As we have often written, the relationship with work has changed profoundly since the Covid crisis, especially among young graduates. Making a career is no longer a priority, having time for yourself is. Benefiting from telecommuting is a prerequisite for accepting a position, as are the “values” the company upholds.
This paradigm shift for some, or position for others, however, causes a certain lack of understanding among the working generations. To quantify it, the Indeed platform with OpinionWay asked* 1,138 French employees about this question. The results are clear, even not very flattering for the Z generation employees (18/30 years old), severely judged by those over 30 years of age.
very demanding
Thus, 67% of people over 30 consider that younger employees or those new to the labor market have too many demands. 64% think that they have too much self-confidence and that social networks negatively influence their relationship with their work or their employer.
56% even find them lazy and 54% of those over 30 think they are disrespectful to companies. 44% go so far as to say that they disrespect their peers.
However, respondents acknowledge some extenuating circumstances. In general, 6 out of 10 believe that younger employees lack encouraging prospects to want to invest in work.
Above all, 48% believe that the reversal of the balance of power in the world of work allows them to show so many demands.
Social networks as points of sale
But, interesting point from the study, some young employees are also very harshly judgmental of their peers. 57% of people under 30 find their junior peers too demanding, 49% think they are too self-confident and 39% think their generation doesn’t respect companies.
“A lack of respect” that can be expressed through the social networks massively used by Generation Z. However, according to the study, the elderly are not left out.
20% of young people aged 18-30 admit to having already criticized their company on social networks or on the internet (compared to 16% of those over 30). 18% of young people between the ages of 18-30 have made their resignation public on social networks, this is only 7 points more than those over 30 years of age.
deep demotivation
Finally, and this is rather paradoxical, most young employees are able to stay in a position that in no way corresponds to their expectations. 71% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 30 were in this case “while completely unmotivated, in a negative mood.”
“Gen Z is often described as being more ambitious and demanding about their professional life: they seem to have a less ‘food’ relationship with work, expecting a lot from their professional life in order to flourish and give meaning to their daily lives.” says the study.
“But is this just contradictory, or a boomerang effect of what the world of work really offers them, too far from the image they had of it?” the platform concludes.
*The study was conducted by OpinionWay for Indeed in April 2023 among 1,138 French employees aged 18+ working in the public and private sectors, including 335 employees aged 18-30. The sample was extracted using the quota method.
Source: BFM TV
