Soon to enter the job market, does Generation Z have very different aspirations from their elders?  We have identified the four main drivers of youth. Second episode of our series.   

STAYING FREE AND INDEPENDENT

Nearly three quarters of them want to define their work methods and schedules themselves. And while they still expect companies to propose a physical workplace where they meet, they believe in alternatives such as co-working, flex office and telecommuting and they would have trouble understanding someone restricting their nomadic lifestyle.

CONTRIBUTING TO STRATEGIC CHOICES

15- to 24-year-olds put value on being part of the strategic decisions of their company (42% versus 35% for Generation Y), from which they expect the highest level of transparency on its activities and its real social impact.

DOING EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME

These young people are multitaskers. Generation Z wants to combine several types of jobs, both salary positions and freelance ones, that use their various skillsets. Being sensitive about projects rather than positions, their relationship with time is in keeping with these brief professional changes. One third of young people expect to quit their job in the next two years.

FEELING GOOD

Generation Z thinks that it’s up to the company to ensure the well being of its employees. The drivers of this type of well being are the team atmosphere, knowledge transfer, training and the opportunity to collaborate with inspiring colleagues. To feel good, they need to be challenged. And when the pressure becomes too much, two thirds of them favour periods of telecommuting.

Sources : Mazars-Opinionway, 2019. Deloitte, Millenials survey, 2020

” I will keep an eye out the moment I join a company” 

DANY LEROUX is a Master 1 student in the Master in Management programme at NEOMA

For Dany, at first glance, the question of direction is already set: “I’m aiming towards CRS and all its components: inclusion, diversity, sustainable development, combating gender-based and sexual violence,” he said. At NEOMA, he already opted for this specialisation and is preparing for a gap year that will be focused on internships in this field. While Dany Leroux is committed, he is still wary about it. “I will keep an eye out the moment I join a company. If I feel that the CSR department is more connected to communication than anything else, then I’ll have no part in it,” he said. He does not see his generation as uniform because “like always, each person sees the world from their small point of reference.”

The young people now actually share similarities, like being born with a telephone in their hand and hearing about climate change. “That doesn’t mean that everyone is addicted to social media and committed to the planet,” Dany said. Sincere commitment. To best express its commitment, he first seeks out large groups. When ecologists of yesteryear were critical of large groups, he believes that “you find the major levers of action in the major companies. You cannot eliminate them from the equation.

So, if truly committed people don’t seek them out, who will do it?” Also, the managers that will head up these multinationals tomorrow, will they have studied the current environmental and social issues as he does in NEOMA? “If the programmes change, so will the companies,” he said. Just as he doesn’t trust greenwashing, Dany has little time for overly simplistic sociological analyses. “Young people have points in common with other young people. That’s nothing new! I think we shouldn’t artificially make these differences any bigger. Unity is much more valuable.

First episode of our series 

The generation Z : What are its dreams ? #1 Our Director of the Talent & Career Department answers – NEOMA (neoma-bs.com)