The rise of Generation-R

As the corporate world across the globe anxiously waits for the lockdown to get over, a new generation of workforce is evolving and getting ready to take on the new world of work.

5 Minutes read

When newer groups of people took to working from home during the current crisis, 5 Generations working together but aspiring differently, were being diverse at work. During the lockdown, the workforce got confined to an identical lifestyle, similar professional demands and common limitations. In a matter of days, a large majority of these individuals adopted evolved habits, beliefs and work ethos. For the first time, a significant number of workers from different generations started thinking alike. The current happenings seem to have unexpectedly tempered the diverse work generations and in the process, reduced diversity of thinking and workstyles.

We conducted an online survey covering individuals from across age groups and industries. While a minor proportion of the participants responded as per the expectations of their generation, the majority of participants across generations, surprisingly, responded in an identical manner. While before the lockdown the Millennials and the Gen-X were known to have very diverse work ethics, preferences and expectations, they seem to be thinking similar to each other during the current times. Seemingly, they have learned, unlearned and recalibrated themselves as professionals. This group of individuals to have RESET themselves and evolved into a different generation.

I call it Generation R. The resilient reset Generation.

What is Generation R?

Generation R is that group of individuals who, during the course of the lockdown, have developed new skills, new beliefs, embraced new paradigms and thereby re-adjusted their worldview. This 60% of people have changed some of their habits and beliefs during the lockdown period. 

They say it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. Over the course of 21 days, this group of people have given up some old ways of thinking and have developed a new point of views.

And then we observed remarkable similarities in what this group was thinking, planning and feeling – across generations. Some patterns turned out to be different from the typical generational response be it Gen-X, Millennials or the Gen-Z.

What Generation R is thinking?

Everyone around us, no doubt, believes that the world of work is going to change significantly post the current crisis. Gen-R is no different. This generation has a heightened optimism and believes that the world will be a better place to live and work in going forward. They feel much in control and have developed greater resilience and comfort with ambiguity. Further analysis showed shifts in 3 broad areas:

The way people look at the workplace is changing

• 91% of the group respondents believed that the world of work will significantly change due to the current situation with 65% expecting a direct change in their career direction and opportunities. The non-Gen-R group, on the other hand, believes that much will remain largely unchanged.
• Gen-R believes that after the situation normalizes, the workplace will be much more competitive (76%). Therefore, 77% of the Gen-R are getting ready to put in more effort into work going forward. The non-Gen-R group, however, believed that the workplace will become much more collaborative, with 68% feeling that they will NOT be required to work any harder.
• 63% Gen-R believes individual contributors being more successful at work than the other group – a belief that the Millennials carried previously.

Lockdown has shifted employee mindset

• 56% of the Gen-R reported having learned a new skill as against only 12% of the Non-Gen-R group. This we believe is one of the most weighted differentiating factors between Gen-R and others.
• High on optimism, almost 66% of the Gen-R found themselves feeling more spiritual than before.
• 73% of the Gen-R employees plan to work towards having multiple sources of income post the lockdown as against only 45% of the Non-Gen-R group. This will have clear implications to how this new generation looks at the employment contracts and therefore their choice of employers.
• 62% of the Gen-R reported having put MORE effort into their work during the current crisis/lockdown. On the other hand, 66% of the Non-GEN-R group reported having put a similar or lesser effort in work during recent times.

60% of the workers will return with evolved work ethics once things are normal

• 83% of the GEN-R believes that working flexibly is fun and gives greater productivity. On the other had 75% of the Non-Gen-R group missed working in pre-defined fixed office hours.
• Interestingly, 89% of Gen-R respondents as compared to only 23% of the non-Gen-R group believed that they owe more to society and the environment than before.
• While 93% of the GEN-R would like to try new Jobs / Roles once the world returns to normal, 54% of the Non-GEN-R want to remain where they are.

A correlation was observed between the work from home technology provided by the Organization and the shift of employees to the new Gen-R Mindset. While 86% of those who shifted to the Gen-R mindset said their organization provided technology & tools that enabled them to fully work from home without any limitation during the lockdown. 66% of those who have NOT changed, reported unhappiness with the technology and tools provided for working from home,

So, what does it mean for the organizations?

Clearly, a large proportion of the workforce will return with altered beliefs, new skill sets, heightened aspirations and most importantly evolved work ethics. Organizations, therefore, will have to transform their culture, relook at their EVP and provide the correct enablers to continue to be preferred choice for talent. Few important changes that the organizations must consider are:

1. Relook at the employment modality. With 73% of employees wanting to create multiple sources of income, it is in organizations best interest to provide them with those opportunities within the enterprise. Organizations need to create an internal market place where employees can try new roles/jobs and make more money, in addition to their usual jobs – it is like opening the paid Gig opportunities to existing employees so don’t have to look outside.
2. Enable true flexible working with technology and processes. This would mean removing any functional limitations, high-security platforms and applications that can run full force anytime, anywhere and on any device. TCS has already announced 25/25, where they expect 75% of their workforce to work permanently from home
3. Create a culture of enablement, openness and empathy. Employees expectations empathy and understanding will be permanently altered once normalcy returns. Leaders and managers will, therefore, need to adopt a different leadership and managerial style. Work and personal life have truly become one single whole. Employees expect pressure to deliver on deadlines but want the flexibility around work schedule and style.
4. Assume greater societal and environmental responsibility. Companies not being responsible corporate citizens will find it increasingly difficult to attract, recruit and retain Gen-R talent. The talent that will be imperative for the future success of any business anywhere in the world.

How the world of the world evolves after the current crisis is over is for us to see, however, some of these trends clearly signify the beginning of a new era. An era where generational differences are less relevant, where the survival is not of the fittest but most.

About the author

Shaakun Khanna is a highly sought-after Leadership Development, Business Strategy & HR Transformation expert in Asia and is the co-founder of Consentus Advisory. He serves as the Head of HCM Cloud Applications Strategy, Asia Pacific, at Oracle Corporation.

Views expressed are personal and do NOT represent that of Oracle Corporation, any of its subsidiaries or any other organization.