Understanding the Career Aspiration of Gen-Z

Problem Statement on Understanding the career aspiration of Gen-Z

Authorized by - Vishal Mehta

Accorporated with - Kulturehire PVT LTD

Introduction

Generation refers to people born in the same chronological, social and historical timeframe. It has been recognized that different generations have different career needs, such as baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z. For Baby Boomers, careers were central to identity and loyalty, while for Generation X, promotions were more important than pay raises. For millennials, pay raises and promotions often make them switch jobs and Gen-Z look for bigger pay cheques, more time off, flexibility to work remotely and greater social and environmental responsibility.

There are now some situations where Gen-Z are not understood as a result of which they face many problems.

Considering the understanding of career aspiration of Gen-Z, let us consider “WHO” are affected by this particular problem.

?Who is affected by not understanding the career aspiration of Gen-Z?

Career aspirations are critical to the development of the company and society, as well as aiding the company's financial growth. Nevertheless, certain situations arise where certain people do not understand Gen-Z, so they impede their own and company growth in further going. Let us discuss each one and how it affects them individually.?

o??Employer

The employer or CEO of a company is responsible for governing and supervising the workplace and managing management, supervision, and control. If they fail to understand the career aspiration of Gen-Z, they will fail to attract talent to their team. Gen-Z can help them grow with them by providing their ideas and efforts which can be beneficial to company. They can also help in different ways and methods to solve business problems in the easiest manner which can help them grow their business in precise manner.

o??Department head

Department head are responsible for getting things done on time and efficiently. They are concerned about their team having an up-to-date knowledge about technologies and skills. If they aren't serious about Gen-Z, they will not be able to have new generation people in their team who have the skills and knowledge to solve complex problems. If they hire new Gen-Z they will have a team full of enthusiast people, having new ideas to work upon complex business problems and better knowledge of tools and technology used.

o??Managers

Managers are responsible for achieving deadlines and targets with given existing teams, but they often lack the necessary thinking pattern and technology to achieve KPI's. Gen-Z, who are experienced in solving complex existing business problems, have the ability to solve them quickly and effectively, making it important to hire them and provide them with trainings to help their team work more efficiently and achieve target

o??HR

HR is responsible for hiring the right candidate according to the current skill required with complete technology knowledge. If they continue with existing employees, it can lead to more time in training and slow progression. Recruiting Gen-Z will make their work easier by investing less time in trainings and with skills more precise and having complete tech knowledge. They can also create a new team of Gen-Z working on new project having advance technology and can go good from there.

What is happening?

We have understood in deep that who gets affected when the career aspiration is not understood of Gen-Z and solution of it, now the question arises, what is happening if the problem is not addressed??

o??Layoff

A Layoff is when the company of employer puts either a temporary halt or permanent termination of employee within the organization. The company chooses this due to business losses or less profit, or merges with another company to reduce numbers. The main reason for layoff is technology advancement, as most existing employees are not aware of new advancement. Companies should hire the new generation to upgrade their skills and make more profit. Gen-Z would need some time to fit in, but when they understand the company values, work culture and working pattern, they could be a great fit.

o??Lack of skills and Customer Satisfaction

Lack of skills and customer satisfaction can be linked when companies don't invest in employee experience. This is because employees are not equipped with the necessary skills they need to excel at their jobs and have opportunities to continue to learn and develop. Additionally, when companies hire new generation, they will not be needed to focus on trainings much and investing them on tools and technology will be useful. Gen Z employees are looking to make an impact and want to be part of a company that invests in its talent and treats employees fairly

When is this Happening?

?Following the flow, now we need to understand when is this happening. There are many ways in which this happens. It could be introducing of Chat GPT, which is new technology or can be due to COVID, which healed down every business in that area, or layoff which impacted a lot and scams which are most likely happening.

o??Chat GPT

Chat GPT is a cutting-edge AI technology that offers a wealth of benefits for medium-sized businesses. Its advanced natural language processing capabilities allow it to respond to customer inquiries and requests with remarkable speed and accuracy, providing a seamless customer experience. With its ability to analyze large amounts of data, Chat GPT can also help businesses to make data-driven decisions, improve operational efficiency, and increase productivity. As Chat GPT is already doing much of work, companies are now started to rely on it. Let’s go into specific some positions and see how it affects the new gen-z in jobs

o??Computer Programmer

Chat GPT is able to produce code in a variety of computer languages, such as Python, Javascript, and C++, making it useful for creating short routines or breaking down bigger coding tasks. It can also check existing code for bugs and errors.

o??Data Analyst

ChatGPT and other similar technologies are useful for creating reports, summarizing data, and translating insights into words. It can also create visualizations to convey insights, such as graphs, charts, and data points. These reports can be distributed to decision-makers, who can use them to make informed decisions.

