George Bernard Shaw is credited with coining the origins of the saying “youth is wasted on the young.” Well no disrespect Mr. Shaw, but nearly 100 years later, your thinking isn’t holding true when it comes to Gen Z and hybrid work.
Given that Gen Z will make up 30% of the total workforce by 2030, we were curious about how this freshman workforce generation felt about hybrid work in general. So we commissioned a study where we interviewed 1,000+ Gen Z job seekers. The insights were crystal clear and we wanted to share them.
Statistics on Gen Z and Hybrid Work
- 65% said the ability to have a mix of in-person and remote work was important when considering a potential employer.
- 70% said they are likely to select an employer who offers hybrid work over one that does not.
- 72% indicated lifestyle benefits of hybrid work that include convenience, flexibility, reduced stress, and better work-life balance.
And when it comes to the challenges of hybrid work see what our Gen Z’ers report.
We found it really interesting that communication was the top challenge listed among the 7 options (by a factor of 2x!). This supports our other customer research in speaking with thousands of leaders tasked with implementing hybrid work models – standing up a successful cake and eat it too hybrid work model has its challenges. We’ve found the best approach is a thoughtful framework paired with a platform like KettleOS is the best approach to help team leaders and members coordinate/communicate where, when, and why people work together in person vs. remotely.
It's clear that Gen Z'ers want their cake and to eat it too when it comes to hybrid work. And, given their growing seat at the table, this generation is going to have a strong voice in where the future of new work models lands. Companies that understand this and thoughtfully implement and communicate hybrid models where people's time together counts (for every generation), will ultimately establish themselves as true talent destinations where workers of all generations will enjoy working.