Gen Z facing a challenging future

Generation Z, meaning individuals who were born after 1996, represents the next wave of employees, consumers, entrepreneurs, and employers, and it is starting to attract attention for this reason. People in this age group are known for seeking their own values in all the relationships they develop, so both employers and brands should become highly adaptable and flexible in the future in order to meet this generation’s needs and expectations as adequately as possible.

By Anda Sebesi

According to the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2017, millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) generally have a positive opinion of Gen Z, believing the group to have strong information technology skills as well as the ability to think creatively. The study finds that six in ten millennials (61 percent) believe Gen Z will have a positive impact as their presence in the workplace expands. This increases to 67 percent among millennials in senior positions and is higher in emerging markets (70 percent) than in mature markets (52 percent). However, while millennials see great potential within Gen Z, they also believe these younger employees will need a lot of support when they enter the workforce.

The same study shows that millennials have many useful tips to pass on to their future colleagues. When asked what sort of guidance they would give the next generation—based on their own early career experiences—the main areas of advice were: learn as much as possible; work hard; be patient; be dedicated; be flexible.

Millennials believe that Gen Z's will especially need to develop softer skills rather than technical or specific industry knowledge in order to meet their expectations. Further, they don’t think Gen Z’s primary strengths align well with the skills or attributes considered to be the most valuable in driving long-term business success. Millennials in senior positions (those increasingly involved in decisions over strategy and direction) consider Gen Z to be underprepared in terms of professionalism and personal traits such as patience, maturity, and integrity. These are things that come out of experience, though, so they can be learned over time. WHAT DOES GEN Z MEAN FOR THE LABOUR MARKET?

According to the National Institute of Statistics quoted by ZF, the number of individuals born between 1995 and 2000 (Gen Z's) in Romania is estimated at about 3.6 million, while worldwide, a United Nations study shows that 32 percent of the 7.7 billion global population was represented by Gen Z last year. Mihaela Feodorof, executive coach and business consultant at Performanceway, told Ziarul Financiar (ZF) last year that Gen Z professionals tend to ask for flexible work arrangements, want constant feedback from their employers, are less organised than previous generations of workers, and bring more creativity and willingness to explore. In addition, they have a different way of communicating with their employers. According to Feodorof, as cited by ZF, the new generation of professionals is rather emotional, which means they tend to perceive, consider, and filter reality according to their own feelings.

This spring, Catalyst Solutions launched a study about Gen Z with the aim of creating a favourable environment for understanding the needs of students and graduates around career development, work preferences, and payment expectations. According to the study, young people aged between 19 and 25 tend to start to think about their future careers from their first year of university, so they choose to follow various programmes meant to streamline their first professional steps. The study also shows that a majority of students at different universities go into internship programmes or part-time jobs either in their first two or last two years of higher education. In addition, 23 percent of them look towards fields like marketing, advertising, IT and software as potential sectors in

which to pursue an internship or an entry level position, followed by fields like human resources, engineering, management, hardware, sales, administrative, and design.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

According to recent research conducted by Telekom, 61 percent of European Gen Z's are concerned about their post-pandemic futures, with over half being anxious about their future jobs and career prospects. In addition, 54 percent are not sure what types of careers will exist in the future, while 43 percent say they are not sure whether they have the necessary skills to succeed professionally.

The world of work will continue to be transformed by rapid digitalization, and hence we have a collective responsibility to support the younger generation as they make their way through an uncertain future.

For example, the Futureproof project launched this year by Deutsche Telekom in ten of the countries where it operates, including Romania, aims to support Gen Z and capitalise on the power of digital tools to support the young generation on its way towards a successful professional future. Futureproof is a support platform developed with a clear purpose: demonstrating Gen Z’s huge potential and inspiring its members to identify opportunities for their future careers and discover skills they haven’t yet explored. Futureproof was developed in partnership with representatives of Gen Z and a group of HR experts.

“Gen Z is stepping into a labour market that was and will continue to be changed dramatically by the covid-19 pandemic as well as by digital innovation and transformation. We think that we are all responsible for supporting them in capitalising on the opportunities they may come across and the challenges they may face. We want to show them that if they have a passion, they certainly have a future,” says Ulrich Klenke, chief brand officer at Deutsche Telekom.

At the core of the Futureproof project is a free digital tool that helps Gen Z's better understand their abilities and the way they are connected to future professional opportunities. The platform uses the vocational personality model to inspire the young users to identify such opportunities. In addition, the tool helps them understand how their hobbies, skills, talents, and personality contribute to their professional development and supports them in choosing the best way to use these individual traits in their future careers.

“Telekom Romania has always stood by young people and has used its initiatives, programmes, and strategic partnerships to support the development of the new generation of professionals. Now more than ever, we want to support Gen Z with digital instruments meant to help them identify opportunities for professional development and turn their passions and individual skills into advantages in the future,” says Andreas Elsner, chief commercial officer for residential marketing and national sales at Telekom Romania.

SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT

Gen Z tends to look at the world with a side-eye, which stems from having grown up amid recessions, fractured political environments, and often unexpected job transitions for their Gen X parents, leading to decreased trust in businesses. As for the Romanian Gen Z, the first study about this generation’s interest in the social involvement of brands in the country was conducted at the end of 2018 by Reveal Marketing Research, showing that 96 percent of people aged between 18 and 24 knew of at least one company in Romania that had been or was still actively involved in solving problems with high social impact. Businesses can reach wary Gen Z consumers by embracing strong CSR as part of competitive growth strategies, and not just half-measure initiatives trotted out a few times a year or designed to distract from a crisis. According to a young Gen Z student cited in a PRDaily article, whether it’s a specific issue or larger company values, Gen Z knows when a company isn’t being sincere. “What I understand is actual commitment to something,” said the 22-year-old student from New York City. “One thing I get really turned off by is when it appears that what [companies] are trying to promote or what they are saying is not aligned with their actions. Commitment, action, follow-through, and transparency matter to me.”

Gen Z’s CSR preferences align with those of millennials, who expect to see more gender equality in business leadership, want to witness ethical practices in fashion, and generally favour companies that incorporate CSR into their corporate cultures and business models.