What are young people looking for in the world of work?
Young people entering, or already within, the world of work today bring to organizational contexts, in addition to their own values,dynamism and the ability to challenge themselves: fundamental aspects of being competitive and keeping up with disruptive change. This is also what they expect from the Organizations in which they intend to grow professionally and humanely.
What are the 3 fundamental aspects that young people look for in the world of work today and for which they decide whether to invest time and resources in that particular professional context?
Flexibility, opportunities for development and a strong focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues are essential elements of an Organization that is highly attractive to a young person who has developed awareness with respect to the role of work as a tool for self-realization that cannot disregard the balance between personal and professional life.
The stereotype associated with young people who do not want to work conceals a much deeper reality that is diametrically opposed: the desire to do is high and carries with it the need to generate value not only for oneself but also for others.
Young people want to fulfill themselves, make their mark, enhance their distinctiveness, and work is the tool through which to achieve this.
What does this basically mean?
Quite simply that today’s young people would like to look back on 60 years of age observing the path they have taken with a sense of fulfittment and with the knowledge that they have pursued a path of professional development that has been well integrated with personal development and life priorities.
We talk precisely about life-work balance and the possibility, as well as ability, to be able to balance professional career, social life, and one’s passions that help to develop fundamental soft skills.
Following these reflections, let us concretely delve into the 3 fundamental aspects mentioned initially and which concretely translate into:
- flexibility in terms of space and time;
- development and enhancement of skills;
- sustainability and ethics
Flexibilityis an extremely heartfelt concept in the quest for a balance between personal and professional life; it represents the pivotal aspect for good implementation that takes into account space and time and is driven by goal orientation rather than time spent in the office. The resulting benefits, which have been widely studied, impact levels of productivity and satisfaction.
Developing and enhancing skills is the culmination of the effort put into theory-rich training and the years spent in books, a time when the desire to get hands-on and contribute to the co-construction of an organizational project grows strongly. Young people want to enhance their skills and develop new ones in order to create increasingly challenging opportunities and achieve their goals.
Sustainability andethics represent young people’s personal commitment to the ecosystem in which they live and that is why they seek the same commitment in the Organizations in which they wish to grow not only professionally. We are talking about Greta Thunberg’s generation, but not only, united by the awareness that climate change, the exploitation of emerging economies, and social sustainability are current issues that need to be addressed and for which it is no longer possible to wait. This is reflected in the need to operate in an Organization that not only meets the required standards but is innovative and cutting edge in this respect. On the other hand, man has always felt the need to feel that he is part of something bigger and has a real global impact; this is the challenge for Organizations today that need to accelerate and take a clear stand on Corporate Social Responsibility issues.
