In conversations about returning to the office, there’s a widespread assumption that “the dinosaurs in the C suite” are the only group that wants people to work onsite as much as possible. But another group is also clamoring for less remote work: the youngest and newest employees in the workforce, Generation Z and younger Millennials. Their desire for more time in the office is motivated primarily by their interests in social interactions and mentoring.
People in their twenties look to the workplace for much of their social interaction. Statistically, they are more likely than older workers to be single and therefore often don’t have the family responsibilities that compel other employees to seek more flexibility and work-life balance. Many younger workers, especially those fresh out of school or those who have had first jobs elsewhere and are looking for a fresh start, have moved away from their friends or families in order to pursue new opportunities and find themselves in new cities, needing to rebuild social networks and support systems.
Most importantly, these younger workers want to belong somewhere. Claiming to have a best friend or intimate social circle at work is a significant indicator of employee engagement. This is the age when people hang out after work, date (sometimes their coworkers or their coworkers’ friends), and start to settle into the neighborhoods or towns where they will spend significant parts of their lives.
But those darned kids are just looking for new people to party with. Young workers know they lack essential information. They want to learn as much as they can—and they want mentors to help them.
Employees new to an organization want guidance on what their new jobs entail. They want to understand how things are done there, and they want to learn about and be part of the company culture. Having entered adulthood during or just after the COVID-19 pandemic, many young employees have no in-office experience at all and don’t know the basics of workplace etiquette, networking, and professional behavior. They want (and need) training, mentoring, and networking, all of which can be handled virtually but are far easier to do—and more effective—when they take place in physical proximity to others.
Younger employees aren’t necessarily signing up for the traditional commute-to-the-office-8-to-5 grind. What they are looking for is sensible flexibility. They want to do good work and know that some activities (such as socialization, training, mentoring, and coaching) make sense in the office. But they also know that there are plenty of tasks that don’t require being in a central location at a specified time and believe that if they feel their brains work best in the morning or late at night, that’s when they should be able to do their work.
As organizations consider what hybrid work should look like, they must consider all of the demographics of their workforces. When offering flexible or hybrid work to their younger recruits, for example, companies should examine whether they are maximizing the time those workers spend onsite. Most importantly, they should not assume that younger, more technically connected people want to avoid the office.
