Wambui Gichohi, group head of HR at Liberty Group, believes organisations often misunderstand Gen Z in the workplace. She explains why workplace culture, not age, is often the deciding factor in attracting and retaining young talent.
Wambui Gichohi will tell you upfront that she does not go by Elizabeth. She is Kikuyu, and she has little interest in carrying a name that does not reflect that. It is a small declaration, but it tells you something about how she moves through the world: on her own terms, with a clear sense of who she is and what she stands for.
At home, she keeps three cats: Mama, who turned out to be male but had already learned his name before the first vet visit; Ginger and Little one, also known as Kamau. She reads widely, from fiction and non-fiction to autobiographies and books on leadership and female empowerment.
“I also enjoy road trips, sunsets and good conversations with friends over wine. I am someone who gravitates towards spaces where authentic conversations are happening,” she notes.
Changing perspectives
At work, Wambui is group head of human resources at Liberty Group, a franchise operator running eight brands across Kenya and East Africa, including Pizza Hut, Burger King, Subway, Mango, Runway and Puma. More than half of her workforce across those eight brands is Gen Z.
“I absolutely love them. I love the way they challenge the norm. I love that they are high energy. When they want to do something, they are very driven,” she says.
Wambui had considered medicine and law, partly because she is quite inquisitive, but personality tests and temperament eventually pointed her in one direction-HR.
The complaints about Gen Z in the workplace are familiar to her, that they quit without warning, they question everything and they have no loyalty. Wambui however does not agree with any of them.
In her experience at Liberty Eagle, a Gen Z team given a week’s worth of sales targets will often complete them by Wednesday.
“They find efficient ways to complete tasks and use tools, including AI, that their managers did not even know was in existence. They are very intelligent. They will find the quickest route to completing a task,” she says.
Wambui argues that organisations struggling with Gen Z should examine their workplace culture. When someone leaves after being shouted at, she says the focus should not only be on the departure but also on the conditions that contributed to it.
“If you shout at someone and they quit, it says something about your work culture. The root cause is not them leaving. The root cause is your workplace is toxic, your workplace is abusive, it is not conducive for people to deliver results,” she argues.
She also challenges the loyalty argument directly.
“An employee who stays with one organisation for 20 years and receives modest increments, is not necessarily making a rational decision. A Gen Z worker who moves every few years and increases their salary significantly is not necessarily being disloyal, they may be making a strategic career decision. Who has benefited more?” she asks.
To understand why Gen Z behaves differently at work, Wambui maintains that it is important to understand how they were raised and how that differs from previous generations.
“Millennials were raised to conform. They were often taught to follow established paths, respect authority and persevere through difficult environments. The idea of leaving a job because it was affecting their mental wellbeing was not always part of the conversation,” she observes.
She illustrates this with a moment from a recent family holiday. Her mother questioned her younger brother, who is Gen Z, over something. Where Wambui would have absorbed it quietly, her brother responded directly.
“He asked her to explain what she wanted,” she notes.
Closing the gap
The contrast she draws is not about one approach being right and the other wrong. It is about what happens when a generation raised to ask why enter workplaces shaped by generations that were encouraged to follow instructions.
“The older generation's distrust with Gen Z is that they question what the older generation accepted willingly. That questioning invokes a lot of fear because they ask the CEO whether this is what they should be doing. You are supposed to get instructions and execute them quietly,” she says.
She also points out that the curiosity Gen Z is often criticised for reflects a natural human tendency. Watch any toddler, she says, and the same inquisitiveness appears through questions about people, processes and how things work. The difference is that many people learn to suppress that curiosity as they grow older.
Wambui’s practical approach to managing Gen Z is less about policy and more about engagement. She believes organisations can maintain productivity by creating variety in work, combining different activities and providing opportunities that sustain interest.
“Know how to harness their high energy and their short attention spans. Mix it up so that tomorrow maybe they have a field activity, going to a mall to attract customers. Simple things so that they stay engaged,” she adds.
She is also consistent in one view, that organisations that want to retain Gen Z talent need to first examine what they offer employees. When the environment is respectful, the work is meaningful and questions are welcomed, she believes Gen Z can contribute strongly.
“Gen Zs are an asset to any organisation. Check your culture first and then just know how to harness them,” Wambui concludes.
