A boss receives a lot of support for her videos on TikTok because she represents the values of Generation Z by declining vacation days for good reasons.
Who is the leader of Gen Z? Elizabeth Beggs is a 28-year-old executive in a packaging distribution company. There, she is responsible as the director of customer service for a team of five. Previously, she served in the U.S. military, where she directed training sessions for recruits as a drill sergeant and met her husband.
On TikTok, Beggs shares insights into her work as an executive. In her most successful video (over 5.2 million views), she explains why she declines vacation days requested by her employees. She receives a lot of support in the 9,600 comments. This is also reflected in the nearly 700,000 “likes.”
Vacation days are meant for relaxation
Why does she decline vacation days? Beggs explains in the video that vacation days are, in her opinion, meant to rest and recharge, and not to deal with “life-changing events” or medical emergencies.
She reports an instance where an employee wanted to request a vacation day because she feared having a miscarriage. Beggs declined the request and sent her to the doctor without deducting a vacation day – with full pay. That was a medical emergency and not something the employee should need a vacation day for.
Another example she shares involves an employee with children. He informed her that he would come in a bit late because he had been awake all night. She replied that he need not worry and that she understood, as he had a baby at home. Beggs knew this because she herself is a mother of four. However, the employee explained that his oldest child was in the hospital and the mother was with him. He was awake because he had to find care for the child.
Beggs then told him to go to the hospital to be with his oldest child, spend time with the baby, and not come to work. She also didn’t care that he had no vacation days left to request.
Executives work for the team, not the other way around
What is behind this mindset? Beggs explains in further videos that she works for her team as an executive and not the other way around. She sees her role as making her employees better. It is important to her to know her team so that she can work with them as effectively as possible. She cares about the mental and physical health of the team.
Why does this make her a leader of Gen Z? At 28, Beggs is part of Generation Z, which includes people born roughly between 1995 and 2010. Generation Z can increasingly be found in more offices and is also becoming bosses themselves.
Generation Z is generally said to be very health-conscious, especially concerning their work. For many, it means: “My health/my well-being is more important than my job.” Beggs, who is part of this generation, exemplifies this principle as a leader and also looks out for the health of her employees.
Similar advice comes from an expert on corporate management when dealing with Generation Z. She says it is important for executives to genuinely care about employees, show mutual respect, and model teamwork. You can find out more about it here: Expert explains why bosses perceive young employees of Generation Z as disrespectful
