Generation Z needs new work structures

Members of Generation Z are those born between 1995 and 2010. These young people have already started their careers or will be in the world of work in a few years' time. Generation Z can look forward to their working lives with confidence, as they are the few people in demand for many vacancies.

The digital transformation and globalization also make it necessary to rethink traditional work structures. Flexible working hours and meaningful work are the sought-after criteria. 

The central question of Gen Z: Does my work make sense? 

For Generation Z, the search for meaning and self-realization come before earning money. Gen Z is looking for a deeper meaning in their working life. They also rank values such as family and friends above material values. They define themselves less by professional success. They want to be able to recognize the value that their work and the company contributes to society as a whole. The company should be able to answer these questions of meaning. What values does the company actually have? If the day-to-day work demands so much from the employee, who does it all serve? 

Employers who want to be considered by Generation Z need to offer something special in terms of salary, working hours, corporate culture and working conditions and rethink their approach. As work is a big part of their lives, Z-ers want a trusting and positive workplace environment. They want the trust they place in their employer to be repaid by the employer's trust. 

Authoritarian upbringing has almost disappeared from the lives of Generation Z. They hardly know any authoritarian behavior from their elders. Young people strive for self-realization and want flat hierarchies. Obeying a boss unconditionally is by no means desirable. Instead, the focus is on a constructive exchange with superiors in which their own ideas and criticism are taken seriously. The self-confident members of Generation Z are used to working independently. Their work also works well for them without direct supervision from their boss. The free organization of working hours plays a special role here. It should be flexible and not just cover the nine-to-five period. Young employees want their working hours to be as creative and flexible as their work. 

What does Generation Z need for motivation? What is their attitude to work? The successful implementation of a project can entice them just as much as winning an internal competition. If they can make a personal contribution to the company's success, they are motivated. In general, they are interested in professional challenges and personal development through further training. If the employer offers opportunities for development and variety in everyday working life, they will have a positive attitude towards work. Gen Z employees are motivated by the fact that their workplace is equipped with state-of-the-art hardware. They will be able to fully develop their skills here. This is because they have extensive knowledge of Facebook & Co. and know how to use these media in marketing. After all, this generation has grown up with the latest media and masters them in their sleep.

New Work makes work attractive for Generation Z

Digitization is creating new job profiles that make completely new forms of collaboration possible. The job of content manager for social media requires much more creativity from employees than a rigid nine-to-five job. Professional competence is more important than inflexible adherence to outdated work structures. This is where trust-based work can have a particularly strong impact. 

The realization of New Work is implemented in new work processes. In the networked world, ideas and projects are shared quickly and working from home is flexible and decentralized. It works by networking with others via tools, data can be accessed via clouds and meetings are just as easily held via video conferencing with participants in completely different locations. A web-based messaging service such as Slack helps with uncomplicated conversations with individual team members or the entire team, which can also be scattered all over the world. 

How does trust-based working time work? By setting clear and quite demanding targets. Along the lines of: this week you write the offer to the ABC Group and then you call the 40 new customers. The targets make any conventional time recording superfluous. The focus is on achieving the targets, not on attendance based on weekly hours. Generation Z is challenged and never bored. If Gen Z employees can be involved in decision-making processes, the entrepreneur demonstrates trust.

The way young members of Generation Z work is in the spirit of an intrapreneur. The intrapreneur is the entrepreneur in the company. The Z-ers bring a high sense of responsibility and independent action, which is similar to entrepreneurial action. Generation Z employees find the flat hierarchies and open forms of communication they desire here. Special training is provided to compensate for any lack of knowledge, for example in cost thinking, customer orientation and project management. Companies such as 3M, Intel and Google work successfully with their young Generation Z employees in entrepreneurship programs.

Conclusion

A few sought-after successors from Generation Z - only around four to six million of them - will be entering the workforce in 2020. If you want to be the winner in the competition for the best talent, you should focus on their wishes.

The focus is on the meaning of work, because without meaning, Generation Z may as well leave work alone. The "New Work" thesis was founded by social philosopher Frithjof Bergmann (back in the 1970s and 1980s). Technical progress through machines saves people work - keyword Industry 4.0. This is why these people can ask: "What do you really want to do and achieve in your working life?" A working life purely for material security is then no longer the order of the day. The question of meaning can be asked and must be answered. 

Flexibility is the order of the day in the new world of work. No fixed working hours and mobile work locations. Mobile users work from their home office or open-plan office with resources that are available anytime and anywhere. The standard five-day week is a thing of the past. Employers can and should trust Generation Z employees. Strict control is no longer necessary or desired. 

Gen Z-ers want to be taken seriously. Flat hierarchies with good communication create the trusting relationships they value. If the company can offer them insight into decisions and comprehensible actions, Generation Z will reward them with trust. 

Ultimately, employers' trust will be rewarded, because once you have motivated your Generation Z employees, they are unstoppable.