Work as much as my parents? No, thank you!
It is an apparently invariable habit of social researchers to categorise generations by letter. X were the sceptics, Y the unconventional. Now it's Z's turn. For orientation: Generation X was born between 1960 and 1980, Y followed from 1980 to 1995. Z generally refers to everyone under 20, although researchers set the bar slightly differently. These young people are the employees of tomorrow. Society would do well to address their demands, as young people are urgently needed - by skilled workers and contributors alike.
The basis of Generation Z
If you want to understand Generation Z, you have to take a look at its predecessors. They have been researched more thoroughly than any age cohort before. They are today's twenty to mid-thirties, known as Generation Y. In English, Y is pronounced like «why». That suits these young adults who question everything. They were the first to grow up in a digitally networked world, with increasing global conflicts characterising their youth. Having learnt that nothing is certain anymore, these young people took a tactical approach to their lives, says youth researcher Klaus Hurrelmann. They always kept all their options open and found it difficult to commit themselves. However, they are also characterised by their idealism. «Before money comes the desire to be able to shape something in your job that you think is important,» says Hurrelmann.
The new generation wants regular working hours, open-ended contracts and clearly defined job structures.
Self-determined working hours, flat hierarchies and meaningful work are in demand. If young people see these demands met, they are highly motivated, and not just during working hours. Significantly, Generation Y has inspired business economists to create the term work-life blending, which refers to the fusion of life and work. In the belief that the dream job exists, Generation Y invests a lot - in long training programmes and projects that broaden their horizons. «This is to be welcomed,» says Hurrelmann, «but it harbours the danger of ending up in a permanent provisional position.» Human resources management expert Christian Scholz is convinced that this will not happen to today's young people. He is a professor of business administration at Saarland University and researches Generation Z. «They tick differently and will pose challenges for the labour market,» says Scholz. Companies will have to deal with realists who are not tempted by rosy promises, but demand predictability.
Practical conveniences before questions of meaning
«Generation Z wants regular working hours, open-ended contracts and clearly defined job structures,» Scholz knows from his youth surveys. Young people have little interest in spending themselves on work - also because they have exposed the idealistic ideas of their predecessor generation as castles in the air. A career as a vocation - this dream has only materialised for very few people in their thirties. «Instead, the burn-out rate is rising in this age group,» says Scholz, «many have worked hard without realising themselves or achieving any significant material comfort. Instead, relationships have broken down and there are no children.» This has a deterrent effect on young people. They put the desire for practical comforts above questions of meaning: in a job, financial security is just as important as the fun factor, and young women and men are also keen to cultivate their private lives, i.e. to separate them from their careers. Reading emails at the weekend? No way, says Scholz. «Trust-based working hours» are no longer a lure for Generation Z, but imply, to put it bluntly, a compulsion to self-exploitation. The same applies to performance-related pay systems and fixed-term contracts. Companies need to rethink their strategies: «What Generation Y still sees as attractive is already putting off the employees of tomorrow.»
Desire for a secure workplace
Statements about how the next generation will shape the world of work should be treated with caution, criticises youth researcher Hurrelmann. «What young people say today with regard to their future,» he assumes, «they will not be able or willing to realise in all respects.» But he sees similar trends to Scholz. Hurrelmann is co-author of the Shell Youth Studies. In the most recent one from 2015, he says, job security was the top priority for 95 per cent of respondents when it came to career expectations. Ideational aspects were in second place: Nine out of ten young people said it was important to be able to contribute ideas, and just as many wanted meaningful work. However, young people under 20 weighted the desire for fulfilment in working life more moderately than their predecessor generation.
Self-protection, not laziness
And they uphold the family, career or not. This is also shown by an analysis by the University of Bern, which has been analysing the educational decisions of secondary school pupils since 2012. When asked what was important to them in their future career, 70 per cent of 14 and 15-year-olds said that work should leave them enough time for their family. The Shell study reflects this trend: nine out of ten young people state that family and children should not be neglected due to work. Two thirds therefore want clearly regulated working hours, and less than half consider overtime to be necessary if they want to achieve something.
It is important to future employees that their work leaves them enough time for their family.
This has nothing to do with laziness, says Hurrelmann, but is a form of self-protection in the digital age: «Today, work is possible anywhere and at any time. If you don't set boundaries, you won't be able to rest.» According to Hurrelmann, digitalisation also influences the strengths and weaknesses of tomorrow's employees. «They can obtain, absorb and utilise information at lightning speed,» says the researcher. However, those who are constantly exposed to new stimuli thanks to smartphones and the like are also less able to concentrate. There is also a lack of perseverance: «Young people are used to instant feedback from the digital world. Problems with no imminent solution in sight are difficult for many.» Generation Z also feels no loyalty to their employer, says business economist Scholz: «If a better promise beckons, they're gone.» Anyone who reduces them to a generation of tacticians is not doing them justice. «What really stands out is their striving for harmony,» says Scholz. «We can learn a lot from young people by setting different priorities and not seeing work-life balance as an empty phrase.»
Image: fotolia.com
This text was published as part of our major dossier «Youth 2016 - Generation well-behaved».
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