The Workforce of the Future
The workforce of the future may currently consider the youngest generations, artificial intelligence and spans of generational workers.
Fractional work models and gig work is still young. The idea of working on your own as a 1099 or independant company to date takes people out of the norm. Meaning, most people do not work as their own personal business for others.
Our current workforce is shifting and warping. The norms of society don’t align yet and old process and practices have yet to lend themselves easily to a changing work place construct.
The youngest generation heading into the workforce
For many, especially kids coming out of traditional high school, people are in competition to get into the best school. The last few years of high school can be miserable and stressful. The reason escapes me.
If you get a degree from an ivy league school, does it mean automatic riches? Landing a fantastic job out of the gate? Does it mean that you are a high performer?
Young people coming straight out of college with incredible debt find themselves in a bad situation. They also may have expectations that don’t align with what is happening in the workforce. This isn’t to say that companies aren’t making changes. Companies are making changes but in reality, some things move at a much slower pace.
Interestingly enough, in my non formal discussions with corporate leaders, I hear some consistent themes. You may recognize this in your own work. For context, this is about the younger workforce entering a company or market.
- Every single thing is questioned.
- I’m not doing that because I don’t want to.
- When do I get promoted?
- I don’t feel like coming into work so I am not coming in.
- I don’t need to check in with anyone because I know what I need to do.
- Work life is really life life and so, I’ll get to the work thing at some point.
- I can do everything, so just give it to me and leave me alone.
- My kitty is named Rex and he is so cute and I just discovered on ancestry that I am 1/10th elbownian so, I now have to get all the elbownian recognition and we also need elbownian days and parties.. and stuff.. for us..
- Hey, my mom and dad are coming in for this interview, will there be lunch and dinner?
The list goes on and on. The old “generation x”++ people now fall into a few camps.
- Man, these kids are smart. Wish I would have thought of this!
- We need to support them because the way we did things was wrong.
- We need to be understanding and respect them.
- They don’t get it, they need to do what they are told. Doesn’t make sense.
- How are we supposed to get work done? I guess I’ll do it myself.
- I have no idea what to do, just doing my thing and at some point, I’ll get off this crazy ride.
- Give them everything they want.
- Give them nothing.
- What the heck happened to the world? Is this for real?
The X’rs still seem to stand in the center and work to pull things together and make it all work out.
This absolutely does not apply to every company and every situation. It is important to understand that we are in the middle of a shift. There is a generation entering the workforce, born with technologies in their hands. They are not simply digital natives, they are effectively non integrated cyborgs. Look for a young person without an electronic device. Hard to find. You can absolutely argue that older generations also are attached to their devices but the older generations would be able to sustain a digital detox.
It is OK and ..
The working world will shift. The future will be hybrid working conditions, shifted cultural norms and potentially less loyal workers overall. Companies will try to force people into the office. The older generations that reside in the middle of the pack will be the most tolerant until they can more easily choose to walk away.
The younger people, will simply leave. Yes, they will. On the other side of the equation, the oldest generation may also leave. They may need something because they didn’t save enough money but they have value and I believe the “greyforce” will be very important to our future as we transition to the real next generation of work.
As this is my personal blog and personal perspective, I didn’t sit down and search on the term greyforce to see if I mistakingly heard it in a song or something. It just made sense to me based on looking in the mirror and my experience with older workers.
Greyforce Z and Y
My definition of greyforce is more about the way people think and behave towards work vs, how old they are. At the same time, it is highly likely that people will behave in the way I am describing if they come from one of the older generations. To be clear, it is NOT a hard line and this does not apply to all people.
According to Columbia University
- Experience and Skills: Older workers bring a level of experience, critical thinking, and knowledge that cannot be taught. They have spent decades honing their skills, which can continue to improve until very late in life.
- Longer Tenure: Older workers tend to stay in jobs longer and take fewer days off. In 2014, the median tenure of workers ages 55-64 in all industries was 10.4 years, more than three times the 3.0 years for workers ages 25-34 years.
- Strong Work Ethic: Older workers are often the first ones to arrive for a shift, remain focused throughout the day, and rarely miss work. They are also more motivated to exceed expectations on the job than their younger counterparts.
- Loyalty: Older workers are more loyal and more likely to stay with their company than younger workers. This can lead to lower turnover costs and less disruption to customer service2.
- Adaptability: Studies have demonstrated older workers’ capacity to learn new processes and technologies & they are a;
- Skilled and reliable labor source
- Decades of relevant experience
- May cost less if they have health coverage
- Can mentor younger employees
- Comfortable with flexible hours
- Less likely to job-hop
- Experienced problem solvers
- Engaged and focused on tasks
- Comfortable with technology
- Show appreciation for job offers
- Veterans contribute to company ethos
- Represent a large segment of the market
- Self-aware of their skills
Reflection and Personal XP
I’ve been working since I was about 11 years old. My first job was dropping papers off for 12 apartments x 35 floors x 3 buildings for $35.00. That was all the way back in the 19’s.
I worked many jobs, pizza shop, day care center, grocery store stocker, and on and on. I met so many people along the way. I’ve seen patterns as well. There always seemed to be a super person, someone who did most of the work. They were always busy, full of energy and very productive.
Years later, well after I was out of the Navy, I would see the same thing in people that I worked with in other places. Booz Allen had intention when it came to bringing in young fresh minds. At the time, I could see the bleeding out of the old generation and the push towards new, young people getting into the mix. At the same time, the government called for needed experience with military concepts, equipment, process and technologies that a 21 year old fresh out of Dartmouth did not have.
The result was at the time clunky. There is absolutely nothing wrong with youth but we can’t discount the value of years of experience.
Later at Chubb, I’ve written many times about my immediate supervisor looking to clean house of my team. All together, the average age of my team was mid 60’s. Simply put, they were amazing and the productivity was just something special. The outcomes were immediate and the team was caring and supportive of each other. I think they adopted me..
At BMS, the team was between 40’s and up towards 60’s. I had one job to do with this team and that was understand what they were doing so that I could “block and tackle” challenges. They did the rest.
As I have many stories of how older workers had an impact on my personal life of work. I believe firmly that the greyforce and this mental model of work will be the pillar that holds up many companies as they try to find the new normal.
The Z as the end and the Y as the reason.
The phone rings and it is a CIO friend. He is looking for someone to help him with his new AI initiative. Needs to hit the ground running, have fresh ideas, ready to learn, ready to study and ready to move fast.
Question: Hey friend “Could you ask around if anyone has any kids looking to get started”?
Maybe the question should be “Hey friend, do you know any Gramma’s or Grandpa’s hanging out looking for something fun and innovate to do”? <– YES
Today, I work with a person who is of my parents age group. On our team, he is the most productive, fastest moving, most creative, most innovate and pound for pound the most effective person on our team. Hard to keep up with him as he moves with lighting speed, great precision and his wealth of knowledge runs deep and wide. He sets the bar very high. — ULTIMATE RESPECT —
I believe firmly, the best approach for organizations moving forward will be a very healthy greyforce with cohorts of youth brought in with an understanding of who will stay and who will move out quickly. It will help organizations understand and assess needs, gain stability, growth and modernize the workforce.
Don’t underestimate the power of the greyforce!
As always, much love.. – and to all the people who have helped me along the way “all the greys” thank you and I love you, my life would not be the same with out your leadership and guidance.
Let’s hear it for the old people. We aren’t dead yet.
Love this.