How Gen Z are changing the standards of working life for all of us.
The modern generations are as digitally focused as it is possible to be. While even the youngest millennials know what it was like to grow up without a mobile phone, the younger Gen Z members were raised on tablets and iPads. While the older generations are quick to scoff at this changeover, it’s actually beneficial to a workforce currently facing a huge skills gap.
One of the biggest changes Gen Z and young Millennials are driving in the workforce is the shift towards remote working. Sure, this is something we saw jump exponentially during the pandemic, but even in the aftermath, the idea has stuck around.
Gen Z Prefer Hybrid Working
Gen Z are what the BBC refer to as ‘digitally native’. They grew up with the tech that the older employees had to learn as adults. This puts them at a distinct advantage when it comes to the digital skills gap. One interesting thing the report shows is that Gen Z enjoyed their return to the office. They felt they had missed out on career advancement opportunities by being confined to home working during the pandemic. Once returned, they quickly realised they also didn’t want to spend five days a week in the office.
Despite all of this, trends shown through jobsites like Hays IT Jobs have noted a huge uptake in the number of remote working roles available. This is probably because remote work benefits everyone involved. The businesses who use it get to cut out the massive overheads that offices cost them. By going fully remote, you are indemnifying yourself against a world of office upkeep costs. You can skip out on vending machine contracts and stop worrying about tech as much.
Millennials and Remote Work
Oddly, it is Millennials who are driving the change towards fully remote work. Perhaps this is understandable, given that older Millennials are in their forties now. They have worked their way up the corporate ladders to become the managers who are driving change towards remote work. When surveyed, a Forbes report suggests that they believe work-life balance is better when they have the ability to work from home.
Millennials are not trending towards hybrid working at all. Rather, they are the ones closing their leases down and moving online. Remote work means freedom for those who have spent the first 20 years of their careers working 9-5 only to recently realise it wasn’t even necessary.
Future Trends in Remote Work
What does this mean for the future of the workforce? We will see future trends in remote work that focus on home life, rather than office life. The Millennial mindset is that the work will get done around my day, and not the opposite way around. Gen Z still have the spark of ambition found in youngsters seeking bigger, better careers. Whatever careers they find, though, we can be sure it will be at least partially remote.
