Remote Work: The Future of Working Remotely From the View of a Zillennial
Many businesses are trying to figure out a complex microgeneration, the Zillennials. This microgeneration has completely different standards than its predecessor, the Millennials. If you’re someone that is hiring people of this generation, it’s important to understand their view on the workplace and their expectations – one being, working from home.
Millennial vs. Gen Z vs. “Zillennial”
This may be the first time you have heard the term Zillennial, so let’s break it down. According to most experts, a Millennial is someone who was born between the years 1981 and 1996. As of publishing this blog post, the oldest Millennials are 40 years old, and the youngest are 25. This wide age gap in such a quickly advancing world has blurred the lines between what were once vast differences between generations. On the other hand, people of Gen Z were born between 1997 and 2012 – another wide gap for such a technological climate. With some resonating with both of these generations, the term “Zillennial” was born.
What is a “Zillennial”, and How Do They Differ From the Rest?
The experts that decide the names of generations did not come up with the term Zillennial, so this “generation” doesn’t have exact years to define it. But, according to the ever-so-trustworthy Urban Dictionary, a Zillennial is someone that was born three years before or after the cut-off of the Millennial generation or Gen Z. So, people born between 1993 and 2000.
People of this microgeneration are those who:
- Witnessed technology expand rapidly, unlike the early half of the Millennials
- Were taught IT in school, unlike most of the Millennial generation
- Grew up with (and prefer) social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr, unlike Millennials with MySpace
- Remember the first iPhone release, unlike Gen Z
- Were alive on September 11, 2001, but don’t remember what the world was like before it happened, unlike Millennials
- Appreciate time offline and off social media, unlike most of Gen Z
- Remember YouTube before it was a social media giant and before creators earned money from it, unlike Gen Z
- Grew up hearing financial lessons from their parents after The Great Recession, unlike Gen Z
- Remember Disney Channel when it was at its peak, unlike Gen Z
Why Does All of This Matter?
Understanding Zillennials, and younger Millennials for that matter, is highly important for businesses. At this point, every successful company knows replacing employees is a time-consuming and expensive process. Knowing what Zillennials expect at work can help you keep them long-term. It can even help your company in the future, considering that Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce today.
Remote Working and the Zillennial: A Love Story We All Predicted
In all seriousness, young Millennials and older Gen Zers preferring remote work was a surprise to no one. These technologically focused people know how to combat the challenges of working from home. They know that most professions can be done at home, and aren’t afraid to let their bosses know that. So, this is a deal-breaker when it comes to taking a job for many Zillennials.
While working from home is a preference depending on the individual, a vast majority of younger workers prefer it. According to an article from Forbes, 60% of the younger portion of the workforce would like to work at home after the pandemic is over. Although this number may not sound staggering – imagine 60% of your workforce out of the office. It would feel like a ghost town.
The Reason Behind It All: Work-Life Balance
For people in Gen X and the older half of Millennials, it can be confusing that many young Millennials and Gen Zers prefer to work from home. After all, don’t they love a break from being at home all the time and love the social interaction working at the office brings? Not exactly.
The same Forbes article mentioned previously states that two-thirds of Millennials say working from home promotes a healthy work-life balance. They can pet their dog when they’re stressed, they can drink their coffee, and they can run to Whole Foods on their lunch break. They may even co-work with their friend who works at a different company. What’s better than that?
The concept of having a work-life balance is very important to all employees, not just the younger ones. People that don’t have a healthy work-life balance are more likely to quit and feel underpaid in comparison to those that do have a healthy work-life balance. Not to mention, 80% of Millennials consider whether or not a job will affect their work-life balance before taking a role. The pandemic showed that the key to work-life balance is working remotely, so it’s time for companies to embrace this change.
Offering Remote Work to Zillennials
If you’re highly interested in hiring someone between the ages of 21 and 28, but they want to work remotely, consider allowing them. Because, if you don’t offer them a remote role, another company will. Although this can feel wrong and you may not have enough trust in a new hire yet, allow their work to speak for themselves. They will likely repay you for their appreciation in great work!
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