Employers, listen up.
After many, many interviews in the USA and several with native Madrilenos, it is obvious what the magic word for our generation is, and that it is global: FLEXIBILITY! That’s all we want.
When asked what would make an employer attractive to them, virtually all of the people we have interviewed over the past couple of months have answered that they want responsibility, room to grow and…..flexibility! An overwhelming amount expressed the desire to work from home and even the ability to work three or four day weeks when they have young children in the future (and it was not only young women who answered thus). The overall consensus appeared to be a disdain for the traditional idea of “facetime” in favor of a work culture that recognizes what they produce rather than the time they spend physically present at the office.
Is this generation unique in it’s craving for flexibility? Or did our parents and their parents have the same desires that were eradicated once they entered the grind of every-day office life? I think the former. We are, after all, a generation that has been raised in a completely media-saturated environment. We know that most things we do in our cubicles can be done from anywhere, as long as we are connected to the internet. Knowing this, who can blame us for our skepticism about a culture that revolves as much around where you are as what you do.
Then again, how important is the talk by the water cooler? If everyone is working from home (or from a boat, or a plane, or a friends’ house across the globe), what will happen to the kind of professional interactions from which great ideas are spawned? In a recent interview with The Lattice Group, Esquire Articles Editor Ryan D’Agostino explained how important being social with your colleagues can be. He says, “It is productive to go for a drink with the people you work with. I think that is true of any career. Especially here, where we might get two story ideas out of having dinner with a couple of other editors.” (read the full story here )
I suppose the answer lies in finding a balance between flexibility and facetime. How do you do that? I'll let you know when I figure it out. - Astri
How important is flexibility to you? Let us know by commenting on this blog or shooting us a email at:
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