The New WORLD OF WORK

As Gen Z enters young adulthood, we ask them what their ideal world of work might look like-from a growing emphasis on corporate ethical responsibility to the new meaning of workplace loyalty.

- CHANDREYEE RAY

There’s a new bogeyman in town. A single figure instilling fear and confusion in the hearts of hiring teams and upper management everywhere. Office cubicles lie deserted, Zoom notifications pinging in their wake. A Gen Z candidate, fresh out of school, strides in for a job interview, undisguised questions about salary progression and diversity policies in tow.

Gen Z is the term used to describe anyone younger than a millennial (Gen Y)—born in 1997 or later. This is the first generation commonly understood to be true blue digital natives. They don’t quite remember living in a world untouched by modern technology and digital connection; the younger of the bunch are born with preloaded accounts on social media platforms, launched and run by their parents often from the moment of conception—whether they like it or not.

“I do not envy the pressures this generation faces. I think I’d be a wreck if I were growing up in their time,” says M, a top-level manager at a media company. “But they don’t hold back. Call me old-fashioned—I’m used to candidates who want to put their best foot forward in a job interview. Gen Z candidates want to know what the employer can do for them first. They’re the ones in power.”

M’s perspective, informed by the dozens of interviews she conducts monthly with young candidates, is not an uncommon one. Gen Z jobseekers and workers have been labelled entitled, demanding and deemed simply unfit for the working world.

But the question that needs to be asked is this—why would a new generation want to play by the rules of a system it believes is broken?

The art of influence