How Gen Z will affect the future workflow

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We have heard a lot about the generation of baby boomers, read a lot about, from somewhere we remember the beautiful name “lost generation”. But we don't know much about Generation Z and Alpha. Let's try to fill in the gaps: read our article on how the newly born Gen Z will change the workflow in the future.

The lines between generations are often quite blurred. It often happens that at our workplace we have to intersect with a fairly large number of people of different ages. We all live at the same time and are forced to interact with each other, even though sometimes our skills and competencies differ significantly.

Demographers tend to segment the world's population into eight generations.

1. Lost Generation - born in 1880-1900.

2. The Greatest Generation, the generation of the winners (The Greatest Generation) - born in 1901-1924.

3. Silent Generation - born in 1925-1945.

4. Baby Boomers (Baby Boom Generation) - born in the era of the population explosion, in the years 1946-1964.

5. Generation X, unknown generation (Generation X) - born in 1965-1982.

6. Generation Y, Millennials (Generation Y) - born from 1983 to the mid-1990s.

7. Generation Ζ, generation "YAYAYA" (Generation MeMeMe) - born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s.

8. Generation Alpha - born after 2010. Presumably, this will be the name for all representatives of this generation born before 2025.

The workflow by 2020 will be as follows: representatives of as many as five generations will have to work together (Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z). These five generations have a much longer life span than the lost and greatest.

According to recent studies, the average life expectancy in the United States is approximately 78 years. Men who have reached the age of 65 by now are expected to live to 84, and 65-year-old women to 87. The data for Russia is slightly different. The average life expectancy is 70 years: 65 for men and 76.5 for women.

The increase in life expectancy indicates that the duration of work will also increase. How will this affect the workflow in the relatively near future? Some forecasts are already known.

Prevalence of racial and ethnic minorities

Racial minorities in the United States already have higher fertility rates than whites. According to statistics, there are much more babies born in such families than those born to the white American population.

Studies have shown that white women have a significantly shorter childbearing period than those of racial minorities. This also implies the conclusion that the white population is aging much faster. By 2020, 40% of the US population will be racial minorities (according to preliminary data - Hispanics), which will no longer be so easy to call minorities in the full sense of the word.

Generation Z and Generation Alpha are indeed a huge demographic force, and in the future, humankind will seriously depend on them. In terms of workforce, this is the case: most of the baby boomer generation have already reached retirement age, but are still working. However, they are gradually losing their social and professional dominance, giving way to representatives of the younger generations.

Battle of generations

Conflict between representatives of different generations can arise due to rivalry for resources. Problems of the following kind are likely to arise: should government funds support young people and devote all their efforts to the development and financing of the education sector, or, conversely, they should turn their full attention to the representatives of the "old school" and ensure they have a decent completion of their work, coupled with excellent organization health care.

By 2020, the number of employees over 55 years old will increase significantly. They will have to share the workspace with younger colleagues, whose values and approach to labor relations differ in many ways from those to which the older generation is accustomed. Therefore, conflicts may arise due to a lack of understanding of each other's values and an absolutely opposite approach to work.

What Gen Z people are like

Generation Z is in many ways the exact opposite of all previous generations at once. Its representatives are so closely connected with the world of digital technologies that some researchers call them "mutants".

Social networks? Of course. Books? Definitely not. Video games? For sure. Sport? In no case. Speed? Yes. Patience? Not at all. We have now sketched out what the typical Gen Z world is - independent, stubborn, pragmatic and always on the move.

Everyday life

Representatives of this generation want to receive everything at once. They are used to looking for information on the Internet that they do not know, they do not mind giving big money for smartphones, but at the same time they consider it almost shameful to pay for songs and films that can be downloaded for free. All basic information Z people get from social networks.

Friends and virtual life

Gen Z people are much more used to chatting online than in person. Friends on social networks are just as important to them as real friends. There are times when they actually meet in person. Eight out of ten representatives of Gen Z have registered on social networks since the age of 16 and consider their virtual life as important as their real one.

Knowledge, interests and skills

More than once in their lives, representatives of this generation have seen how a huge number of technologies and gadgets became obsolete, and new ones came to replace them. That is why they have developed a special approach to the learning process: people of generation Z have finally become "self-educators." They will not wait for someone to offer them help, but simply go to YouTube and watch the next training video.

According to recent research, most of this generation spend an average of three to four hours in front of a computer screen. They live in constant fear of missing out on something important. They are tormented even by the thought that something new and exciting has passed by.

Social media is their main drug. Facebook, a constantly updated feed with photos on Instagram, lightning-fast messages in instant messengers, the ubiquitous Twitter and Tumblr, video blogging … They easily search for information and think that they can do almost anything with the Internet.

However, this affects attentiveness: the speed of information perception increases, and the concentration of attention constantly decreases. They have a habit of glancing around, not remembering. The learning process often suffers from this.

Generation Z and work

This is the generation that wants to create their own company, run their own business. Generation Z people don't want to be ordinary employees, they want to become private entrepreneurs. Approximately 76% of young people would like to turn their hobby into their main source of income. They also do not rule out the possibility that they can become famous through social networks.

Representatives of this generation will soon begin (or have already begun) their labor activity, so it is important to consider what labor values and ideals they can bring to the work process.

Here are the 5 most important things every leader needs to know to be productive with the youngest group of employees.

They are very honest

More than half of Gen Z believe that honesty is one of their most important leadership qualities. This generation is looking for leaders who clearly and holistically see the organization of the workflow. Unlike previous generations, they see leadership as a privilege. This means that leaders and managers must really work and succeed to prove their credibility and competence before they can gain the trust of Generation Z.

They are more adventurous

Most of this generation have an entrepreneurial streak, but that doesn't mean they all want to have their own business. Rather, their attention is focused on achieving a certain result and observing what specific benefits are obtained from completing a particular task. It is important for them to have an idea of how the current daily tasks will affect the long-term prospects of the company. This generation may work harder and harder than previous generations, but it’s important for leaders to make it clear that Gen Z’s contributions matter.

They don't like a tight schedule

They are not interested in the usual five- or six-day work week, they are more attracted to the free schedule. Since this generation grew up immersed in technology, its representatives do not feel tied to a specific workplace, since they know that they can work from almost anywhere with the Internet and a computer. As an indicator of work efficiency for them, a specific result is used, and not eight hours of daily being in the office at a desk.

They prefer to discuss issues in person

Despite the fact that it is easier for people of this generation to communicate online, they still prefer to discuss many issues face to face with the interlocutor. In this way, they try to establish and consolidate existing social ties that provide them with the guarantee that they are needed and important in the work collective.

They know what they want

Their career and life goals begin to take shape at a much younger age. According to research, about 50% of Gen Z members already know what they want to do in the future when they graduate from school.

Unlike Gen Y, Gen Z does not seek to change jobs immediately after they don't like something. They plan to stay with the same company for a long time, rather than jumping back and forth trying to find the perfect place.

This generation is more entrepreneurial and independent, less money-centered and tends to work remotely. Apparently, it’s not so bad.;)