The Role of Generation Z Employees on Performance of Kenyan Firms

This article gives perspective to the role played by Generation Z (Gen Z) employees on the performance of Kenyan firms. Gen Z is the demographic cohort following the Millennials. They are greatly distinct from their wide-eyed, self-involved image of their millennial predecessors, the Gen Y. This generation is unique because their birth coincides with the introduction of graphical Web that is comparable to the internet today. In fact, a key aspect of this generation is its massive usage of the Internet from a tender age. Gen Z is to a large extent about technology; it readily plays a pivotal role in their entire lifestyle. Further, they can‘t be bribed with cool stuff‘ but want to be recognized for their creativity and entrepreneurial mindset. This study investigated the role Gen Z employees on the performance of firms in Kenya. Specifically, the study investigated the role of technology and innovation, and entrepreneurial characteristics of Gen Z on the performance of firms in Kenya. The researcher collected data from secondary sources which included; Government publications, international bodies‘ publications, report of committee and commissions, private publications, newspapers and magazines and publications by research scholars. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The study concluded that technology and innovation characteristic of Gen Z employees play a role in the performance of firms in Kenya. This is because Gen Z employees have strong supply of information technology and social media skills and are the most web-savvy, innovative and app-friendly generation. On the hand, the study found that that the increase of technologybased frauds in Kenyan firms is largely contributed to by Gen Z employees. The frauds have been made easy by Internet banking and electronic transactions which allow theft at the click of a mouse. Further the study concluded that entrepreneurial characteristic of Gen Z plays a role in the performance of firms in Kenya. This characteristic makes this group to support or make risky decisions, be creative, self directed, demonstrate a strong desire to work for themselves, study entrepreneurship, and design their own programs of study in college. Nonetheless, entrepreneurial characteristic of Gen Z was found to contribute to unfavorable performance of a firm. This group of employees may not be excellent team players, they have a side hustle, they may threaten to leave, and they may even carry out their threat.