Here's what Gen Z and millennials want at work

Fancy pay cheques, perks and other lucrative amenities may no longer be just enough to lure in bright young talents. Work-life balance seems to be emerging as the single most key consideration for Gen Zs and millennials. That's not all. The demand for having an additional job is also gaining increasing ground. A large proportion of Indian Gen Zs (62 per cent) and millennials (51 per cent) have an additional paying job in addition to their primary job. With the increasing demand for hybrid work arrangements, if Gen Zs and millennials were in charge, they would prioritise and allow employees to work flexible hours to improve work/life balance. It has become imperative for all organisations and business leaders to play a role in supporting their employees in setting boundaries to protect work/life balance.

A recent survey by Deloitte has come up with such findings and observations. There is no doubt that these generations are extremely concerned about issues like unemployment, education and mental health issues. Besides, the demand for hybrid/remote work arrangements is growing increasingly by the day, as it helps them save money and allows them to spend more time for a hobby, possibly a part-time job and with their families.

What is quite interesting and significant is that over two-thirds of Gen Zs and 8 in 10 millennials feel confident that they'll be able to retire comfortably and pay all their monthly expenses, financial concerns are of less importance in India compared with the global average. Furthermore, a large proportion of Indian Gen Zs (62 percent) and millennials (51 percent) have an additional paying job in addition to their primary job.

Nearly 19 per cent of Gen Zs and 23 per cent of millennials are of the view that if they were in charge, they would allow employees to work flexible hours and remotely to improve work/life balance. A third option for Gen Zs would be to experiment with reduced working weeks, but Indian millennials would rather prioritise ensuring that those employees who work part-time have comparable career advancement opportunities to full-time employees. Generally, majority of the millennials and Gen Z prefer a hybrid working pattern.

If you think millennials are only concerned about their own employment, employment conditions, work-life balance, you are wrong. These generations strongly advocate substantive and tangible actions to combat climate change. They would like to see their employers invest in areas, including banning single-use plastic, providing training and incentives to help people make better environmental choices.

The good thing is that there is a great degree of optimism among the millennials and Gen Z regarding the economic and socio-political situation. These generations have no doubt whatsoever that the situations will improve over the next 12 months.