Why do we work? Is it just for the money, or are we motivated and driven by other forces? How important is the community of our workplace, how much do we rely upon it not just to fill our time, but to build our social circle. How do our attitudes to the community that work provides change as we get older and more experienced? In volume 2 of the 2008 Vodafone Working Nation research we look at how different age groups approach issues such as hierarchy, flexible working, socialising at work and the impact of "Generation Y" on the workplace.
Read blogs and posts about this topic
To read this document you'll need a PDF reader. Get Adobe Reader ®This was the question posed by Management Today in an article following the Queen’s speech. It is also an argument that has raged for years - with supporters and detractors from across the whole spectrum of the business world. One area that causes issues is the actual term ‘Flexible Working’. Read more…
The latest volume of the 2008 Working Nation Report, published today, reveals that the younger generation just entering the workforce, Generation Y, seems at first sight to be less keen on flexible working than popularly assumed. The typical image of these ‘digital natives’ is that they are iconoclasts unwilling to fit into the routines and structures of the traditional workplace. However, the research conducted for Working Nation, revealed that these individuals do value hierarchy and are afraid of isolation and loneliness if they work from home. Both those interviewed in focus group sessions, and the wider responses to quantitative polling demonstrate a desire to learn from others further along in their careers, and welcome structures steps to progress. Perhaps less surprising was the finding that 56 per cent view the social aspects of work as the most important (after being paid!).
But what does this tell us about flexible working? Will it falter as these young people establish themselves in the workforce? The answer is probably not - for these reasons…
1) The research shows that as workers get older and take on a wider range of responsibilities, including families, then the importance of the social aspect of work declines, and the recognition of the utility of flexible working increases.
2) Generation Y is undoubtedly the most technically acculturated of any generation - and for them it is totally natural to use the tools at their disposal to work (and play) in ways the suit them. What we regard as cutting edge flexible working techniques may just be work.
3) But perhaps most importantly, it does come down to the definition of flexible working. For too many it is simple flexi-time, coming into work early and leaving early etc. For others it is ‘Working from home’. It is entirely natural that neither of these is of much interest to young people (or anyone) who want to be part of a real community of work. However, surely true flexible working is the ability to work when, where and with whom you want or need to, irrespective of geography. The community is therefore the important bit - not the physical location of the office. If anyone is likely to make this vision a reality it is Generation Y.
To mark the launch of volume 2 of the 2008 Working Nation report we are hosting a live web chat to discuss the issues raised by the report. The web chat starts at 4pm GMT on 3rd December 2008.
Eugene Burke, business psychologist joins Ben Taylor of Vodafone to discuss the importance of community at work in this live online event. As technology enables more flexible working styles, there is increasingly less of a requirement for a physical office but does that mean less personal interaction? In this special web chat, Eugene Burke will be examining the vital ingredients that will constitute ‘the office’ for tomorrow’s workers while discussing too how we can celebrate & nurture community in the office in the current financial climate.
To view the web chat simply click here at 4pm on 3rd December. A recorded version will be posted on this site after the event.
At Vodafone we have been producing Working Nation for quite a few years now. Occasionally colleagues and customers ask me why.
Welcome from Mark Bond
