The Martians could landed in the car park and nobody would care so sure are some employees that nothing ever happens to really change things. But that could change now Generation Z are entering the work place.
Just because senior management consider we are in a period of major change doesn’t mean the majority of employees don’t think nothing really changes. Sure there is a management restructuring which may mean their line manager changes, there are unpopular proposals to change working practices, there is the impact /threat of new technology but the feeling persists that nothing really changes.
Employees feel that nothing ever happens to change things whilst at the same time senior management claim dramatic world events like Covid and hugely significant developments like AI have , are and will continue to change organisations. It’s as if the Martians landed in the car park and nobody cared.
Management is focused on over coming resistance to their changes but from the employee perspective it is still the same old story, line managers still behave in much the same way and senior managers continue to be detached, distant and obsessed with efficiency and the bottom line. Things are done to them, changes negotiated/ imposed without them having any real say, the work continues to be repetitive, mundane, the pressure to do more is relentless. The leaderships vision makes no impression because as far as alienated employees are concerned ,”It won’t make a difference “( to them).
Generations Z probably more that any generation before them wants to feel that their work has meaning, that what they do makes a difference, that the organisation they chose to work for can make them feel proud not because of its improved performance or profitability but because of its social and environmental credentials. They have come to expect Equality , Diversity and Inclusion will be woven into the fabric of the organisation. They are ready and eager to engage. But can organisations change and change quickly enough to keep them engaged?
Put another way Generation Z have spotted the Martians landing in the car park they recognise this could change everything, now they are asking will it?
Blair McPherson former Director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
