world and claiming their
space in the world. As happened with
Generation X and is happening with
the millennials, the arrival of the young
Z’s to adult age will have a strong
impact on society and companies.
There are great expectations in terms
of these young people, being the first
generation that believed for as long
as they can remember that the world
is small, diversity is integral to any
modern society and that democratic
development, linked with technology,
is unstoppable and generates new
human rights.
The intensive use of new information
technologies is one of the signs of
Generation Z and, even though this
is an attribute that is also associated
to millennials, everything seems to
indicate that the digital world has
deeply formed the personalities
of these young people due to the
fact that the immersion in this world
started at a younger age than previous
generations.
Why are we talking
about the young
Z’s for the next
decade?
The arrival of the young Z’s to adult age
will have a strong impact
in societyand
companies

6. 10
11
Education is constantly evolving and
adapting to social changes. Today more
than ever it does so at a rapid pace to
encompass the way of learning from
digital natives. In this context, the young Z’s
belong to a generation where the concept
of a permanent job is disappearing,
changing jobs, sector and professional
category becomes more normal, and even
formal education is banished to focus on
more practical learning projects.
Likewise, some experts assure that due
to the generalization of short messages
and digital devices have become the
most common way of socializing,
students have more difficulties to speak
in public and write complex texts as well
as maintaining concentration for a long
period.
It is now urgent to prepare Generation Z
for the labor reality that will depend on
the capacity of working on the net, with
different cultures and in positions related
with creativity and innovation.
Z’s and
education
Capacity of working on
the net, with different cultures
and in positions related with
creativity and
innovation
The members of generation Z
have massively used social media
to signal their identity. In this way,
they now have more opportunities
to collaborate in cultural, social,
political and corporate projects as
well as expressing their creativity
with less effort. This socialization
concept also involves a challenge
for this generation who should
know how to balance their real and
cyber lives as well as dealing with
the risk of technology addiction and
other dangers related with privacy,
harassment and cybercrime.
The great change in respect to
previous generations is delayering
the transmission of information.
Generation Z does not only believe
that they possess the inalienable
right to create, modify and transmit
information, but is unaware that
information had filters in the past.
On the positive side, knowledge is
at close reach and the fact is that
shares on social media have become
a powerful educational tool for the
young Z’s, who are going to take
advantage of it now more than ever.
Without that, members of Generation
Z have the critical judgment to know
how to sift through this information;
they are also contributors to the
entanglement of knowledge on the
internet.
The digital progress has meant a
profound change in the structure of
mass media that has become massive
headline generators to the detriment
of analysis and contrast information.
So we are facing a generation with
more access to historic information
but not necessarily the best informed.
Z’s and their use
of technology
Massive use of
social media
Delayering
the transmission of
information
Balancereal life
and “cyber life”

7. 12
13
At the time of the young Z’s
incorporation to universities and the
working world, the rate and way they
produce information has changed
enormously in respect to the previous
generations. The world scientific
production has doubled in the last
decade, the volume of digital data is
now being counted in petabytes and
the speed in which it is transmitted
and processed is immediate thanks to
iOt and big data.
In this context, innovating is not
thinking out of the box anymore. The
box has overflowed and broken and
also their contents are constantly
questioned in a way that is difficult to
know what it is useful for and what
should be discarded. Therefore,
the members of Generation Z are
prepared to innovate in a different
way: everyone should build their own
box taking elements of information
to be modified and altered. They can
come from academic or vulgar sources
and can be related to one or various
sectors in science or economics. The
achievers will be, therefore, those who
are the most capable of selecting and
combining pieces of information and
getting an innovative idea. Moreover,
technical knowledge will be essential,
but the most valuable professionals in
the future will not be those specialized
in a particular field but those who
are well-educated and can hybridize
knowledge from different fields.
Z’s,
innovation and
entrepreneurship
The achieverswill be therefore, those who
are the most capable of selecting
and combining
pieces of information
and getting an innovative idea
Preference for
autonomy
in the
working
world
The young Z’s worry that they
won’t find a job that suits their
personality, not having opportunities
of professional growth and not
reaching the goals that they want to
achieve along their career. Likewise,
they prefer flexible environments
that facilitate the conciliation of the
professional and personal lives as well
as stimulating creativity.
On the other side, Generation Z
emphasizes the distinctiveness of
the millennials, as their preference
for autonomy in the working world
forces companies to provide a
sphere of freedom in which their
interests are aligned with those of the
organization. Therefore, these young
people are used to the immediacy
and efficiency that technology
provides, which increases the
pressure on companies to revise their
internal processes and invest in their
improvement.
Finally, new generations are the main
characters of what is called the gig
economy, which is a big network of
autonomous jobs which are linked in
a channel and generate a big project.
Young Z’s will be used to linking
projects, which gives employees
greater freedom and autonomy, but
also increase uncertainty and the risk
of falling into job insecurity.
The Z’s in the
working world

