The future is here and the workplace of tomorrow is going to be fun as a new generation is gearing up to join it.
So what’s going to be the impact when cohorts who have lived with high-speed internet, WiFi and smartphones all their lives and ninety per cent of whom have a digital footprint, enter the working world?
This is Generation Z, those born after 1995, the oldest of whom would be around twenty-two and ready to take on the world. Could the workplace ever be the same with their arrival?
There is no doubt that they are here to make a difference. So what is it going to be like working with this generation?
They are entrepreneurial: It appears that many of them want to start their own business and have a strong desire for financial independence early in life. This could also be interpreted as being intrepreneurial, meaning they could be trusted to create economic energy within the companies they work for. This could be starting a new product line, a new division or opening an office in a new location and making those profitable. They are ready to put in long hours and work hard if the rewards are good.
It was said that millennials, unlike the generation before them, worked for a purpose and not so much for a paycheck, but with Gen Z, the paycheck apparently has made a comeback.
Extremely adaptable: They have always lived in a connected world where they have taken for granted inventions that have amazed and astonished us. So they could brilliantly adapt to new technological advancements and even improvise with them.
Huge on multitasking: If you thought earlier that the human mind is not geared for multitasking, just watch Gen Z in action. Author George Beall writes, ‘They will create a document on their school computer, do research on their phone or tablet, while taking notes on a notepad, then finish in front of the TV with a laptop, while face-timing a friend. You get the picture.” Switching between different tasks and paying simultaneous attention to a wide range of stimuli comes naturally to them, shares Deep Patel, a serial entrepreneur and author.
Out of focus: Gen Z lives in a world of continuous updates and has a need to process information very fast. As a result of this, it is possible that they have fewer attention spans than the previous generations.
Low on teamwork: This generation likes to work alone and doesn’t prefer to work in teams as they value independence and like to be judged on their own merits.
With changes in the way Gen Z is going to live, work, commute, watch TV and read, there will be massive shifts in advertising, education and just about everything Let’s wait and watch.
