Generation Z includes those who were born from about 1996 to 2012. Employers often consider these people overly demanding The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them / The New York Times , fiercely defending personal boundaries Gen Z job hunters are more worried about a company’s reputation than layoffs, survey says / Insider and accused of not wanting The Great Resignation generation: Gen Z wants to job hop / Axios work in one place. In short, business representatives are not ready "Greedy and lazy zoomers": why companies are dissatisfied with the work of young people / RBC to the fact that young people do not plan to go to the starting positions and work there from dawn to dusk for a bowl of rice. And ordinary older employees consider this approach unfair: they suffered, and these newcomers want a simple life right away.
But what if you don't have to suffer? Here are a few lessons that zoomers could teach older generations.
Zoomers are often accused of being detached from reality. They want to get as much at the start as they pay specialists with several years of experience. That doesn't sound fair. But what if you look at the problem from a different angle. Maybe it's not the zoomers who want a lot, but everyone else gets little? Is it just that older people don't have the courage to ask for more money because they grew up in different conditions?
Many older employees were faced with the fact that the employer answered any claims: "Write a statement, there are a million more of them behind the fence in your place." People have experienced the 90s when they themselves or their parents faced difficulties in finding a job. Therefore, it seems that if you lose this position, you may be left without any earnings at all.
Young people often do not have such an injury, but there are relatively well-off parents who will support them while viewing vacancies . And you can snort that adults are sitting on someone's neck. But let's look at everything strategically.
The relationship between job seekers and potential employers is also a market that is regulated by supply and demand. While there are many cheaper options for "goods" of similar quality, the employer can choose. So the fact that average salaries are so small, there is also our universal contribution.
Moreover, the Zoomer strategy is supported by the state of the labor market Monitoring of enterprises. April 2023 / Bank of Russia : there are fewer job seekers than there are jobs. This is primarily due to demographics. The birth rate in the 90s left much to be desired. After the early 2000s, she grew up, but many of those children have not yet gone to work. The situation is also aggravated by other processes, such as migration.
Of course, when it comes to survival, you don't have to go through a lot of sentences. But in general, the Zoomer approach should be adopted. Any work should be paid adequately, even if a person is at the bottom of the career ladder. And within the framework of charity , you can help someone who needs it, and not a commercial enterprise.
People of older generations are more strict about embedding in the hierarchical system of the company and subordination. If the boss says to dig from the fence to lunch, then this should be done, even if they do not have a quarry, but dentistry. Someone takes this position because the management knows better, someone - because they do not want to waste time on disputes, if it is easier to quickly complete the task and go about their business.
Zoomers tend to ask questions, why do all this, is it really necessary. More senior bosses may perceive this as a riot, although in reality nothing terrible is happening. In fact, it is easier for an employee to cope with a task if he understands why he is solving it. Zoomers are less willing to do, do not understand, than in the workplace from nine to six, if only they were paid, although they are often accused of laziness .
But is there a reluctance to engage in meaningless things from laziness? According to surveys Generation Z in the labor market. Hays Research / HR Portal , one of the career values for zoomers is the opportunity to develop. 54% of respondents want to solve interesting tasks, 36% of young people hope to perceive their leader as a mentor and mentor.
Zoomers are determined to see the results of their activities and understand the value of their work. And this view of work is worth borrowing from them. Work matters occupy a significant part of our day. And if we spend this period with meaning and pleasure, life becomes much more pleasant.
Zoomers are more sensitive to observing their boundaries, which older generations often treat contemptuously. They say that they grew up weak sissies and just that they express complaints. But let's face it: it bothers anyone when the boss calls at three in the morning or asks to go out on a day off. More adults are also offended when they are unpleasantly joked about, but they laugh in response so as not to seem vulnerable. They get angry when the director covers them with a three-story obscenity, because why would anyone yell at them at all. Only the zoomers at the same time find the strength not to tolerate and directly declare that this is not possible with them.
And this is actually a power that is also better to get. Sometimes it is enough to mark the boundaries once so that an unpleasant thing does not happen again. And patience is a dubious benefactor.
It seems that when it's not in your youth to spend all the time at work to build a great career. There is still no family, children, parents are young and do not need help. But there is another point: we will never be 20 years old again. And 30 too, and 40. The idea that now a person will lay down his bones in the name of some idea, and then, finally, he will live, is smelly. Because that delayed moment of happiness may never come.
Therefore, work-life balance is important. There is, so to speak, time to collect stones, and there is time to pay with them in bars on Friday evening. Zoomers are ready Age of consent for recycling: what zoomers and millennials are willing to sacrifice for a career / Forbes sacrifice something for the sake of work, but in general, it is very important for them to have free time that they can spend on themselves. Therefore, they treat overwork, calls outside of school hours and the like negatively. And that's right. If an emergency at work happens sometimes, it's uncritical, you can put a little more effort for the sake of overall success. If the situation is constant, it's a matter of an improperly organized process.
The balance of work and rest does not interfere with a person, but helps — for example, to avoid burnout and not put yourself in a situation where you are offered a promotion, but your only desire is to lie face down in a pillow.
Zoomers change jobs more often Gen Z workers change jobs more often than any other generation because they’re prioritizing happiness, high expectations, and raises / Insider than representatives of other generations. Young people are more fearless in this sense: 72% of the survey participants are even ready to radically change their profession if they realize that they do not like the current one.
Perhaps this way is not suitable for everyone. But the very understanding that a person is not held hostage at his job, he can leave when he does not like it, makes him feel freer.
