The future of a new working generation

How things have changed

Spending Saturday night at home in front of the TV with our best friend? Booking the next summer holiday in a hotel we already know?

NO WAY! Saturday nights are reserved for going to clubs we have never been to before and holidays must be a unique experience. The further away, the better! Bungee jumps from the highest bridges or learning to survive in the wilderness are welcomed events, that only happen once in a lifetime.

“FOMO”  (“fear of missing out”) is not just a phenomenon that affects our leisure activities,

but it is also a new development that influences the way we work.

Sticking to the same job, in the same office, with same people does not sound appealing to most of us, at least not to my friends and me. As the amount of money we earn has become less important, the degree of freedom and commitment to the companie and colleagues has become a more essential factor.

While my grandparents´ generation lived to work, my parents´ generation worked to live. People born after 1980 seem to go one step further: they desire to find a job they love. Work means self-fulfillment! An occupation shall not just be our troublesome job, but our life!

I observed another interesting difference between generation X and Y when it comes to the evaluation of  overtime hours: I believe, that previous generations saw a strong relation between the quantity of work and the quality. Working late was an indicator for hard work. Nowadays, those who work late and have little free time, are accused of having a bad time-management and therefore a higher likelihood of suffering burnout sooner or later.

Many companies make much effort to meet not only their customers´, but also their employees´ expectancies: they offer opportunities to work from home, give freedom in decision-making and emphasize the meaning of the particular doing.

Nonetheless, some things change very little and very slowly.

We are still far from equality between men and women and racial discrimination in the workplace is not uncommon.  

When we introduce ourselves to people, one of the first things we mention is the profession we have. It is all about what we have achieved rather than who we really are.

The large number of opportunities we have when it comes to the choice of a profession are of course a positive attainment, but in order to make good decisions, we have to know ourselves very well.

We carry our best advisors within ourselves: our body and soul guide the way, even if their voice is sometimes not more than a quiet whisper in a very noisy world.