Page 89 - Demo

The first of these facts are the new expectations of employees, which aremore difficult to fulfil. They are manifested, for example, by the fact that, unlikebaby boomers and Generation X, current employees work for themselves morethan for the company. The corporate patriotism of their predecessors is foreignto them, and therefore they do not hesitate, especially young people, to changejobs in order to realise their ambitions. They are looking for a place where theirskills are valued, they gain new work experience, and then pass it on to whoeverwill give them the most for it. In their eyes, company loyalty is an outdatedconcept. It could be the result of the fact that many of them experiencedsituations themselves where companies did not hesitate to fire those who hadinvested their knowledge and skills in them for years, citing the bad economicsituation.Members of Generation Y are already referred to as career nomads, becausethey often change employers, and not only for financial reasons (Lelarge, 2006,p. 18). They do so because either they have nothing to learn in the job, or theydid not even get the opportunity to self-realise or use their potential. As youngpeople, they are professionally more mobile and give the company only as muchas it can return to them in the form of opportunities to develop their creativity,gain work experience, which increases their employability in other companiesor in a completely different field. They are careful when investing personally inthe company, and many, especially those with higher education, openly saywhen applying for a job that they want to protect their private life in addition todeveloping their working career. Therefore, they do not have the ambition togive everything to the company, as their grandparents did, or even their parents,but they want to maintain a certain balance between work and private interests.Work has lost its position as a key value in society, and not only among youngpeople. It is more difficult for HRM to fulfil the various expectations ofemployees, as there are periods when they employ members of three or evenall four generations at the same time. Each has a different mindset, requires adifferent approach, some of their demands can be accepted, while others can%u2019t.The expectations and demands of Generation Z (C) in particular, despite itspositive attributes and indisputable abilities, are often excessive consideringthat it lacks professional experience, the necessary dose of perspective, andlong-term good work results.Another sign characterising the modifications of the social environment is thestrong individualism of the last generations. It manifests itself in the fact thatindividuals rely on themselves to build their future. As the economic world isincreasingly turbulent and uncertain, many prefer to look for work in smallercompanies with a lighter internal structure and faster development opportunitiesthan large companies. This environment, in particular, gives young peoplegreater opportunities to use their imagination and more freely organise their892.3 Managing People in Europe