Myanmar’s recruitment landscape is becoming more and more divergent due to the proliferation of tech-equipped Generation Z employees into the workforce who provide any company critical assets. Many industrial segments in Myanmar are now replacing an older generation of workforce to give way to more technologically sophisticated employees who can add much to a business. This is a highly visible phenomenon not specific to Myanmar, as the global recruiting landscape is shifting more toward hiring Gen Z employees as they grow into working age. At this moment in time, we have roughly an equal number of people in the workforce from a number of generations. The analysis below explains why Gen X, Y and Z employees have their own unique employability in three different dimensions – ideology, competency, and communication.
Generation X
Ideology
Members of generation X in Myanmar came of age in a time of turmoil; where social unrest and at-home family dysfunctionality was a more common affair than it is today. Many of them lacked a parent or both growing up and accordingly, family, for them, is as indispensable as it is non-negotiable. They highly desire work-life balance and are more willing to go for roles that give them an ample capacity to stay connected within their immediate family and close relatives while still accomplishing their daily duties. They were also brought up during the times where conservatism was a societal element so many of their belief systems may be influenced by culture and religion.
On another note, Generation X members of Myanmar society may have some entrenched attitudes regarding communication within workplace, working style, and ethics. What is meant by this is some Gen X employees tend to strictly define rules and have structured mentalities that used to be of prime significance during their early years. These rules and mentalities include thinking methodically or following book procedures to exacting lengths, stringently adhering to organisational hierarchy and workplace formality, as well as abiding by gender and role stereotypes which has phased itself out of future generations. Used appropriately, these qualities make them highly disciplined and functional employees who can leverage their procedural working style to finish their tasks in a highly meticulous manner.
Competency
Gen X people in Myanmar weren’t really exposed to technological innovation during their education and formative years, a stark contrast to how later generations have grown up with. Therefore, tech-savviness, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovative advance may not exactly be the first skill they rely upon. Although many Gen X members have quickly adapted to modern inventions and cutting-edge technology to fulfil their job responsibilities, some of them may be resistant to such a transition due to several reasons that may include conservatism, lack of trust, or a lack of proficiency. So it might not necessarily be a good idea to have Gen X members assigned to roles that demand high comfortability with using advanced technology, or at least be ready to have learnings in place that can help them command use of any platform needed to succeed at a necessary role.
Despite these shortcomings, Gen X employees are arguably the most experienced members of the workforce due to extended exposure to different episodes of life. They are quickly able to discern how to respond to mission critical situations and possess good problem solving skills. Any balanced workforce would do well to have members from this cohort in their organization.
Communication
Generation X people date back to the early 60s where societal hierarchy used to influence Myanmar predominantly. And as such, Gen X members may deem the organizational hierarchy as important and relevant for productivity. Therefore, they should be addressed and treated in such a way that their seniority is respected and they’re prioritized with some or most of their needs accommodated; and it can be reliably acted on that they will return the respect of order in kind.
Modern companies and employers may come across certain expectation mismatches when it comes to tasking Gen X employees because they tend to adhere to traditional ways of carrying out their responsibilities when their role might demand a more out-of-the-box thinking style. Notwithstanding these constraints, Gen X employees are an absolute pleasure to work with due to their willingness to pass on their worldly knowledge and extended life experiences to their successors.
Generation Y
Ideology
The vivacious Gen Y employees are also family-centric, a key trait taken after their predecessors. Many of them may be starting their own families and their emphasis on a cohesive family unit makes them a very collectivistic group of individuals who aspire to enhance the qualities of their lives and that of their families’ by nurturing a good society around them.
Gen Y encompasses many individuals who have come to know and value the importance of education and a formal college degree as the ticket to a decent paying job in the workforce, unlike the experience of their Gen X counterparts. Accordingly, Gen Y employees place a very huge emphasis on formal education and they value opportunities for personal and professional growth during college and beyond, a trait that makes them highly suitable candidates for shaping and training. They usually yield to authority, especially if it can be seen that this figure is of high stature in the office and in the community.
