Dealing with Workplace Stressors
Is there a Backlash on Reporting Sustainability Activities/ESG?

Deloitte Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey          

Views About Workplace Conditions    

The Deloitte Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey provides food for thought regarding political, social and workplace issues. The survey connected with 22,800 respondents in 44 countries to explore their attitudes about work and the world around them. Here are four of the key findings that spark my interest.

  •  About 1/3 of Gen Z and 1/3 of millennials expect their personal finances to improve over the next year but still are uncertain about the future.
  • The majority of Gen Z (86%) and millennials (89%) say having a purpose is important to their overall job satisfaction and well-being.           
  • Environmental sustainability remains a top concern for both groups, with 62% of Gen Zs and 59% of millennials reporting feeling anxious or worried about climate change. They want governments to push business to take more climate action, and businesses to help consumers to make more sustainable choices. 
  • Gen Zs and millennials are feeling uncertain about GenAI and its potential impact on their careers, although those who Trust the technology and use GenAI say are more likely to say it will improve their work/life balance by freeing up tim

Work to Live or Live to Work

Gen Z workers are prioritizing their personal lives and well-being over working. An article in Business Insider provides some interesting results including that Gen Z is choosing to "work to live'' rather than "live to work," like previous generations, because they're reaping fewer rewards for their hard work, an expert on the future of work told Business Insider.

Business Insider observes that "Like millennials before them, Gen Zers are attracting the ire of older generations, with Gen X and boomers increasingly criticizing their perceived lack of work ethic and the dedication needed to become successful."

BI contends that "different generations love to hate on each other, but the battle between boomers and Gen Z have intensified in recent years, because the youngsters are now joining the professional world and bringing with them demands for work-life balance and flexibility."

Workplace Conditions and Gen Z

Gen Zers have grown up watching their parents and siblings suffer through the 2008 financial meltdown, Covid-19, and mass layoffs in the past two years, and as a result some have become disenchanted with corporate life.

Some are taking to TikTok to complain about their 9-to-5 jobs and even about choosing new ways of working, such as so-called "lazy-girl jobs," which are  nontechnical remote roles that pay decently, minimize coworker interaction and allow a significant level of flexibility. Gen Zs have often been criticized for their flippant attitude to work. 

This has irked some of the older generations who grew up valuing the rewards of hard work and discipline and realized that their route to success was to climb the corporate ladder. The anger has turned into public criticism from celebrities, businesspeople, and university professors.

In another survey in 2023, nearly three-quarters, or 74%, of managers and business leaders said Gen Z is the "most challenging generation" to work with, according to a ResumeBuilder.com.survey.

About 40% of that group said it's because people in this age group lack technological skills. The same proportion of managers also felt Gen Z employees — those born between 1997 and 2012 — lack motivation and get "easily distracted." Here are additional results from that survey. Gen Z

  • 49% say it’s difficult to work with GenZ all or most of the time
  • The plurality of these business leaders and managers prefer to work with Millennials
  • Top reasons they feel GenZ is difficult to work with is they lack of technological skills, effort, and motivation
  • 65% say they more commonly need to fire GenZers than employees of other generations
  • 12% have fired a GenZer less than one week after their start date
  • Being too easily offended is a top reason GenZers get fired.

These survey raise many red flags whether Gen Z and millennials will be able to sustain the work ethic from previous generations that provided fuel for economic development in the U.S. Could it be that the role of the U.S. in economic development hangs in the balance, and these generations should be tasked with following the advice provided in various surveys to increase their work ethic and make a commitment to stay with an employer, even when things get tough.

My Advice

Workplace problems come in all shapes and sizes. If left to fester, it could result in bullying behavior. As many of my readers know, they can contact me about a workplace issue and I will respond, and these communications are kept anonymous. There are 10 issues that I have provided advice on:

  • Treatment by boss makes the worker uncomfortable; smacks of workplace harassment and/or discrimination based on sex, age, and/or other discriminatory characteristic.
  • Outright sexual harassment based on race, nationality, gender, age, sexual identity.
  • Being belittled by a boss or other superior.
  • Shaming an employee in front of co-workers.
  • Being moved to a different position because one's superior prefers not to work with the individual--for no good reason.
  • Taking credit for the work of someone else.
  • Being assigned a job that the employee is not qualified for.
  • Failure to provide a safe workplace environment; a healthy one.
  • Excessive workload designed to get the employee to quit or otherwise move into a different position in the organization.
  • Being assigned a job you are not qualified for.

Workplace challenges are nothing new. What is new is the use of social media to advance one's cause in the light of workplace grievances. If you are the victim of such behavior, here is some advice:

  • Keep a journal documenting the problem; date it; name names and reactions to your complaints.
  • Speak to the person whose behavior makes you feel uncomfortable or taken advantage of. Make them aware of your concerns right away.
  • Go to the HR Department if the problem persists.
  • Consider going to top management if HR can't resolve the crisis.
  • Consider speaking to an attorney who specializes in employee/employment law.

Let me know if I can help!

Posted by Steven Mintz, Ph.D., aka Ethics Sage, on July 2, 2024. You can sign up for his newsletter and learn more about his activities at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/.

 

                                                   

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