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Signs of growing discontent among younger generation
As the Covid-19 waves started receding, another undesirable wave started to engulf the world— the great resignation wave. What started in the US, has spread rapidly across other countries like France, Germany, Singapore, United Kingdom, and even India. To provide a rough estimate, in 2021 alone, 47.8 million workers quit their jobs voluntarily in the US. According to the Willis Towers Watson’s 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, 44 per cent of the employees are job seekers. A recent report from Michael Page—a professional recruitment services firm—states that nearly 86 per cent of India’s professionals will seek new jobs in the next six months as the Great Resignation in India will intensify in 2022.
Worrisome statistics, no doubt. But wait! Can this great resignation be attributed to poor management of generational diversity? A closer look at these figures reveals one more fact— millennials and Generation Z workers are at the forefront of this great resignation. More than half who have quit belong to these two generational cohorts. This is where it raises suspicion that poor management of generational diversity might be one of the reasons behind the great resignation. Obviously, when people quit, some reasons are attributed to those decisions like dissatisfaction with pay, poor manager, work environment, etc. But what remains mostly muted is that those who quit voluntarily could not find a voice or a medium to communicate what was bothering them about their company. Therefore, when we find that most of those who quit recently belong to the younger generational cohorts, it more or less confirms that communication and comfort between them and the more mature generations continues to be a point of concern. A classic Harvard study had revealed that people do not stay because they are happy, but because they are not unhappy enough to quit or not hungry enough to leave. Therefore, what must worry companies more is those who might have not yet left, but could gather enough momentum to overcome the inertia of staying put. Just to put it in context, the engagement of millennials and Generation Z workers in the workplace continue to be low as per most global engagement reports.
Leveraging generational diversity My decade- long research on generations, especially on millennials and Generation Z, work with the industry regarding generational diversity management, and engagement of millennials at workplace, has led me to the conclusion that unfortunately very few companies really worry about managing generational diversity. Most either ignore it, thinking generational talk is just a fad or think that the supply-side of the human resources is too skewed in their favour for them to worry about managing generational diversity. Both these beliefs are not only incorrect, but they are also fraught with risks that might threaten the sustenance of the company in the long run.
During my research on millennials and Generation Z, I had an opportunity to not only interact with countless millennials from around the world, but also find opportunity to work with companies in Dubai, UK, the US, and India helping them manage generational diversity and improve engagement of millennial and Generation Z workers. Based on empirical evidence and experience that I have gathered from the field, I propose a five-pronged strategy to manage generational diversity-
• Foster understanding
Millennials and Generation Z, have, in particular, lived a transformed time that has resulted in a significant shift in their life realities, mindsets, and attitudes. Both millennials and generation Z live a paradoxical life, with the barter not working in their favour—losing more than what they have gained compared to the previous generations. Millennials, for instance, have probably more choices when it comes to career- options, greater autonomy, bigger and more global network, and more lifestyle choices. However, they also have to deal with greater job instability, low, or at times, non-existent social support systems; they are the first generation to earn less than their parents (adjusted to purchasing power parity and inflation), the volatile environmental stress and modern life pace impacting their physical and mental health and growing loneliness among these generational cohorts making their life realities different and complex. Empathy is the first step towards managing generational diversity.
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