Gen-Z should develop skills that are complementary to AI, stay informed about technological developments, cultivate relationships and soft skills, embrace technology and automation, be adaptable and flexible, and be open to new opportunities. These skills can help them identify tasks that could be automated or streamlined using technology, and explore ways to work collaboratively with machines and AI systems.

Last year was more challenging for Gen-Z in many terms, comparing Gen-Z to Millennials, Gen-X and Boomers, they are most likely to struggle than older generation on bringing new ideas to table as well as feeling excited to work.

o??How COVID-19 has impacted Gen Z

Generation Z is in their teens and early twenties, and their goals and dreams are to do well in exams, spend quality time with friends and save up for travel adventures. COVID-19 has changed this, as many Generation Z's are being schooled from home or going to lectures, cancelling travel plans, social engagements and even opportunities to see family members. Gen Zs have the highest ever generational reports of depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a major emotional burden for them

Where is this happening?

Gen-Z are being affected by less technical jobs in Automobile, IT, and Corporate world. In Automobile, they are unable to clear the rounds of interview due to lack of experience. In IT, they lack expertise in specific tools and technology. In Corporate world, employers are looking for candidates with experience and practical understanding on dealing with clients.

?Moreover, Tech Industry faced mass layoffs this year from November 2022 onwards. With reports of recession in the West, many companies began to lay off employees in order to cut back costs. The ripples of these layoffs made its way to India as well, albeit, in a less drastic manner.

If company believes in Gen-Z as hiring them as fresh graduate, they can get the talent which they can use to make some growth and with that, they are also one of them who needs less trainings to get onboard. If company starts to hire Gen-Z, they can be great fit of company and will be able to match their requirement with more profit.

Why is that a problem?

Layoffs, Lack of skills and people not understanding is not only the issue where Gen-Z are facing the issue, Gen-Z is also responsible for that. Having observed older workers experience?burnout, time poverty and economic insecurity at the grindstone, they’re demanding more from workplaces: bigger pay cheques, more time off, the flexibility to work remotely and greater social and?environmental responsibility. Often they are willing to walk away from employers if their needs aren’t met.

With both salary and work-life balance front and center, Gen Z also come with another stand-out characteristic: they are the cohort most likely to quit if they’re unsatisfied at work, Gen Z want to see companies follow through on their mission statements, particularly in regard to social and environmental values, and if they aren’t “practicing what they’re preaching, they will leave.

The main reason behind this is also generation gap, the older peoples who doesn’t fall in this age, care much about personal growth rather than money whereas Gen-Z thinks of earning more money and get rich quick. Also, often get stuck between society norms of cool thing going on in market or friend circle, where 9 to 5 jobs is not considered cool. If in case Gen-Z works on this, they can be a big asset to company and can easily get things which they ever wish for.

There are some ways where Generation-Z can be helped in workplace:

1. Encourage Innovation and Work-Life Balance
2. Understand their needs by prioritizing mental health, having flexibility with hours.
3. Provide growth opportunities such as appraisals and promotion for their dedication towards work
4. Leverage Gen-Z's desire for change as they will most often strive for change in working environment and working pattern, as this new generation are a collective catalyst for change that can be leveraged to drive strategic and cultural change.
5. Focus on the individual makes them feel motivated and makes them work hard even more.
6. Be Open to learning from Gen-Z makes company grow by their new ideas and innovation.
7. Gen-Z doesn’t tolerate toxic cultures, discrimination, misalignment between the words and actions of management, or work that won’t flex to fit their personal lives. Companies need to have conversations with all team members to establish a safe work culture and align expectations and commitments, and they need to walk the culture talk

Conclusion

Generation Z is entering the workforce and employers are eager to understand them in order to help them flourish and support their performance. Understanding their motives, attitudes and personality profiles is essential for attracting and retaining talented workforce from a particular generation. Generation Z would be beneficial as they just start entering the world of work and their preferences might evolve once they enter their full-time jobs.