Moment of youth for firms' survival
Bosses must adapt work styles to fit the young generation if they are going to cope with a shrinking workforce, says management expert
The young generation of workers describe themselves as lazy and self-centred, but companies need to adapt to suit this new workforce rather than the other way round if they want to survive, a business expert said yesterday.
As the population ages and the workforce shrinks, bosses and senior management will ironically need to run things in a more relaxed way to keep their competitive edge, said Virginia Choi, managing consultant of Tamty McGill Consultants International, following its survey of 800 workers born since 1981.
"They are our workforce. You just have no choice," Choi said.
The survey interviewed about 700 people born between 1981 and 1994, the so-called Generation Y. Another 100 people, born after 1994 - Generation Z - were also interviewed, along with 634 employers.
Only about 200 of the Generation Ys were working. Others were studying or unemployed. All the Generation Zs interviewed were studying.
In a self-evaluation exercise, more often than not the Generation Ys described themselves as "creative", "lazy", "self-centred" and desiring "freedom".
