Research suggests that the pandemic was a significant source of stress impacting young people’s access to the workplace and career opportunities. Now the pandemic is over, what is work like for young Aussies? Enough time has passed to see how young people have adjusted to the post-pandemic environment.
Puzzle asked almost 400 young Australians about their work experiences and opportunities during and since the pandemic. The results show that some young Australians:
had restricted access to knowledge during the pandemic
feel unclear about work expectations and do not feel confident to perform their work
do not feel connected to their colleagues
7-in-10 say that remote work during covid restricted their access to knowledge
Most young Aussies (70%) say that remote work during covid restricted their access to knowledge from colleagues needed to do their job, which is not surprising when you consider over 70% say they receive informal training in skills essential for their job. Informal, or “on-the-job”, training is more likely to happen in person in the workplace than virtually and research suggests that sharing tacit knowledge and expertise between colleagues is undermined in contexts of remote working.
Gensler’s recent research supports our own findings showing that Gen Z and Millennial workers place value on learning and socialising at work. A recent Forbes article emphasised that Gen Z talent look for mentors: as they enter the workplace, they know they need guidance, and any company that can provide it in the form of a mentor program is going to drastically increase retaining talent. That means businesses need to build some structure around the informal training that may no longer happen organically in a hybrid environment.
One of the ways we have helped businesses overcome this issue has been to encourage active mentor programs between experienced and junior employees, where short but regular catchups, either virtual or F2F, enable knowledge transfer. Employers can also capture some of these informal lessons in short videos and infographics and add them to an easily accessible learning library.
1-in-5 of young Aussie are unclear on the expectations of their role and are not confident they can perform
Our findings are in line with those from recent research from McKinsey that shows about 20% of Gen Z and Millennial workers feel that they are unable to learn new skills to meet changing job expectations.
So why do 1-in-5 young people (20%) lack clear expectations about what they need to do in their role and do not feel confident to do what is required of them? This could be due to a lack of informal interactions for positive reinforcement and the opportunity to ask those “quick” questions on the run. Managers need to use the limited face time they have with their young employees wisely to ensure that they set clear expectations and foster confidence in their staff.
Deloitte research on Gen Z suggests that employers should develop robust training and leadership programs, with a real and tangible focus on diversity, and set up internal marketplaces to match projects with individual skill sets. It’s important for businesses to provide information and experiences to employees using a range of mediums rather than a one size fits all approach. Mangers can empower their junior employees best by being approachable and checking in regularly to examine and agree upon role expectations.
1-in-3 young people do not feel connected to their colleagues
Does distance really make the heart grow fonder? Interestingly, more young people who work remotely at least sometimes feel connected to their colleagues compared to those who never work remotely: while 63% of young people who never work remotely say they feel connected to their colleagues, 69% of those who work remotely at least some of the time feel connected. Compared to during the pandemic, almost one-quarter more young people are not working remotely at all now (from 34% never working remotely during the pandemic to 57% now).
Research from Deloitte suggests that employers be intentional about creating opportunities for connection between younger and older generations. Similarly, recent research from Gensler shows that 70% of Gen Z and Millennials would go into the office at least one more day a week if their ideal mix of experiences were available to them (e.g. great spaces to connect and collaborate with others).
Time in the office may not create that social / professional connection without some curation. Businesses need to consider who needs to connect and facilitate ways to enable those interactions. We have seen organisations use tools like team chats and desk booking systems to make it easier for people to find each other and work together to foster connection.
so what do you do?
Puzzle have seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly of how these issues have been addressed in many different sized Public and Private organisations. At a high level the good tend to:
Have a clear understanding of their business purpose, with job roles and tasks linked to the enablement of that purpose to create meaning and value for day-to-day activity. When colleagues understand each other’s roles and expectations it helps build teamwork and connection.
Informal “water cooler” and corridor conversations have not been replaced with Teams/Zoom meetings but rather by carefully choreographed interactions that bring the right people together easily at the right time by using technology as an enabler and not a medium.
Old rituals that created social interaction when everyone was in the office 5 days per week have been refreshed to accommodate a more flexible work approach and ensure no individual or group is left out.
If you’d like to know more about how Puzzle can help you engage with your people (not just the young ones) please reach out for a chat!
our research
Puzzle conducted this research study to better understand the work experiences and opportunities of young Australians during and post-covid. The Human Ethics Committee at The University of Western Australia reviewed and approved this research project (2022/ET000961).
The survey was conducted between December 2022 and April 2023, and 391 young people across Australia took part. Researchers recruited participants through social media, university contacts, and word of mouth. Demographically, all ages between 18-29 years, all states and territories including both metro and regional, and gender (male, female, and non-binary) were represented in the dataset. The results were weighted to represent the actual demographic breakdown shown in the 2022 Australian census (ABS).
At Puzzle, we love good data, and nothing excites us more than uncovering practical insights to help our clients transform their workplaces and ways of working.
references
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2021). Gen Z and the Toll of the Pandemic. University of Chicago. https://apnorc.org/projects/gen-z-and-the-toll-of-the-pandemic/
Deloitte (2019). Understanding Generation Z in the workplace. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/understandinggeneration-z-in-the-workplace.html
Deloitte Digital (2023). Hey bosses: Here’s what Gen Z actually wants at work. https://www.deloittedigital.com/us/en/blog-list/2023/gen-z-research-report.html
Derrick, Willems & Poon (2022). Researching informal workplace learning in the context of remote working in the post COVID-19 world. Hungarian Educational Research Journal. https://akjournals.com/view/journals/063/12/4/article-p445.xml
Forbes (2023). How Gen Z’s Impact On The Workplace Continues To Grow. https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2023/05/24/how-gen-zs-impact-on-theworkplace-continues-to-grow/
Gensler (2023). Global Workplace Survey Comparison. Gensler Research Institute. https://www.gensler.com/doc/global-workplace-survey-comparison-2023.pdf
Harvard Business Review (2023). Helping Gen Z Employees Find Their Place at Work. https://hbr.org/2023/01/helping-gen-z-employees-find-their-place-at-work
McKinsey (2022). How does Gen Z see its place in the working world? With trepidation. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/sustainable-inclusive-growth/future-ofamerica/how-does-gen-z-see-its-place-in-the-working-world-with-trepidation
Comments