Issue 108 - 28th September - 26th October
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The seminar was hosted by iOpener, a consultancy based in Oxford that enables organisations to implement strategy and deliver key results by focusing on happiness at work, in conjunction with Talent Plus, a global human resources consultancy firm. The event looked at how ‘Generation Y’ is set to change business, impact the economy and shape the future. Generation Y is usually defined as those between the ages of 11 and 25 and will constitute a majority of the worforce within the next 10 years.
The hopes and aspirations of students from China, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States were put under the microscope in the seminar chaired by BBC World News anchor Nisha Pillai and in front of some of today’s senior business and industry leaders.
Over 50% of the student panel said that they would take a low paid job which they loved and only one member of the panel said that they would consider working for a large multinational corporation.
A common theme throughout was the students’ belief that their parents’ generation worked too hard and that a work-life balance and the ability to start a family without one’s career being affected were important prerequisites in determining the paths they would pursue.
All the students were optimistic about the future with no one blaming their parent’s generation for the world’s current economic plight with panellist Usman Nizami saying there was “a need to look forward.” When asked by a member of the audience whether they thought their parents’ generation had mortgaged their future, none of the panellists agreed.
Said Jessica Pryce-Jones, co-founder and partner of iOpener:
“What concerns, motivates and inspires our next generation will be central to how businesses organise themselves in the future.”
“It is clear, however, that many challenges lie ahead – not just in how businesses look to accommodate Generation Y but in how Generation Y adapt to prevailing business drivers. How can one sustain a clearly separated work and private life without jeopardising customer relationships? What can Generation Y give back to their employers in return? How can businesses ensure that Generation Y remain passionate and committed to their jobs?”
“It was also interesting to see how little attraction the big multinational brand has to tomorrow’s leaders and how money is not the main motivation. What is clear, however, is that with the progress in technology and the current economic climate, today’s generation are entering a very different workforce from their parents and Generation Y is entering it with remarkable optimism. It will be a fascinating journey with a clear onus on the employer to ensure that this talented generation is engaged and developed to their full potential.”
A broad and diverse range of perspectives were presented at the seminar. Key highlights included:
• Jack Shukman, a student from Oxford about to go to university and exploring a potential career in finance, said that “travelling and meeting people and a life beyond a computer screen” were key considerations in his career as well as the belief that what he was doing was important. He also set a challenge to prospective employers saying that he would put “personal success ahead of company success.”
• Russian student, Elena Alehova, who wants to become a politician, said that she wanted a career where she could experience “different aspects of life” and a career where the twin challenges of work success and bringing up a family could be met. “With children, work and going out, life is fast and varied”, Elena said, and “the workplace must be flexible enough to accommodate this.”
• Lucia Chen from China, who wishes to explore a career in medicine because she “wants to interact with people at a personal level”, echoed Elena’s requests for a work-life balance saying that she hoped she would be entering a more flexible NHS. Lucia also expressed a concern that technology might threaten old-fashioned work relationships.
• Joanna French, a student from North Carolina in the United States, painted the picture of her ideal working environment where she would work with motivated individuals and where her employer and co-workers would focus on her strengths. “Success is being happy”, she said. Joanna also said that that work-life balance was very important and that her parents worked too hard!
• Ahsan Naqvi, who lives in Dubai but comes originally from Pakistan and is a first year student at the London School of Economics, said that “success is something people should aspire to but not at the expense of happiness.”
• Usman Nizami, head boy at an Oxford school, said he wished to pursue a career in the diplomatic service as he wanted to “experience cultures around the world”. He hoped that his career would be “exciting and challenging” and “based on human interaction.”
• Linnea Jonsson, a student from Sweden about to study in Paris, described her love of writing and how she wanted to become a journalist. She said that “money is not as important as career fulfilment” and that she wanted “to be able to dedicate herself to family life” around her career. She also said that she didn’t believe her “generation to be as rebellious as previous ones.”
• Anna Fries, about to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, said that she wanted a job that she “could be passionate about”. She also said that employers should think more about workplace incentives, such as an on-site crèche, and flexible working time.
• Finally, Mabine Seabe from South Africa, who has just finished high school in Johannesburg, said that he wanted to be involved in change. “If you want change, be the change”, he said. He believes that “people should have a sense of urgency in everything they want to achieve”.
Representatives from the NHS, academia and some of the world’s leading blue-chip companies, including Cisco, De Beers, Computacentre, Merrill Lynch, Tesco and Vodafone, attended the event and participated in a discussion with the panel. For a DVD of the discussions, please contact Melissa Sharp at iOpener on +44 (0)1865 511522 or melissa.sharp@iopener.co.uk.
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