Anyone who knows me would be quite shocked that I'm willing to admit to being an "older" worker, but in this case, there is a reason.
It is my admiration for this younger generation, that I feel is already changing the rules of the workplace, that I'm willing to 'fess up.
Throughout my career, prior to Covid, I would never think of taking a sick day unless I truly couldn't lift my head. I'm not sure exactly why. Does my generation believe that you just work through whatever circumstances befall you? Do we feel that we would be letting our company down? Or did we want to save time off for vacations?
One thing we didn't consider was work-life balance. But this generation does, and I applaud them for it.
A recent survey from Dayforce, found that in 2023 compared to 2019, sick leave increased 55%. Driving that number up were employees younger than 36 with a 29% increase in sick days they took. Those over 36 saw only a 16% increase.
There are a number of factors at play including the effect of the pandemic which caused all of us to be more careful about being around colleagues when sick. Updated leave policies often don't separate out sick day from other types of days off. And now many companies have unlimited time off that can be used for a variety of reasons.
But the underlying philosophy is that Gen Z walks the talk when it comes to work- life balance.
This became clear in Deloitte's 2023 Global Gen Z and Millennial survey of 15K Gen Z and 8K millennials, "While nearly half of Gen Zs and majority of millennials say their job is still central to their identity, they’re not willing to sacrifice their well-being and are seeking new ways to maintain work/life balance," said Michele Parmelee, global people and purpose leader at Deloitte, in an article analyzing the survey.
And therein lies the difference. Those employees my age felt we had to make those sacrifices for our jobs. I'm not judging us, it's just how it was. But times have changed, and the younger workforce is drawing the line better and sticking to it.
It's better for them and their families and not coincidently it's better for a company who has healthier employees both in body and mind.
