Generation ‘Z’ - young people born between 1997 and 2010 - seems to be a big consumer and user of “Tiktok”. Every generation naturally has its “markers of history”, and this social media is certainly one for this generation.
It would be totally unreasonable for the “old man” that I am to dare to take a position for or against such a tool, or to criticise its origin or its content…
However, one thing stands out when you ask companies of all sizes employing young people who have not had business training (for the latter, it is part of the curriculum): generation Z seems to know little or nothing about spreadsheets, Word, presentation tools, in short, the “Office” world. Is this a problem, Doctor?
Far from being an apology for this computer program particularly, to evolve in the world of work, a minimum knowledge of office computer tools is necessary. Let’s just think about the writing of a curriculum vitae: ah yes, it’s true that nowadays one writes an email or an “mms” to look for a job, “Lol”.
The public school and extracurricular environment seem to have understood the issues but is not applying the right remedies: investments in this field are far too low: only private schools seem to be in the race now and that is not satisfactory at all.
Values are changing and the relationship between work and private life has evolved significantly. We don’t judge, even if this generates growing problems for companies: people no longer have a career plan, they want something concrete, something real, to learn, to have fun at work, to meet motivating people in the company, etc. And as soon as the equation doesn’t work out, they change.
Once again, let’s not judge, but simply observe that companies are in a totally new situation: how to train - the use of the “Office” programme is almost part of it :-) - and retain tomorrow’s workforce…?
With this illustration and in all modesty, it is not a question of drawing the attention of certain bosses to their 5- or 10-year plans. It seems a long way off to many, but generation Z is entering the labour market today. Some bosses will argue - partly rightly - that everything can be learned, and that the young generation has many assets: great curiosity, flexibility, and extraordinary dexterity to mention a few.
We often hear about the “digital divide” when we talk about these generations, including my own, who are often out of touch with the new technologies. We could also talk about this divide between the digital tools of the same age group. For example, we can see that a very large part of the 4th generation has adopted the smartphone, but uses only a few of its functions, with most of the icons being useless number pads…
The challenge is immense: how to keep the immersive, playful, practical side of technological tools with the gigantic palette of “apps” and above all how to train correctly in the use of these tools: what is useful for me as a user? This is a vast debate, which TikTok users do not ask themselves…
Others, much more expert, will certainly find the magic solution!
Have a good week, good thoughts, and see you soon.