Working nine to five? What a way to make a living. Working life has moved on a lot since Dolly Parton first released her catchy and timeless 1980s hit, 9 To 5. Indeed, fast forward a few generations and it would appear that flexibility has trumped security as the key thing that Gen Z’ers are prioritising when it comes to employment.[1]
Have you noticed that recruitment firms are now fronting their adverts with their ability to perfectly match people to a job that fits with their lifestyle? Have you read about the companies experimenting with a four-day week, complete with flexible start and finish times, a nine-day fortnight, and compressed hours?[2] The desire for flexibility with our employment, it would seem, is here to stay.
There’s been a word doing the rounds up here in Scotland recently. I wonder if you have noticed it - or even caught it (wherever you live)! Optimism. That was the strapline to the well crafted adverts for the drink Irn-Bru that were plastered up and down the country in the run up to the men’s football European Championships.
As a nation we embraced the message. Let’s toast to the future being brighter than the past and believe that this time round things might turn out differently. Did they? Well, as we watched Scotland fail to qualify from the group stages of the tournament, it didn’t take long for my can of Irn Bru to taste of tartan tears and for optimism to turn to realism.
Graeme Shanks
Can a Gen Z work ethic advance the gospel?
Working nine to five? What a way to make a living. Working life has moved on a lot since Dolly Parton first released her catchy and timeless 1980s hit, 9 To 5. Indeed, fast forward a few generations and it would appear that flexibility has trumped security as the key thing that Gen Z’ers are prioritising when it comes to employment.[1]
Have you noticed that recruitment firms are now fronting their adverts with their ability to perfectly match people to a job that fits with their lifestyle? Have you read about the companies experimenting with a four-day week, complete with flexible start and finish times, a nine-day fortnight, and compressed hours?[2] The desire for flexibility with our employment, it would seem, is here to stay.