We’re eight months into ongoing COVID-19 shutdowns and remote work, with no end in sight. In fact, states across the country are now seeing huge surges in virus cases that dwarf the highs set in the summer months.

Meanwhile, remote work has its benefits – comfy clothes, minimal (or no) makeup, no stressful commute – but there are downsides; it turns out, even for the most introverted among us, we miss the in-person interaction we once took for granted. We’re finding that valuable rapport among team members is built in the little side conversations during the day that we’re not having over video meetings. As a result, millions of people are feeling isolated.

Jolene Pringle (left) and Logan Altman (right)

This is certainly a challenge for Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2012, many of whom have recently taken or are looking for their first jobs in the corporate world. They’re missing the in-person interaction that not only helps them build relationships with their colleagues, but also forms them into productive team players in a multigenerational work environment.

Fortunately, the combination of available technology and savvy employers has eased the transition. One example is Doing Good Works (asi/222095) in Irvine, CA, a distributorship that sells branded merchandise to benefit the fostered youth community. In this episode of Promo Insiders, Sara Lavenduski, Advantages executive editor, speaks with Logan Altman, director of customer experience, and Jolene Pringle, customer experience liaison and a member of Gen Z, on what remote work has been like, the challenges of working from home and how Doing Good Works is effectively managing Gen Z employees at a distance.

Podcast Chapters:
3:02 Getting hired in 2020
4:34 Gen Z’s WFH challenges
9:00 What does remote on-boarding look like?
11:02 Quickly pivoting to distance learning
16:50 Advice for managing Gen Z

“I did all my training for my current position through Zoom calls, which was very, very different,” says Pringle. “But it couldn’t have gone better. My team was super supportive, and I’m really grateful for that.”

While video calls can’t take the place of in-person conversations, they’ve been essential for keeping the Doing Good Works team – some of whom are now working remotely from other areas of the country – in touch and collaborating.

“What we’ve certainly seen with Gen Z is a lot of face-to-face interaction is how they’re stimulated,” says Altman. “When you take that away, it’s been a bit of a challenge. So, we’ve made it a very big priority to make sure we have team meetings and check-ins every week, where we get everybody on a Zoom call. … [To] stay interconnected has been critical to keep everyone engaged.”