It’s not possible to just keep going like this

Hello, we are still the newcomers on the job market. We came to stay. Allow me: Gen Z. But who are we actually? And how do we want to work? Oh, sorry: “We” is not always correct in my case. Sometimes I’m part of the generation that disrupts the world of work, and sometimes I’m not, because I was born in 1996.

This back and forth is caused by science: Depending on the scientific definition, Gen Z starts with the 1997 or 1995 vintage. When writing theses, these definitions are often rolled out on countless pages – and once you have found the classification with the year of birth, you quickly face the next problem.

When it comes to the question of generations, there is another important aspect that needs to be taken into account: Because science is also aware that not all people who were born in a defined period of time have the same characteristics. After all, everyone’s individuality must also be considered.

This applies to all generations – although in my perception Gen Z is often seen as a homogeneous mass of people. The cliché: They (or rather we) don’t want to work and if they do, then only under supposedly presumptuous conditions: four days a week, a flexible workplace and work-life balance as the top priority.

Various studies have already looked at Gen Z and researched their demands on the world of work. For example, a Forsa survey commissioned by Xingthat young people would like a four-day week, and that they are less loyal to companies than previous generations such as millennials.

Another study by Yougov recently shows that Gen Z can also be loyal to their employer – if they feel comfortable there. I find that understandable: Why should I stay with an employer I don’t feel comfortable with?

It’s more of a sign of a problematic world of work if something like that isn’t important. Questions about a reasonable salary that a person and possibly a family can live on are not the first thing on our minds. We can “work hard” and yes, the salary should be right for that. So we want to be able to live on this money and not have to do a part-time job so that we can go on vacation – is that reprehensible? We may be more concerned with the question of salary, however, since the classic 40-hour week came into existence more than half a century ago, when the following applied: mother = household, father = work.

This is changing more and more – even in older semesters – for young people this upheaval is the prelude to our future. Incidentally, this can also be seen in many other places: climate change and digitization are two examples of this. In light of this, it would be madness to think that the world of work can remain as it is while everything around it is constantly changing.

So we have no choice but to come up with new ideas. For us, the world of work is not just about “earning money”, but also about fundamental questions: Is it still okay to have children? This question has often come up in my environment.

How should the household work with a 40-hour week? This is a question both men and women ask. In our generation of parents, we all experienced how relationships fell apart, how the father only appeared on the scene stressed in the evening hours. These are points that many of us want to do differently. Can you blame us? I do not think so.

In addition, studies also show that we want to work. Just not to the point of our own collapse, the capitulation of our private lives, or so that we first have to learn how to deal with free time when our hair is gray. We’re a young generation, with a bunch of individuals, each with their own dreams and goals – they don’t all fit into one poll. We saw in our parents what doesn’t work, what makes them unhappy and sick. We just want to do better – and you?