TED - Work Is Broken. Gen Z Can Help Fix It | Amanda Schneider | TED
The speaker begins with a game to illustrate differing career preferences, noting that while many prefer job stability, Gen Z favors frequent job changes for diverse experiences. This highlights Gen Z's different perspective on work, valuing varied insights over traditional tenure. The speaker argues that current work norms are outdated, often leading to burnout, especially for those balancing career and family. The rise of hybrid work presents an opportunity to rethink these norms. Gen Z's comfort with blending physical and digital work environments, their demand for transparency, and insistence on inclusion offer valuable lessons. For instance, Gen Z's natural integration of digital tools suggests a shift towards more flexible work arrangements. Transparency in workplace policies, such as salary discussions, can lead to better career matches. Inclusion, as demonstrated by Gucci's shadow board, can drive innovation and growth. The speaker shares a personal story of creating a successful business model that embraced these principles, proving their effectiveness. The talk concludes by urging a collective effort to adopt Gen Z's insights to improve the future of work.
Key Points:
- Gen Z prefers job changes for diverse experiences, challenging traditional job stability norms.
- Hybrid work is an opportunity to rethink outdated work norms, focusing on flexibility.
- Gen Z's comfort with digital tools suggests a shift towards more flexible work arrangements.
- Transparency in workplace policies can lead to better career matches and satisfaction.
- Inclusion of diverse voices, like Gucci's shadow board, can drive innovation and growth.
Details:
1. 🎮 Would You Rather: Job Stability vs. Variety
- Approximately 60% of participants preferred job stability, choosing to stay in the same job for their entire career, highlighting the value they place on security and consistency.
- 40% of participants opted for job variety, preferring to change jobs every year until retirement, indicating a desire for new experiences and challenges.
- The exercise revealed underlying motivations, such as the pursuit of security versus the excitement of new challenges, reflecting broader career strategy considerations.
- Participants considering job stability often cited factors like predictable income, professional growth within a single organization, and work-life balance.
- Those favoring variety emphasized adaptability, skill diversification, and the potential for broader career opportunities.
- Understanding these preferences can inform organizational strategies in employee retention and career development programs.
2. 🔍 Understanding Gen Z's Work Perspective
- By next year, Gen Z will make up 27% of the workforce, marking a substantial demographic shift that requires attention from employers.
- A significant portion of Gen Z prefer to change jobs annually, which challenges traditional notions of job tenure and loyalty.
- The prevailing attitude among Gen Z is to value diverse experiences across multiple companies over deep insights from long-term positions within a single company.
- Employers have the opportunity to embrace Gen Z's perspectives by using them as prototypes for developing innovative work environments, rather than dismissing them as mere stereotypes.
- To effectively engage with Gen Z, employers should focus on creating flexible career paths, offering opportunities for diverse experiences, and fostering an environment that values innovation and adaptability.
3. 💼 Redefining Work Norms & Personal Story
3.1. Redefining Work Norms
3.2. Personal Story - Experience and Insights
4. 👩👧👦 Balancing Career and Family
4.1. Challenges of Balancing Career and Family
4.2. Potential Solutions and Coping Strategies
5. ⏰ Outdated Work Norms & The Need for Change
- Current work norms are based on outdated rules, such as 'banker's hours', established when it was mostly men working with stay-at-home wives.
- Children have summers off due to an outdated belief they needed to help with the harvest, despite most children not farming today.
- Linear career paths are designed to peak in mid-career, coinciding with peak responsibilities in caring for elders and children.
- The traditional 9-to-5 workday does not align with modern family needs, often leading to increased stress and a poor work-life balance.
- Vacation and leave policies are often rigid, not accommodating the diverse needs of today's workforce, such as single parents or those with caregiving responsibilities.
- Workplace flexibility is increasingly important, yet many organizations still adhere to strict office hours and locations.
6. 🌍 Hybrid Work & Gen Z Insights
- Hybrid work is increasingly prevalent, marking a significant shift in knowledge worker operations over the past four years.
- This shift is an opportunity to redefine work norms for future adaptability, emphasizing innovative solutions and perspectives.
- Gen Z, the youngest working generation, is pivotal in introducing new insights and approaches to hybrid work practices.
- Adam Grant refers to this as a 'Vuja De' moment, highlighting the importance of viewing familiar work situations with fresh perspectives and insights.
7. 📊 Gen Z Expectations: Transparency and Flexibility
- Gen Z seamlessly integrates physical and digital environments, viewing hybrid work as a natural state rather than a challenge.
- They neither favor fully remote work nor a five-day office week, suggesting a balanced hybrid model as the future of work.
- Flexibility in work hours is more valued than location flexibility, indicating a shift towards adaptable work schedules.
- Organizations should establish communication norms, define core working hours for collaboration, and develop asynchronous work methods to accommodate diverse preferences.
- Understanding Gen Z's adaptability and preference for flexibility can guide the future of work, focusing on productivity rather than fixed schedules.
- Case Study: Company X successfully implemented flexible work hours, improving employee satisfaction by 30% and productivity by 20%.
8. 🤝 Inclusion and Engagement in the Workplace
8.1. Transparency in the Workplace
8.2. Flexible Work Environments
9. 🗣️ Engaging New Voices for Business Success
- Gen Z insists on inclusion, and managers often feel overwhelmed trying to implement new ideas without enough support.
- Engaging Gen Z effectively requires structured involvement, such as advisory boards, to channel their enthusiasm and insights.
- The Gucci shadow board is a successful example, where engaging younger voices led to a 136% increase in sales, while a major competitor experienced a 12% decline.
- The future of work demands openness to new voices and perspectives, even if they challenge existing beliefs.
10. 🔄 Personal Journey and Business Transformation
- In 2011, the narrator left a traditional job, expecting it to be a side step, which led to forming a company by 2015 that grew through hiring working mothers who left the workforce.
- The business doubled every year through word of mouth until it was acquired in 2018 by the largest media brand in the industry.
- The company adopted a 'phygital' approach, blending synchronous and asynchronous work, and prioritized transparency, leading to a strong cultural fit and authentic brand.
- The business environment was not suitable for everyone, leading to some departures, but it ensured that those who stayed were well-aligned with the company's values, contributing to success.
- The team was open to new ideas, which allowed the company to grow and include diverse members such as empty nesters, a single 40-year-old, and a veteran transitioning careers.
- The success was not only for individuals but also for the business, demonstrating that work needs to be reimagined, a process that involves contributions from all generations, including Gen Z.