Competency
Members of Generation Y have a strong connectivity to both their predecessors and successors and accordingly, they possess the kind of qualities that both Gen X and Gen Z have in common. Generation Y member have thrived during the time when technological advancements were not that disruptive and fast-paced like they are now and technological competency wasn’t that much of a core workplace necessity across every industry. Therefore, their understanding of highly complex technology and intricate machinery may be much more limited than their Generation Z counterparts. But Gen Y members are adequately sophisticated in terms of their real world experiences paired with desirable technological competencies.
Gen Y members are straightforward thinkers who usually work toward the goal of finishing tasks using given information and allocated resources. They, nevertheless, might not be too instinctive on taking initiative as much as their Gen Z counterparts are. Gen Y members, although not too traditional or procedural, need to be provided with adequate instructions as well as some extent of supervision to successfully direct them toward fulfilling their responsibilities.
Communication
Gen Y are not too resistant toward structured or highly supervised work environments, making them highly suited when a task demands adherence to the rules or instructions. They can communicate well in virtual environments like emails, conference calls, or office management tools; making them efficient in decentralized environments. They are irrefutably the easiest to communicate with in any corporate space due to their proximity to both their predecessors and successors. They have the ability to bridge the gap in understanding between different people at work, allowing them to grasp people’s motives easily and also to serve as mediators in difficult situations.
Generation Z
Ideology
Gen Z members may look at the way their Gen X and Gen Y counterparts do things skeptically to some extent because of a different environment they were brought up in and the educational settings they were trained in. They usually resist the traditional approaches that their predecessors take. This is highly attributed to the fact that Gen Z members want to get things done more efficiently than methodically; which should not be taken as disrespectful but an earnest attempt to accomplish tasks by any means necessary, no matter the avenue.
Competency
Generation Z members are the most technologically sophisticated employees as they have grown up around countless technological advances. Many of them are highly comfortable using computers; programming languages and productivity tools do not phase them in the face of creating business value. One of the core reasons they are in high demand in this workforce is because many Gen Z employees understand the languages of both business and technology which is such a tremendous value addition to any company, small or big. Many of them know how to handle data and statistics very well in order to make predictive analysis and business decisions. Many of these Gen Z professionals also happen to be very highly exposed to different social media platforms, allowing them to keep updated with the world around them at speeds never seen before.
But the encroachment of technology and online media does not come without its costs; many Gen Z employees are highly vulnerable to social media dependence, misinformation and manipulation, as well as certain psychological conditions that come with living within a virtual society. This could result in a detrimental lifestyle that can potentially invade their workplace conduct and professional practices. Most members of Generation Z will be properly coached and trained on how to separate their work life from the online and connected realm, and how to approach navigating each both inside and outside the workplace.
Communication
Gen Z employees are effective, down-to-earth, and highly perceptive. Their ability to learn quickly and accomplish things efficiently makes it very easy for employers to communicate their goals for these employees. As a generation of employees who needs minimal supervision due to their initiative mindset, they don’t usually thrive well under micromanagement. This might explain the reason why many Burmese Gen Z members elect to work for startups or build one to depart from a highly monitored corporate landscape. The bottom line is it is a wise move for employers to provide simply communicated instructions to their Gen Z employees who cherish workplace autonomy and innovation; and they’ll return the favour by being entrepreneurial and energetic employees.
Recap
Recruiting is a highly customized process. There is no one-size-fits-all employee who can add the ultimate value to the whole business, and different approaches are needed for different value-driven people. A staff will work holistically in the organization to become a coherent unit that can pull off so many accomplishments, and each member plays their role. Accordingly, the hiring process should be tailored to meet the needs of different areas within the organization and there shouldn’t be a yielding toward any specific generation while deciding who to employ because at the end of the day, diversity creates the utmost value for the company and diversity can only be achieved through careful analysis of who to allocate to which role without adhering to bias.
Understanding generational diversity in the workplace, which can carry some pitfalls, but also offer great potential, and wisely placing those in your businesses to be able to work and grow together can contribute to the company’s success. Apart from the generations – one of the demographic trends of your targeted workforce, getting insights into Myanmar’s dynamic employment market can enhanced your recruitment process and talent acquisition of your organization. Are you looking for a reliable, timely and accurate source to approach the understanding of Myanmar’s employment market? Or an effective solution for your recruitment process? So, reach out our job market experts by visiting www.jobnet.com.mm or contacting us on sales@jobnet.com.mm or 09-9544591 (77-79) to discuss how to enhance your talent acquisition process of your business.