Reuters
Many workplace supervisors admit to finding it difficult to manage young employees. They often call them out for being overly sensitive, lacking professionalism and having unrealistic expectations. In fact some managers even say they would rather work with robots than young graduates, according to a recent survey.
The tensions that can exist between managers and young employees can be illustrated by the following figure: 37% of employers say they would rather work with artificial intelligence than hire a member of Gen Z, according to a survey conducted by Hult International Business School and reported by Forbes.
This preference for AI is partly explained by the stereotypical image associated with young professionals in popular discourse. While they are appreciated for their command of digital tools and their ability to adapt, they are also perceived as being volatile, individualistic, reluctant to accept authority and overly focused on maintaining an uncompromising work-life balance.
Yet these clich茅s have no basis in fact. A survey conducted by French think tank Terra Nova and French association Apec, published in January 2024, asserts that at work, 鈥測oung working people turn out 鈥� to be adults like any other employees.鈥� Employees aged 18-29 year-old attach as much importance to their work in their lives as their older colleagues, if not more. But, unlike previous generations, they refuse to sacrifice their well-being for a company, unless it serves their own ambitions.
Confronted with this new attitude to work, managers tend to find members of Gen Z more difficult to manage than employees of older generations. Among the difficulties cited, 60% point to a lack of real-world experience. More than half believe that these young people don鈥檛 know how to work well on a team, while 57% feel that they do not have a 鈥済lobal mindset.鈥� Their interpersonal skills are also called into question. What鈥檚 more, training these young talents represents a considerable cost: 53% of managers feel that the investment is too high in relation to their initial contribution.
AI, a dream employee?
In such a context, artificial intelligence can have the appearance of being a more reliable and cost-effective alternative. Unlike young employees, it requires essentially no training, no salary and no time off, and is capable of performing tasks in a precise and cost-effective manner. This kind of logic of optimization raises questions about the future of humans in workplaces where an increasing number of tasks are able to be automated.
But what does the demographic concerned think? Young employees are not immune to criticism from their supervisors. Nearly 85% of them feel that their university education did not prepare them sufficiently for the world of work. This figure rises to 87% when we compare their on-the-job training with that received during their studies.
Even more strikingly, 55% of respondents consider that their degree did not provide them with any skills directly applicable to their job. This raises the question of how well academic courses match employers鈥� expectations, in an environment where technology is redefining market requirements.
Managers鈥� reservations regarding young workers illustrates a profound change in the world of work and highlights the need for mutual adaptation. On the one hand, young people need to learn and demonstrate the etiquette of the professional world in order to fit in more effectively. On the other hand, employers need to rethink their training and integration strategies in order to fully tap their potential.
The future of work may not be played out in a confrontation between humans and robots, but in their ability to coexist in an intelligent configuration.