Background & Purpose: In recent years, the entry of Generation Z into the labor market, with its unique characteristics, has posed new challenges for organizations. This generation seeks a supportive, flexible, and participatory work environment, and traditional human resource management approaches fail to meet their expectations. The main objective of this study is to develop a supportive organizational culture model aimed at retaining Generation Z employees in Iran’s public sector.
Methodology: This research is qualitative in nature and applied in purpose. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. The study sample consisted of 19 individuals, including academic experts, specialists, and managers from public organizations in Ilam city, selected through snowball sampling. To ensure research validity, content validity was utilized and confirmed. Reliability was assessed using the researcher triangulation strategy (two coders), and the results were validated.
Findings: The findings led to the identification of 125 initial open codes, which were categorized into 18 sub-themes and 6 main themes. These main themes include: supportive and interactive leadership; justice, safety, and psychological well-being; emphasis on individual growth and continuous learning; human communication and participatory culture; diversity, flexibility, and Generation Z’s lifestyle; and motivation, meaning, and organizational connectedness.
Conclusion: The results indicate that Generation Z requires a distinctly different work environment compared to previous generations. The study highlights the necessity of establishing a participatory and human-centered organizational culture within public institutions. Such a culture is essential for enhancing retention, motivation, and productivity among Generation Z employees.