I was surprised and pleased by the interest inspired by Dr. Rob last week. I heard from both my older and younger friends, each responding to what resonated with them personally. The best responses offered examples or anecdotes affirming (sometimes contradicting) my observations. I appreciate your feedback and I really enjoyed the conversation over the past week – thank you.
Thinking about the business leaders I work with, their greatest challenge is recruiting talent. It is crucial for business leaders to recognize that young people are attracted to companies that give voice to their values. One thing that was evident from the responses I received: affiliation is a key motivator for young people. They want to work for companies they can be proud of, companies that stand for something. Previous generations sought job security, but young people today are seeking professional opportunities to express their values.
Here are some observations I received from my readers:
“People searching out soul-fulfilling work; work that allows them to pursue meaningful pursuits outside of work as evidenced by the number of times people switch jobs and seek out jobs with flexibility. [My husband] and I were just talking the other night about how nice it would be if companies offered lower paying jobs for people to work real 40 hour weeks or 4 day work weeks. I know we’d seriously jump at that opportunity to spend more time together as a family.”
“Your observations are right on … if I can trust watching my own children in their 20s. Experience vs possessions? As I am present and care for my 90 year father, experience is everything. Possessions seem nearly meaningless. Thanks for sharing these observations. They certainly resonate with me.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. Working in a high school that has almost 2,000 students, I have the pleasure of having daily contact with today’s youth. Their voices are not the voices of tomorrow, they are the voices of now. Even though still in high school, They are already agents of change.”
“I want to be young again!”
“I agree with your conclusions that it’s important to think about the meaning and value in work, to offer quality of life and flexibility, and to engage employees in a way that respects their perspective and contributions. And living in an NYC apartment has helped me realize how fewer possessions and more experiences leads to a richer life.”
“I think young people have seen all the unnecessary stresses that our parents generation have experienced, working their way up the ladder and accumulating wealth without questioning it. As this has been happening (for the privileged) there has been a concurrent rise in the availability of cheap things. And this has led to homes full of easily replaceable things that give us little real satisfaction. The American dream played out to the McMansion filled with stuff while working overtime to live at your means turns out to be empty. It costs our souls and our environment. We have to make some revisions”.