Teacher retention is a topic that, although often studied, continues to display troubling trends in America's public schools. South Carolina is no exception to the trend. Data from recent years indicate overall decreases in teacher retention, especially among the least experienced teachers with 5 or fewer years of classroom experience. Generation Z educators, the newest generation to enter the teaching workforce, have been little studied, based on a literature review. The study was designed for Generation Z participants to add to the chorus of voices represented by the other generations in the education workplace: Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y (referred to as Millennials from this point forward). The study is among the first to investigate the experiences of Generation Z teachers in the public education field, the newest cohort of educators. The study's primary research lens was hermeneutic phenomenology, allowing the researcher to interpret the narratives provided by eight Generation Z participants through hermeneutic circle analysis. Two secondary research lenses further supported the study, those of organizational culture and job motivation theory, specifically regarding teacher retention. The study aimed to understand better Generation Z's lived experiences to illuminate enhancers or inhibitors that might affect a Generation Z teacher's decision to stay in the classroom. The study described South Carolina Generation Z teachers' experiences with eight enhancers and inhibitors that have affected previous generations: teacher preparation and induction programs, poverty, classroom management, building infrastructure and the classroom environment, effective feedback through mentorship, administrative leadership behaviors and styles, standardized testing, and teacher pay. The study employed hermeneutic phenomenology data analysis of eight interview transcripts to illuminate seven essential themes across the participant responses: (1) supportive feedback; (2) relationships; (3) acknowledgment; (4) trial by fire; (5) teaching as a calling; (6) safety, and (7) the desire for autonomy. The study's implications address how its Generation Z participants differ from the literature on the generational cohort and how they are similar to other generational cohorts in the education workforce today. Also included are suggestions for best practices to retain Generation Z teachers; namely, providing high-quality mentors evaluated for effectiveness and continuing to fund pay step increases and incentives. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]