Remote work is great for many things. There is no journeyand many employees feel more productive without the distractions of the office. But for Gen Z workers whose career development is just beginning, in-person collaboration in the office might be the best way to move forward.
“Young people who choose to live this life – who work maybe one or two days a week or never, and work entirely remotely – may have a version of success that is not our version of success,” says one company from New York University. Professor Suzy Welch said Insider this week. “It all depends on how you define success. They probably won’t become CEO, but that might not be what they want.”
She also warned that eventually, these employees could fall behind and not enjoy the same “financial rewards” as their hard-working peers, making their presence felt in the office and, for example, skipping a party to take care of customers.
Recently, a TikTok video from GenZer, in which she complained about the 10 hours a day it took to commute to the office for her first job, went viral. In it, she asked, “How do you have friends?” How do you find time to hang out? Like I don’t have time for anything and I’m so stressed.
If work was remote, she told viewers, “you’d get off at 5 p.m., you’re home and everything’s fine.” Or if she could just walk to the office, instead of having to travel because nearby rents are too expensive, that would solve the problem.
Welch, however, cautioned that “there was never really a time when you could just show up to work, work nine to five, and be wildly successful.” This was not the case for my generation, and it will not be the case in the future.
Remote workers could also be more vulnerable to having their jobs outsourced to countries. This week in Australia, an Indian investor said jobs done remotely in Australia can “absolutely” be outsourced in his country, calling the Indian workforce “one of the biggest opportunities” for Australian businesses.
“Support staff, IT, finance, mortgages – all of this can be taken care of with lower cost and at the same time an English-speaking workforce,” he noted, while estimating that positions filled by Indian workers would cost between 10 and 15%. of the salary of an Australian employee.
Gen Zers who opt for remote work should also be wary of proximity bias, or the tendency of company leaders to give preferential treatment to employees who are physically close to them. It is difficult to overcome prejudices when it comes time for performance reviews and promotions – or, for that matter, layoffs.
Perhaps most concerning is that Gen Zers who take time out of the office risk missing out on important mentoringsuggests a recent report of Research of the WFH. It found that office workers spend significantly more time per week receiving mentoring or mentoring than their peers working from home.
But Gen Z “shows the strongest overall preference for working in an office,” according to a 2023 State of the Worker report. report Morning consultation.
Oliver Pour, 2022 university graduate, said Fortune from his generation earlier this year: “People want to grow quickly, (and) mentoring – being able to connect with the manager or director on a more personal level – is extremely important. »