Hey Bosses,Get Ready For Gen Z

They're not lazy, entitled or difficult; their lives just don’t revolve around work how a new generation is reshaping the workplace and why employers should care.

- Sasha Gonzales

After graduating from university, 25-year-old Daisy Anne Mitchell worked for two different companies before deciding to go freelance in January this year. Now, the performing arts and musical theatre graduate, who lives in Singapore, works for herself, as a content creator and freelance actor.

Having been a full-time employee for just over three years – as a speech and drama teacher for two years, and a performer at a local theme park for 14 months – Daisy has a clearer idea of what she needs to thrive if she were to work for a company again.

“For starters, employers should respect that their employees have a personal life, and not overwork them or make them work longer than what’s considered legal,” she explains.

“Companies also need to do away with that ‘kampung spirit’ and ‘we are a family’ mentality. We are not family; I am here to work for money, not for free.

“Finally, there shouldn’t be a limit as to how much medical leave employees can take, and companies shouldn’t dictate when employees can go on annual leave.”

Daisy adds that employers should also value their staff’s mental health, pay them fairly for the amount of work they do, and offer them a flexible work schedule.

“If these requirements weren’t being met, I’d definitely say something, and if the management still didn’t attempt to change or improve the situation, I would leave,” she says.

While these statements make Daisy seem demanding, difficult or entitled, they are not unusual for people born between 1995 and 2012, otherwise known as Generation Z.