報告：Gen Alpha 入職前，職場領導方式或需調整

New research from Robert Walters suggests that leadership style will need to be addressed before Gen Alpha employees start to enter the workforce.

Robert Walters has published a report highlighting how employers may need to rethink how they approach leadership style in advance of Gen Alpha joining the workplace. The recruitment agency gathered data from 850 white collar professionals working across Ireland. 

While this generation, perhaps more than any other, will be entering the workforce with a high degree of AI literacy, the report found that they will likely need more than technology skills to succeed and excel. 

One in three Irish professionals, who contributed to the research, agreed that leadership style is the workplace practice employers will need to rethink most. Only 11pc found that faster AI and technology adoption will be the biggest challenge in managing a generation with “unprecedented AI literacy”. 

Commenting on the research, Andrew Powell, the CCO at Robert Walters said, “AI-native does not necessarily mean being workplace-ready. There is an assumption that a generation growing up with AI will arrive at work able to use it effectively but being comfortable with technology and knowing how to apply it in a professional environment are two very different things.

“AI can give someone an answer in seconds, however knowing whether it is the right answer, when to challenge it and how to turn it into a good decision requires critical judgement and experience.”

In Robert Walters report, leadership style ranked ahead of other workplace concerns, such as career progression (18pc), office attendance (16pc) and learning and development (14pc). 

Powell added, “For employers, the challenge is less about whether Gen Alpha can use the technology and more about how they help their teams develop the workplace skills needed to succeed.”

Changing times

Robert Walters’ report indicated that employers and managers face a medley of challenges when it comes to successfully integrating Gen Alpha employees into the future workforce. Flexibility (18pc) and work-life balance (30pc) in particular were identified as being of key importance. 

Tom Eaton, an Ireland director at Robert Walters said, “Flexibility has been one of the most hotly debated topics in the workplace for many years now. As younger generations enter the workforce, managers must continue to toe the line between employee demands and business requirements.”

Crucially however, Gen Alpha won’t be navigating the working environment blindly, nor are they expected to reshape working culture alone. 

Only 12pc of professionals believe they will have the greatest influence on workplace culture by 2036. More than a third expect Gen Z to have the greatest influence, 21pc point to Millennials and 27pc expect workplace culture to be shaped by a mix of the generations.

The research indicated that broadly, the current workforce is feeling confident about the arrival of Gen Alpha into the working environment. Two-fifths of those who participated in the survey said that they are looking forward to the fresh ideas and point of views they will bring. Comparatively, only 14pc are concerned about workplace differences.

Powell said, “The future workplace won’t belong to a single generation. Managers will be bringing together people with different experiences, expectations and perspectives and trying to manage them according to generational labels will only get them so far.

“The strongest leaders will understand the individual in front of them, creating opportunities for them to make decisions, solve problems, collaborate with different audiences and take responsibility for their work.”

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