Too demanding or rightly looking for self-development?
02/05/22
Young talent and employers in conversation about the labor market
Attracting and retaining talent is one of the biggest challenges for employers in 2022. What are young people looking for in their work? And how can employers respond to this effectively? In the run-up to the Workforce Preference Study (WFPS) event 2022, PwC is bringing together various representatives of young talent and employers for an interview.
In the first episode, Marie-Christine de Loë, chair of Integrand Nederland, and Raymond Welmers, PwC partner within People & Organisation, talk about the differences and similarities between young people and organizations in the labor market.
Marie-Christine de Loë, chair of Integrand Nederland, and Raymond Welmers, PwC partner within People & Organisation
Shortage in the labor market
The term 'war for talent' has been in vogue since the late 1990s, but the labor market is currently very tight. During the corona pandemic, 'the great resignation' was added, the phenomenon that mainly younger employees resign in order to reorient themselves.
With several vacancies available for every job seeker, the younger generation is generally in a privileged position on the labor market. Law student Marie-Christine de Loë is chair of Integrand Nederland, an organization that helps highly educated students to step into the labor market. What is her perspective on this?
Ambitious young people set the bar high
Marie-Christine: 'I think my generation is not so aware of that luxury. A luxury position implies that there is freedom to choose, work and grow. I currently see an ongoing race for who has the best CV, with an interesting board year, a good study specialization and good side jobs.
Then we all prey on the most sought-after vacancies. Once we have that, we quickly want to move on, because the grass seems greener elsewhere. We have a lot to choose from, which is nice, but it also creates stress. Ambitious students set the bar high and sometimes fear that they will not be able to meet the expectations of employers.'
Generational differences in the workplace
'Interesting to hear,' says Raymond Welmers. As a PwC partner within People & Organisation, he helps employers to be optimally attractive to current and future employees.
'There are quite a few misconceptions between generations in the workplace. Employers often have a hard time with this young generation of employees. They are seen as demanding, are difficult to commit and take a head start on what they think they can do. People who are in their 40s and 50s and who are now in charge have the mentality of ;first work hard and show something'.
Another generational difference: a young employee refuses to take up a project because he or she has done something similar before and prefers to do something new. While the employer is looking for someone who does the same type of project twenty times and gets better and better. But we also see that this attitude, on which taking initiative and wanting to discover new topics is based, is seen as positive and refreshing by many employers.'
‘Young people have a lot to choose from, which is great, but it also causes stress. Ambitious students set high standards and sometimes fear that they will not be able to meet the expectations of employers.’
Training and personal development
'What do we have to offer you to stay?' Raymond asks Marie-Christine on behalf of the employers. 'Training and personal development', says Marie-Christine. 'These two things are most important to our generation.'
At Integrand, we once conducted an internal study on whether our board members would perform better if they were matched with financial rewards, linked to objectives. But that didn't seem to matter at all. The board position on your resume, that's what it's all about, proof of your personal development. Due to the rat race in which students find themselves, we see that making a CV attractive is becoming a goal in itself, with the learning curve appearing to decrease in importance.'
Performance based pay means little to the younger generation
'We see exactly the same in the market on a structural basis,' says Raymond. 'Personal development is central and performance-related pay means little to your generation. You want to do new things, get training, get better. Recognition is important, but it does not have to be immediately expressed in money. The difficult thing for employers is that all the business processes are built around objectives that translate into individual performance-related pay. But that works less and less well.'
‘Employers often have difficulty with this young generation of workers. They are seen as demanding, difficult to commit to and ahead of what they think they can do.'
Employers don't always get correct information
Employers would like to conform to the younger generation, but do not always receive the correct information to do so. Take the trade unions, for example. Young people are hardly represented in the trade unions, while they conclude collective labor agreements with employers for about eighty percent of the labor market.
Raymond: 'In any case, only one in five workers is still a member of a trade union, and a quarter of those members have already retired. The share of young trade unionists up to the age of 25 is only two and a half percent. The representativeness of the unions is decreasing, but many employers cannot ignore it. It is important that collective labor agreement discussions are held with groups that represent the interests of the entire labor market, including those of young people. You can already see that many young people are leaving for smaller organizations that do not have collective agreements.'
Development opportunities are central
Marie-Christine: 'However, at Integrand we see that registrations for company days are always filled faster for large corporates. Of course they offer good employment conditions, but I think development opportunities, career prospects and the steep learning curve are central to this.'
Raymond: 'I think employers should be happy with people who value development more than money. I do see another problem, though. Due to the shortage on the labor market, young people are often thrown in at the deep end very quickly. There is more and more work for fewer people – how much time is left to spend on a training budget, you may wonder.
That, combined with a Pippi Longstocking attitude - 'I've never done it, so I think I can do it' - can lead to a lot of pressure at the beginning of the career, and that is not healthy for everyone, we see an increase in absenteeism and young people frequently get a burnout.'
Curious, but also afraid of wrong choices
'Young people are eager to learn and find themselves in a period in their lives in which self-development is central', says Marie-Christine. At their first job, they are confronted with a new reality. In this transition, young people may come across as ambitious and demanding. However, there is also a fear of not being able to live up to expectations or making the wrong choice in career.'
Raymond sees an important role for employers in this: 'By properly guiding and coaching young people during their first steps on the labor market, a win-win situation can arise. Both the employee and the employer benefit from it.”
Follow us
