Trends come and go. But, make no mistake, the drive towards greater meaning and purpose at work isn’t just a momentary fad. It’s a shift in the deepest current governing where the world of work is headed. We ignore it at our peril.
The early shoots of a radical shift in what people want from work have been there for some time. When Millennials came of age, their older Generation X or Baby Boomer bosses sometimes despaired at their demands, their expectations, their lofty ideals.
But this wasn’t just an intergenerational spat. Millennials laid the seeds of profound change that Generation Z is now propelling forward ever faster.
All the data is telling us this. Research by PwC has shown that 86% of employees prefer to support or work for companies that care about the same issues they do. More than three-quarters will stop buying from companies that treat the environment, employees, or the community poorly. Job fulfilment and the ability to be authentic at work clock in just behind pay considerations among employees considering a job change.
By 2029, Millennials and Generation Z will make up 72% of the world’s workforce. It means a radically more expansive experience at work will no longer be just an attractive extra, but a commercial necessity. And for those of us working in HR, our remit will therefore expand increasingly further than pay, perks and progression.
I’ve experienced this in my role as Chief People Officer at the Yorkshire Building Society where social purpose and sustainability was added to my brief in September 2020.
As a mutual, we have a strong purpose and have always been committed to people and community so there was a synergy around the societal piece and a broader ESG agenda for us. Our work in communities and on our I&D were already part of the people division agenda. It was a logical bridge for us into the arena of sustainability covering everything from the products we offer to the partners we work with.
Taking it on was certainly a personal learning curve. To prep for the role, I did some training at Oxford University and the data was more sobering than I could ever have anticipated. But they’ve also fuelled my passion for this work and the role business must play in finding solutions to these huge societal and environmental challenges.
It’s never been more critical. Sustainability is fundamental to our business model – on a practical, financial, and ethical level – and the younger generations we are looking to recruit know they are at the sharpest point of impact for all this.
They are inheriting a working world with significant social inequality and climate challenges that will need to be tackled in their employment lifetime – and these considerations are now forming a key part of their decision-making process about who to work for, and how long.
More than 50% of Gen Z who are dissatisfied with their organization’s societal impact, progress on diversity and commitment to sustainability would like to leave their job within two years.
But be warned: this isn’t time for headline-grabbing generalisations about your positive impact. Emerging talent is more discerning than ever about what you say – and what you do. They will research, evidence your claims via external agencies and call you out if you are not doing what you say. Their skepticism however will drive our collective accountability.
