“Gen Zers, many of whom have never set foot in an office, want an environment that fosters open communication and individual accountability along with training and learning opportunities, whether they work in the office or from home.”
ALIZA SWEIRY UK MANAGING DIRECTOR, AQUENT
The hybrid working headache is not shifting but intensifying. It is a straightforward calculation to work out that by the end of the decade, members of Generation Z — born between 1997 and 2012 — will make up around 30% of the workforce. Yet where they want to work, and thrive, is much harder to determine right now.
A flurry of recent reports analyzing whether Gen Zers would prefer to be in the office or work remotely are wildly contradictory. For instance, a global report published in mid-October by workforce solutions company Aquent found that 77% of 18- to 24-year-olds are worried that remote work restricts their career progression.
Over 3,480 people were quizzed for the research, and Gen Zers were the most concerned of all age groups. Indeed, 39% of 25- to 40-year-olds answered remote work would not limit opportunities, whereas 44% of those aged 41 to 55 years old and 46% of those aged over 56 years old thought the same.
The quiet quitting trend gave rise to a lot of negative speculation about Gen Z's appetite to work as hard as previous generations. Naturally, such sweeping generalizations are riddled with falsehoods. Young people do in fact want to work hard, despite many never having worked in an office before.
The tricky part for employers, is there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but nevertheless they must improve engagement with their youngest workers, stressed Aliza Sweiry, Aquent's U.K.managing director.
This article originally appeared on Worklife.
