We have already seen that Generation Z has come to change traditionally deeply rooted work dynamics. Not only in Spain and Europe but it happens in many places in the world (Even in China and Japan with a work culture of spending many hours a day in the company, they are noticing these changes).

One of the main interests of the younger generation, which is already surpassing the boomers in the labor market, is having time to balance their professional and personal lives and having time for leisure and friends or family.

For this, there are various ideas that have been implemented that involve testing whether working less can lead to the same results. The four-day workday, reducing the hours worked weekly (maintaining 40 hours means working 10 hours a day and Belgium has already shown that it does not work), is being a success in many places around the world. And it is one of the broadest demands of Gen Z.

Iceland is one of the pioneering places in the tests and where the four-day work day has given the best results: It even improved its economy at the national level.

1.Everyone wants free time

First of all, Iceland has shown that something that young professionals widely ask for, In the end it has ended up being adopted by older generations. No matter how much criticism is often leveled at those who have been called “the glass generation”, in practice who doesn’t like to have more leisure time.

In Iceland, The tests started in 2015 and only 1% of the population adopted it. Over time, 86% of workers ended up losing the idea that spending more hours in the company is essential and ended up joining this new way of working. That is to say, the older generations also wanted to join, for years, this revolution in the way of working.

2.Productivity can improve

A few months ago we saw a study that concluded that Generation Z points to the way to be more productive at work: 81% of them are sure that a four-day day helps. At Genbeta we have interviewed Spanish companies that have told us the same thing, because workers are more rested and motivated to carry out their tasks. And many studies point to the same thing.

In the case of Iceland, in conclusive studies, it has been seen that people who have adapted this reduction in their working days consider that the reduction in stress has resulted in a greater well-being for workers and that It has significantly increased its hourly productivity (and the economy grew above the region’s average).

As we already saw in Genbeta in this regard, in the conclusions of the study in Iceland, the researchers found that productivity remained the same or improved in most workplaces. According to researchers, historically the Icelandic workforce has worked more hours than workers in neighboring Nordic countrieswhile the figures showed lower hourly productivity.

Now, according to the Labor Market Statistics Committee, Labor productivity in Iceland has increased by 1.5% per year on average over the last five years, the highest in the Nordic countries.

3.Quality of life

Young workers are the generation that cares least about salary, according to several studies, but we also know that they highly value other things about a company, such as being able to learn within the company and that there are ways of working that allow a certain flexibility to being able to have quality time outside the office.

A survey, which was echoed by Fortuneasked respondents to select up to three options for how they define “wealth”. Most baby boomers (61%) agreed that it simply meant being financially secure. For Generation Z, money and financial stability were not enough to have wealth. Almost 4 in 10 defined it as “having a better quality of life” and having financial security came in second place, followed by “living life the way I want.”

In the conclusions of the study carried out in Iceland we found that “worker well-being increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout to good health and work-life balance.” One of the participants told the researchers that “we have somewhat lost sight of the fact that life is not just work. The work culture here is, in fact, working long hours… (but) we should rethink the work and adapt.”

4.Use technology helps

As collect 3dGamesin recent years the Icelandic government has been actively committed to the digitalization of companies and public services. The objective: improve the efficiency of workers, using new technologies in their processes. And they have proven that it works. The Icelandic study says, with the conclusions, that “the impact that automation and technological change will have on our working lives, along with the growing desire to spend less time tied down to work, has put reducing working hours firmly on the policymaking table.

Covid may have driven rapid transitions to remote work and unexpected increases in free time, as workers have abandoned their daily commutes or been forced to work reduced hours, the study states.

In this case, Generation Z, in addition to growing up in technological environments, spent their years of study or their first forays into work during the pandemic years. Therefore, without remedy, They had to adapt to carrying out all their work (getting a degree, joining a company for the first time…) from home, online… Although there are many studies that suggest that their strengths are not in the use of basic aspects of the PC or that they do not know how to use devices such as printers, they are a generation that has spent their entire lives glued to the technology.

Via | 3DGames

Image | Photo of Campaign Creators in Unsplash

In Genbeta | From big layoffs to ostracism: these are the techniques that tech companies use to make their workers get bored and resign