There is a lot of confusion nowadays when it comes to defining who belongs to which generation and why. People that are well into their older years tend to criticize young groups of so-called “Millennials” for their vanity, lack of common sense and smartphone obsession. But who are they actually talking about, and more importantly, is what they’re saying true?
The Millennial generation’s oldest members were born all the way back in 1979, and its youngest in 1995. The youth of today is thus part of Generation Z – born between 1996 and 2010. And while politicians and self-declared experts tend to present them in a negative light, they will be the ones to revolutionize the world.
How Gen Z Will Change the Workplace
A 2014 article published by Psychology Today made a statement that sounded bold back then: By the coming of 2015, 75 percent of employees will be composed of Millennials. It’s 2018 now, and we can safely say that is true. Their novelty values and approaches challenged and reshaped the professional landscape entirely.
But Generation Z is growing up and soon enough they’ll join the workforce, too. However, just because they’re tweens and teens now, it doesn’t mean they don’t know what they want to do with their lives. And surprisingly enough, their career objectives are vastly different from those of Millennials. What are their career objectives?
A Propensity for Office Jobs
According to TIME Magazine, a global survey conducted by Future Workplace in partnership with Randstad has revealed that the youth of today can’t wait to work in an office. While their predecessors grew sick and tired of the concept and dreamed of having jobs that allow them to stay at home or be mobile, Gen Z is a lot more traditional about career options.
More than 36 percent of them expressed their desire to be employed in an office, which is a 20 percent increase from 2014. Meanwhile, the response among Millennials dwindled in the same timeframe, dropping from 47 percent to 37 percent in just two years. The number of Millennials who preferred working from home also nearly doubled.
Direct Approach to Goal Pursuit
Members of Gen Z will be far more likely to get what they want faster when they join the workforce. This is due to their renowned “pester power,” a compendium of verbal negotiation and bribing techniques they employ in relationship with their parents and peers to make sure their desires are always fulfilled. While older generations perceive them as manipulative because of this, imagine the kind of change this can bring to the job industry. By developing these skills while in their early teenage years, these kids will be much more direct in pursuing their careers once they begin.
Improved Corporate Communication
While Millennials are strongly adept when it comes to virtual communication, Forbes Magazine discloses a surprising fact about their successors: even though Gen Zers are true digital natives, they will, in fact, be much more prone to direct, face-to-face communication, especially on the job. There is a simple explanation for this: These kids grew up watching Millennials (some of them being their parents) get criticized by Gen X for relying on technology too much and forgetting how to live their lives. While they themselves understand the benefits of this, it is deeply ingrained in their minds that there are plenty of negative aspects to it as well.
More Independence in the Workplace
While Millennials are clearly obsessed with being mentored by their bosses, young people nowadays tend to be a lot more professionally independent. In complete accord with their notorious hands-on style, they want to do things their way and learn from their own experiences.
Every single person living today has something important to contribute, and that will soon include Generation Z. Although they are now often overlooked, soon they will be taking over the market – both as consumers and as employees. Thanks to their no-frills approach and propensity for office employment and direct communication, the youth of today will soon revolutionize the job industry and the world as we know it.
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