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Abstract: Once upon a time, people decided for only one employer for their entire professional career. These people grew older and older as time went by. They then had to make changes to fit for younger generations professional needs and struggle to understand. It is the people themselves who have to stand up and create the working environment, they want. Frustration here is a good start to kick-off the change the employer-employee relationship needs.
Of course some people don’t feel a need to ask for anything more than what has been agreed upon, when, decades back, the work contract has been signed. However employers have been asked, and sometimes forced to think about new ways to benefit their people. Traditional HR-consultants, when working with clients, apply what they read in research, or extract out of surveys, but fail to truly feel the needs as they are very often part of an old conservative market view, where job seekers have to prepare and hope, and employees have to do their f*’* job. This rather than the company becoming more attractive for an expert or graduate. It is a lack of empathy and true understanding. Therefore it is very often up the employees to be very vocal and also demanding. Often, especially in western countries, where labour rights have often been legally constituted, and wages are more or less ok, i.e. enough to meet the basic needs like paying rent, etc, this affects self-fulfillment. Once the fundamental needs have been met, people aim for self-fulfillment as a very human need. This is neither weak nor luxury, it is what people need. A very basic need that opens the door to happier and more effective way of working and existing. Not only for young, also for people with a bit more experience. The only difference, the young ask for a new style of work and wellbeing, right when entering the world of work and employment. The difference only is that the elders, like me in my 40ies, we have not dared to ask for what – only in the first moment – appears to be relief or above average appreciation.
The truth is, what people ask for is rightly so. We have to understand, that providing everyone with a decent and joyful live is not a sign of a weak but rather a more advanced socio-economic development. I grew up thinking, if it is not tough, you don’t learn a lot; If it is not asking the last bit of energy, it is not a way to advance to the next level of power, income, wealth, etc. If is not painful, it does not justify relief. However, the more experienced and older I get, the more I agree to what young people ask for, for mainly two reasons:
It is their life and their career, and they will have to live with it. If they are happy with this, what is the right of others to tell them they are wrong?
if they are willing to bear the cost, i.e. having a lower income and therefore having to live in a shared apartment, not being able to celebrate fancy vacation, or buying the newest car, why is this so hard to accept?
The truth is, it should not be difficult and it is free for everyone to ask for another deal. It is written on a different page, if less hours per week, more vacation days, or whatever people ask for, seems acceptable to the individual leaders. If the person in charge does not value the work, he or she will decline, which of course is their right to do. However it can be seen, if all people who can do trendy stuff like content creation for a companies’ social media profile, or social media targeting, or else, the employer will have to either accept it or hand over the task to someone who is not as trendy and not asking for this kind of special working conditions.
People, but not only very young ones, value other things than the previous generations. Job security is not to that extent relevant anymore. 10-year-anniversary-bonus are not even been negotiated anymore. Do they still exist? People are willing to fully commit to tasks and companies, but not for their entire career, they value the current life and work conditions over a future promise. This is also the consequence of a very realistic view of the world and it’s dealing with the next generations. The coming generation has been betrayed, or at least been ignored by older ones in charge, not caring enough for what will once be left to them. The young ones ask for less and are willing to life themselves of less. As they have to live with it, they bear the costs. This is the price a society has to pay to reach the next level of young reflected and critical people taking over. It is how it has to be, and we as the older ones should take this as an educated and well founded position and find aa way to deal with, but to keeping up hold habits.
