My shift is over: Why do GenZs say it, and is it a bad thing?

• While industry leaders like N Murthy expect 70-hour work weeks, the situation on ground is much different, say managers.
• GenZs are amongst the first to log off right after their shift and clearly communicate that they do not intend to work for longer hours.
• The need to get more out of life than work is a result of their upbringing, say HR experts.
• A better reward system is needed to make them go beyond their working hours, experts say.
  

Rohan Kashyap (name changed), an investment banker is tired of dealing with his younger team members. Being an early millennial, he tries to cut them some slack, but that isn’t working either, he complains.

“None of them want to sit beyond their shift. I was interviewing a few people and a candidate did not know anything about our company. When I asked him why he didn’t read up on the company he was interviewing at, his answer was that he attends many interviews and doesn’t have time to read up on every company,” an aghast Kashyap.

Many managers face the same conduct from their under-29 team members or GenZs. While industry leaders like Narayana Murthy are batting for 70-hour-work-weeks for youngsters, the situation on ground is much different, say HR experts.

Work, but not ‘just’ work

The reason for their seemingly willful conduct is not apathy, but their priorities in life are much different than the generations before – be it millennials or GenXers.

“It’s not that they are disinterested in work. In fact, they’re among the first to find a tech solution to a problem. It’s just that they want more to life than work,” Varda Pendse, strategic HR consultant and coach tells Business Insider India.

Hormazd Mistry, CEO, consulting firm ROI Institute India also agrees that GenZs speak their mind, and for them work is only one of their main priorities. Many GenZs chase other passions after work, be it hobbies, music, sports or attend parties etc, which is a mainstay for them.

“It’s not that they aren’t passionate either but they’re passionate up to the salary that they get and that is between 9 am to 5 pm,” Mistry tells Business Insider India.

Besides, the authoritarian work culture of the 1990s and 2000s have undergone a sea change and few of the younger generation are subscribing to it. While most managers are baffled with GenZs’ attitude, they also grudgingly admit that their honesty and being upfront about what they want to do, very refreshing.

“It’s not that we did not have work shirkers in our time. It’s just that they lied and played games. At least, with these guys, we know what to expect,” says Kashyap who runs a team of eight GenZs.

Pendse also adds that GenXers bring in a lot of passive aggressiveness into their work culture, which is fairly absent with GenZs. It makes a workplace fairly transparent.

‘Follow your heart’

GenZs seem to mean well, but little about their workplace conduct belies it. Their conduct is tied very strongly to their upbringing ethos. Most of the GenZs were raised in late 90s and early 2000s which is when most people saw their average salaries go up significantly.

“The affluence of their parents is providing them with financial stability which is why they’re confident that if this job doesn’t work out, they can always shift to another one and keep looking until they find what they like,” says Pendse.

Mistry also adds that GenZs are mostly raised by people who were frustrated because they couldn’t do more with their lives and had worked constantly. “Baby boomers were taught that work is their priority. But GenZs were told to do what makes them happy and that’s what they do and prioritize experiences, satisfaction as opposed to just working,” he adds.

Besides, the digital natives have seen more globalization than any other generation. They’re influenced by global cultures which are giving them wings to break the traditional systems.

Show me the money!

GenZs’ parents might have seen their salaries go up which allowed them to step ahead. But that’s not true with the younger generation. In fact, fresher salaries have become stagnant and the jobs now are also fewer for many reasons being AI and other disruptions.

According to a report State of Working 2023 released by Azim Premji University paints a distressing picture of youth unemployment. “Despite a post-Covid decline, unemployment rates remain high, particularly for graduates, with a concerning 42% rate among graduates under 25 years old,” the report says.

Yet, no fear of the future is transferring into GenZs unlike millennials who also started working during the boom period of 2000s, but have seen many ups and downs since then across industries.

“The job situation has changed too. Gig economy has picked up and most youngsters are confident that they can make money and survive,” says Mistry.

So what does it take for managers to make these confident workers invest more into their work? HR managers say that it’s time for companies to invest more.

Sumit Kumar, chief business officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship says that employees in sectors like hospitality, healthcare or banking need people to login for more hours. He believes that working longer should be made optional and they should be duly compensated.

“The GenZ are very conscious of work-life balance, but an additional income could be an added incentive or benefit could encourage them to clog in extra hours, however, it made it mandatory, there is a possibility of push back. In fact the option to earn extra bucks by clogging in extra hours could also restrict or prevent moonlighting which became popular to earn extra money,” adds Kumar.