Deloitte’s recently released Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey has noted some key trends in what the younger generations want from their workplaces.
“They are reassessing their priorities in the wake of ongoing crises, and are actively trying to balance the challenges of everyday lives with their desire to drive societal change,” says Lee Yun-Han, consulting director of Deloitte Southeast Asia. “Business leaders in Malaysia thus need to consider bold moves to address this.”
The top concern for both generations is cost of living, as many live paycheck to paycheck, and are concerned that they will not be able to retire comfortably. Around four in 10 Generation Z workers and a third of millennials are employed in a part- or full-time “side hustle” in addition to their primary job.
Another concern is flexibility, with a majority of millennials (77%) and Generation Zs (75%) saying they prefer hybrid or remote work. But less than half of them have an option to take on such roles. In connection to cost of living, the survey respondents valued flexible work because it helped them to save money.
There is a growing concern for mental health, both generations cite longer-term financial future, day-to-day finances, and workload as their top three contributors to the feelings of stress and anxiety. Around 65% of Malaysian Generation Zs surveyed by Deloitte said their burnout stemmed from the intensity and demands of their workloads.
“The answer to address the cost-of-living concern is not to simply pay them more, but to ensure that they are moving towards higher value and more meaningful jobs that attracts higher pay,” Lee said.
“To do so, business leaders need to fundamentally relook at the business and organisation from top to bottom and reimagine the work, workforce, and workplace to be more productive, profitable, and positioned better for the future.”
The push for flexibility should be more than just an HR policy document, Lee added, and should be a “fundamental shift in operating philosophy that enables organisations to operate more like startups, with modernised people practices and ecosystem that enables enterprise agility”.
Lee suggested that Malaysia invest heavily in accelerating the development of corporate leaders before it becomes overtaken by competition from neighbouring economies.
The study defined millennials as those born between January 1983 and December 1994, and Gen Zs as those born between January 1995 and December 2003.