8. 15
55%of 50,000
adolescentssurveyed
by Universum in 45
countries showed
having interest in
launching their
own startup
In Spainthe
percentage is lower
at 39%, but it still
continues to be very
relevant
14
The preference for autonomy within the
working environment has brought many
millennials to become entrepreneurs
before even having their first job,
something that we can see in their heirs..
The report carried out by the
International consultant Universum
on the attitudes and working
preferences of high school students
seems to endorse the idea that the
entrepreneur phenomenon will reach
new dimensions with the progressive
entrance of Generation Z. It is expected
that the number of new companies
created by young entrepreneurs will
increase as a result of the appeal for self-
employment versus paid work. 55% of
50,000 students surveyed by Universum
in 45 countries showed having interest
in launching their own startup. In Spain
the percentage is lower at 39%, but it still
continues to be relevant. It breaks the
dichotomy between administrations and
big multinationals that traditionally has
governed the working preferences of
the most prepared.
In terms of the motivations to undertake,
earning a lot of money is at the highest
along with other non materialistic, like
being your own boss and contributing
better to the environment. They are
now beginning to become consumers
of some of the initiatives born recently
in the collaborative economy, a
phenomenon that this generation
understands, supports and accepts
as something normal. Many of their
members will be gradually adding
to this emerging reality, no longer as
users but also as service providers and
entrepreneurs.
Very related to the opportunities
that bind the collaborative digital
environments would be the gig
economy, in which new generations
play main roles. This reflects the jump
from an economy where working for
others or for just one employer was
stable, to an economy where work
tends to be temporary, freelance and
for several employers along your career.
These changes will generate a large
network of freelance work that, together,
will allow society to undertake powerful
initiatives.
The consequence of this is that
many Z’s will get used to taking on
new projects more than working for
employers. This will provide them
with greater autonomy and freedom.
However, it will also increase uncertainty
and risk of falling into job insecurity.
Z’s as
entrepreneurs

9. 16
17
Testimonials
from generation Z
“The challenge for companies is changing the way of doing
things and learning to have more lenient rules and flexible
timetables that help increase productivity and generate a
positive working environment”.
Sara Izquierdo Martínez, Advanced Secondary
Education Qualification National Award and students
in Economics
“The incorporation of young people to the labor
market will have an impact on the technologization
of companies because the external market pressure
will be joined by young people demanding the digital
transformation of companies”.
Rodrigo Fernández, WEF Global Shaper and
McKinsey & Company consultant.
“The education system is obsolete and still focusing on
the concerns of a past generation that have nothing to
do with the current world in which we live”.
Luis Iván Cuende, hacker and serial entrepreneur.
“In my opinion, the aspect that has been the most
influential is the way that we communicate and relate
with each other, as well as the way in which we browse
information. Now everything is within reach of a click
and I think it is important to take advantage of this and be
clear that this makes our personality different. If we want
something, we take it”.
Meriem El Yamri El Khatibi, Software developer and
Startup Program Award of Junior Achievement.
“Now the new systems are able to do operations beyond
the capacity of people. The pending issue of education
is to provide students with the necessary abilities to
hybridize neuronal processes and electronic skills”.
Almudena Moreno, head of Millennials Makers Open
Future (Telefónica).
“The contents taught at universities are far from the
approach to real problems that those who choose to be
entrepreneurs need”.
Nestor Palao, entrepreneur and technological innovator.
“For them technology is part of their genes. They have
different brain synapses, new neural circuits, activated
for their development in the digital era. This drives new
conducts, visions and behaviors. It is nothing more than
evolutionary theory of species. Yes, we are in front of
“homo digitalis”.
José Antonio Marina, philosopher and author of the
Handbook for the Teaching Profession.

10. 18
19
What is being
said on Generation Z?
The preferences of Generation
Z are linked to realities,
perceptions and different
experiences, so every vital
experience will be applicable to
the working world and the way
they work. Companies should
be receptive to this type of
qualities and take advantage of
them when they arise.”
Margarita Ortiz
Vice-president of the
Créate Foundation
The underlying ideology of Generation Z, their idea of society,
and the labor market provide a new and unique offer consisting
of entrepreneurial talent, ability for collaboration, ethical interests
and autonomy.
César León
Chief Executive of the Promete Foundation
These new employees
have capabilities that make
them multidisciplinary
when undertaking daily
tasks in the company. They
will demand participation
and open communication,
environments that
encourage creativity and
facilitate team work.
Blanca Narváez
Chief Executive of Junior
Achievement
The incorporation of young Z’s into the working world is a
challenge for companies and for society. There needs to
be an education system according to the characteristics,
objectives and values of this new generation. They need to
be able to receive training according to the jobs that will be
generated in the next few years.
José Manuel Pérez Pericles
Social entrepreneur, ASHOKA fellow and creator of Valnalón

11. About ATREVIA
It is a global communications consultant
with Latin spirit, no.1 in Spain. It has more
than 25 years of experience and presen-
ce in 13 countries operating in five conti-
nents. It is composed of a multidisciplinary
team of 300 professionals convinced that
communication has the power to change
realities. ATREVIA strives for investigation
and knowledge development as entre-
preneurial and social transformers. That is
why it has become a leader in this sector.
About Deusto Business School
Deusto Business School is the business
school from the Universirty of Deusto. This
year 2016 it celebrates its first centenary,
being the dean of business schools in
Spain. Deusto Business School is the lea-
der in training business professionals and
graduating entrepreneurs. Their alumni
are in the most important companies in
the world or leading successful startups.
It has three axes of differentiation that can
be found transversely across its educatio-
nal offer: digital strategy, humanism and
competitiveness, and entrepreneurship
and innovation.
This document is the executive summary of
the report “Generation Z”, carried out by Iñaki
Ortega Cachón, Iván Soto San Andrés and Ce-
cilio Cerdán Carbonero for ATREVIA and Deus-
to Business School.
If you are interested in getting the complete re-
port, you can apply at atrevia.com