Shaping their own journey to success

GENERATION Z is shaking up the traditional idea of careers.

Randstad’s 2024 Workmonitor research found that two out of five Malaysians would quit if required to work in the office more than they did during the flexible work arrangements implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey asked locally-based employees and job seekers about their career expectations and experiences.

The current sentiment revealed by the research is especially strong among Gen Z, who are those born between 1997 and 2012.

As these youths embrace gig economy and new career paths, the future of work is set to change with the shift in attitudes.

Personalised career paths

Before joining a five-year-old startup company as a full-time interior designer, Lim Keat Yee, 25, had been taking on freelance interior design projects.

Keat Yee icing one of her cakes.. — Courtesy photos

However, she encountered difficulties in attracting new clients because of her limited portfolio.

So to enhance her credentials and expand her network, she opted for a traditional nine-to-five job.

After a year, Keat Yee found herself grappling with challenges inherent in a nine-to-five job, including inflexible working hours, micromanagement and modest compensation.

She said: “I don’t dismiss nine-to-five jobs outright, they provide a stable source of income and, for some individuals, a supportive work environment.”

After some considerations, she resolved to invest more energy into her childhood passion of baking, transforming it into an entrepreneurial project.

The hobby Keat Yee had from the age of 11 became an online baking venture called Bakey Cakey, which has blossomed into a thriving enterprise.

From starting with crafting cupcakes, cookies and cakes for individual orders, she now supplies cafes with her creations.

She aims to turn the business into a viable long-term enterprise.

“I aspire to have autonomy over my time and workflow,” said Keat Yee.

She plans to dedicate herself fully to the venture while continuing to undertake freelance design projects to supplement her income in the future.

Chia hunting for books in a bookstore.

Similarly, university student Meg Chia Yi Lin, 22, is carving out her own path alongside her studies.

She learnt about the drawbacks of a traditional nine-to-five job, including the lack of recognition for employees’ efforts, through family and friends’ experiences.

As such, she finds fulfilment as a part-time website content writer for a United States- based startup.

“I feel privileged to collaborate with a dynamic team of experienced professionals and guided by supportive mentors who value my creativity,” said Chia.

Working a part-time job also gives her time to nurture a “bookstagram” account named Bibliophilogy, which is dedicated to sharing book reviews and began as a passion project at the age of 14.

As her account gains traction, opportunities for monetisation and paid collaborations arise.

However, Chia prefers to keep business and pleasure separate.

“While some have suggested turning it into a full-time business, I’m committed to preserving it as a platform for sharing my passion for literature and fuelling my creativity.

“I don’t want to contaminate its essence with the pressure of consistently planning content and making it a complete advertisement space,” she added.

Her passion project is sharing book reviews on social media.

Reflecting on her career aspirations, Chia envisions a path where her abilities are celebrated and her creative freedom is fulfilled, while striking a work-life balance that allows her to explore other opportunities.

Sharing the same opinion is UK civil servant, Jason Lim, 23, who began charting his career path during his university years.

Even though he recognised the stability and attractive remuneration that came with the job, he does not see himself working the daily grind in the long-term.

“I am lucky to secure a job in the UK in my early 20s but I don’t envision being confined to a conventional nine-to-five position for the rest of my life,” he said.

At present, Jason is exploring an entrepreneurial journey, setting his mind to embark on a business venture focused on environmental impact.

“In order to fund my project, I allocate a certain percentage of my income each month to invest in S&P 500 stocks,” he said.

S&P 500 stocks refer to the stocks of 500 largest publicly traded companies in the US.

While acknowledging the potential for delayed returns, Jason viewed long-term investing as a prudent strategy for future financial security as a back-up plan to his entrepreneurial project.

In defining his ideal career, he noted the importance of building self-sufficiency.

“A career should provide opportunities for both financial and skill growth.

“Secondly, these skills should be adaptable to different industries and geographies, allowing individuals to apply them in the event of a change in career trajectory to other industries or entrepreneurial ventures.

“Opportunities that do not meet these criteria is merely a job, not a career,” he added.

Different working styles

Sometimes labelled as lazy, easily offended and entitled, Gen Z employees appear to have a poor reputation among employers.

However, not everyone shares that opinion.

Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology Department of Student Affairs deputy director Harry Goh Keng Siong, who is also Student Career Development Centre head, believes it boils down to how people engage with them.

“It’s not that Gen Zers are more difficult to work with; it’s because the older generations do not know how to work with them,” Goh, 50, said.

“Gen Zers are smart, resilient, adaptable, empathetic and more understanding of the world they live in.

“They are more vocal of the issues around them — they want to be heard and seek to be connected.

“However, whether these traits are seen as positive or negative largely depends on the management styles of the companies they join,” he noted.

Goh says the older generations do not know how to work with Gen Z.

He added that Gen Zers were also more in-depth thinkers.

“They don’t just talk about making money, they are more interested in what makes life fulfilling,” added Goh.

He identified a key trait that set Gen Zers apart in the workplace.

“One difference between Gen Z and previous generations is that most Gen Zers do not enjoy sitting in the office.

“They wish to have more freedom in terms of how they work.

“As long as they are able to complete their job and deliver results on time, it shouldn’t matter how they work,” he added.

To attract and retain Gen Z talent, Goh suggested that companies listen to and understand their concerns, adapting by offering hybrid working modes and flexible hours, while providing mentorship and supervision.

He also recommended that companies be open to allowing Gen Z employees to pursue entrepreneurial side projects as part of the organisational culture.