How Bitcoin Can Help Employers Attract Gen Z Talent
No matter your industry, as an employer, attracting Gen Z talent is crucial for your company’s success in the decades to come. This is often easier said than done, especially for businesses in industries that don’t seem exciting to young workers.
By accepting bitcoin payments, paying employees in BTC, and adding the asset to your corporate balance sheet, you can signal to this digitally-native generation that your company is prepared for the future. This can help attract Gen Z employees who often seek employment in companies that demonstrate longevity and forward-thinking.
Why care about Gen Z talent?
Whether you’re a tech company or HVAP repair, young talent is key to successful growth. While more seasoned employees bring experience, Gen Z employees bring many advantages to the workplace:
- Native fluency with digital tools and platforms
- Quick adaptation to new technologies
- Strong digital communication skills
- Fresh perspectives and energy
- Advocacy for diverse perspectives that can differentiate your company
Overall, Gen Z workers bring an entrepreneurial mindset to the workplace that can’t necessarily be taught to previous generations who have spent decades mired deep in the corporate world. Therefore, companies that can attract top-tier Gen Z talent may have a leg up in their competition.
The next generation is bitcoin first-movers
Gen Zers are already literate in digital assets and even prefer them to traditional asset classes. A recent survey found that Gen Z is more likely to own crypto than stocks, with another showing that the same demographic is just as likely to own cryptocurrency as real estate. Examples of Gen Zers adopting bitcoin abound, like a highly touted high school athlete agreeing to take some of his name image and likeness (NIL) earnings in bitcoin, a potential sign of things to come.
This bitcoin adoption by Gen Z is projected to grow not just because of their digital-first mindset, but also due to their increase in amassed wealth. Merill Lynch estimates that Gen Z will inherit $11 trillion over the next two decades from their baby boomer parents and/or grandparents.
The alignment of Gen Z values and bitcoin
Gen Z cares deeply about the impact of their work and strives to be part of something bigger than themselves. While critics often dismiss bitcoin as an energy-intensive speculation vehicle, the evidence demonstrates its substantial positive impact on both society and the environment. Bitcoin has proven to:
- Mitigate methane emissions and help combat global warming by capturing and utilizing flare gas for mining operations.
- Enable renewable energy development by providing baseline demand for remote solar and wind installations, making previously unviable green energy projects economically feasible.
- Serve as a lifeboat for citizens in high-inflation countries and economic instability.
- Democratize financial access in developing nations through its permissionless, borderless network.
Bitcoin's growing adoption in emerging markets demonstrates its vital role in promoting financial inclusion and economic freedom. From Argentina to Zimbabwe, communities are using bitcoin to preserve wealth, conduct commerce, and resist currency devaluation. This real-world impact aligns perfectly with Gen Z's desire for purposeful work and social change.
By integrating bitcoin into your business operations, you signal to potential Gen Z employees that your company understands and supports their values. Even if your core business isn't explicitly focused on social impact, bitcoin adoption connects your organization to a broader movement for financial inclusion, environmental sustainability, and economic freedom.
Bitcoin as a hiring competitive advantage
The traditional employer-employee relationship often creates tension, with both sides trying to maximize value extraction. This is compounded by today’s remote-first environment, where employees have unprecedented job mobility and companies must find new ways to create lasting alignment that retains young talent.
Bitcoin offers a unique solution by providing compensation that aligns long-term interests. Unlike traditional equity, which ties employees solely to company performance, bitcoin compensation gives employees exposure to a global digital asset that preserves purchasing power over time. When you offer bitcoin payment options or maintain it in your corporate treasury, you demonstrate both financial innovation and a commitment to employee wealth preservation.
This alignment extends beyond compensation. By adopting bitcoin, companies signal their openness to challenging traditional systems and embracing technological evolution – values that resonate strongly with Gen Z workers. This creates a stronger foundation for lasting professional relationships and shows potential employees that you understand their vision of the future.
How to engage employees with bitcoin
Now that you understand how bitcoin can attract Gen Z talent to your organization, there are several things you can do to integrate bitcoin into your business that aren’t as complex or daunting as you might think. Each of these actions is poised to make your company more attractive to tech-forward, Gen Z talent.
Accept bitcoin payments
If you choose to accept bitcoin for your services, you'll likely be one of the first companies to do so, regardless of your industry. Implementation can be as simple as setting up a corporate bitcoin wallet and providing invoice options in both fiat and bitcoin. This demonstrates your company's commitment to financial innovation while potentially attracting clients who prefer to pay in bitcoin.
Pay employees in bitcoin
Allowing your employees to take bitcoin in lieu of their standard fiat paycheck can give them a direct line to the digital asset. Many bitcoiners view their work as value-for-value, meaning, they provide a valued service to the customer (sometimes on behalf of their employer) and therefore should be compensated with value that won't inflate away over time. After all, if an employee made $1,000 in 2020, it would hold about $870 in today's value, whereas if they had used the same $1,000 to buy bitcoin, they would own 0.1 BTC (based on the average price of BTC in 2020), which has only grown in value over the years.
This example shows why Gen Z employees, who grew up on digitally-native platforms, might value taking their salary or commission payments in bitcoin. Consider offering:
- Optional bitcoin allocation for regular paychecks
- Performance bonuses paid in bitcoin
- bitcoin-based retirement savings options
- Annual bitcoin purchase programs
Hold BTC on your balance sheet
In recent years we've seen many corporations begin to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets. It's not just MicroStrategy anymore: it's companies across industries and localities choosing to add the digital asset in their corporate treasury. And because data on private companies is not public, there's no telling how many other businesses have adopted the same strategy.
This is in large part thanks to new cryptocurrency accounting rules established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) that allow companies to account for certain crypto assets using fair value accounting rather than the previous "intangible asset" model.
To implement this strategy:
- Start with a small allocation to test the waters.
- Develop clear custody solutions and security protocols.
- Create a bitcoin treasury management policy.
- Document your bitcoin strategy for stakeholders and potential employees.
Your pathway to younger, more talented employees
As the workplace continues to evolve and Gen Z becomes an increasingly important part of the talent pool, companies must adapt their strategies to attract and retain top performers. Incorporating bitcoin into your business model isn't just about adding a trendy technology, it's about positioning your company at the forefront of financial innovation and demonstrating your commitment to the future.
This blog post is an excerpt from our eBook, The Business Case for Bitcoin. Get your free copy for over 80 pages of insights.
