WFA is all good and well for those who’ve actually worked in an office before and know what it’s like. But what about the newbies who’ve never had a chance to experience working with people in a real environment? What are they missing? Can the older generation offer a helping hand? Timothy O’Neil-Dunne offers some ideas.
“HELLO, my name is Timothy and I am a member of WFAANON. (pronounced WOOFAHNON). I am feeling really uneasy about the newer members of the group. They just don’t seem to get it….” If such a group existed, Gen Zers would definitely be unhappy and would probably flock to it.
Work has changed.
We are expected to not spend so much time in the office. The reasoning pre-pandemic was that we should get out and be in front of customers. Now the reasoning is an underlying expectation of comfort, flexibility and, to some extent, safety.
However, the people making those types of decisions universally have already been through the process of “office socialisation”. They know the trends, expectations and frankly they know their co-workers. Newbies, recent hires and interns have never had that experience. Further, if they are fresh out of college or high school, their last years were largely spent experiencing life virtually!
From my history – I have started on different careers multiple times. Furthermore, I have changed countries, worked as a consultant and have had a lot of interactions. Great, but people need to interact in real life. Virtual is great when you are an experienced operator. But what if you are not?
What is the social etiquette? Who are my office buddies, especially my OBFFs? Who can be my mentor? Who will tell me when to avoid Doris in finance or Kevin on the front desk? How do I deal with my boss’ unreasonable demands? How can I get on that new team that is doing all the cool stuff?
So here is the thing. Work has changed (repetition intended).
We need to change with it. It should be the job of older, more experienced workers to help their new colleagues. Managers need to re-think how to onboard staffers and also how to develop the essential skills. Workers are now a scarce commodity (that won’t be for long, imho). The new workers need extra support. While the usual platitudes about “get a life, people” still apply, for the Gen Z’s joining the workforce, they don’t have the skills yet.
Gen Z are quite worried about their paychecks. There will be a wealth gap for this vital group of individuals. Both millennials and Gen Z have been portrayed as selfish and entitled. That simplistic point of view has been espoused by many older generations. That is natural. However, we are facing a growing problem of the wealth gap. As a society and as a culture, that problem is a potent recipe for extremism. Please think about that. Take some time, spend time with these new people.
You never know, you might actually learn something.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne is a Boomer and has been in the work force a long time. He runs T2Impact a knowledge firm. If you want to chat with him, he will be speaking at WIT Singapore 2022. October 4 and 5. His email is [email protected]
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