Focused eLearning Can Help Keep Gen Z Engaged
Quiet quitting. It’s a term that’s taken over TikTok, made headlines around the world, and divided the internet. Many claim that the term is a misnomer, as it doesn’t actually refer to a person quitting their job. Instead, the term refers to a trend of "rejecting the notion…that employees should go above and beyond what their job descriptions entail," according to LinkedIn [1]. The implications of "quiet quitting" have given rise to a variety of opinions on the subject, with some people seeing quiet quitting as setting boundaries and maintaining work-life balance and others seeing it as a way of "phoning it in" and doing the bare minimum of work to not get fired.
However you feel about quiet quitting, it’s a trend that’s not likely to go away anytime soon and one that does indeed threaten organizational productivity, performance, and growth. An effective way to combat quiet quitting is to proactively work to increase employee engagement, especially with younger workers such as Gen Z, since quiet quitting really comes down to worker disengagement. Custom eLearning development can help tremendously with this, keeping younger workers engaged, satisfied, motivated, and productive.
Offer Learning And Development Opportunities
It’s no secret that Learning and Development (L&D) opportunities are in-demand by workers right now, and that these opportunities increase employee engagement and job satisfaction.
- 91% of employees want more training opportunities from their employers [2].
- 57% of U.S. workers want to update their skills, and 48% would consider switching jobs to do it.
- 80% of employees said that Learning and Development opportunities would increase their engagement at work [3].
- Workers who feel they have access to the Learning and Development opportunities they need are 21% more engaged than workers who don’t [4].
- Employees who see good opportunities to learn and grow at their organization are 3.6 times more likely to report being happy than those who don’t [5].
- 71% of workers say job training and development increases their job satisfaction.
Younger workers in particular value these opportunities for Learning and Development.
- 76% of Gen Z workers see learning as key to their advancement.
- 83% of Gen Z workers want to learn skills to perform better in their current roles.
- 59% of millennials say opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important to them when applying for a job [6].
- 29% of millennials and 29% of Gen Z stated that Learning and Development opportunities were the top reason they chose to work for their current organization.
- 66% of workers between 18 and 24 years of age ranked upskilling and reskilling as the third-most important benefit when assessing new job opportunities, behind health insurance and disability benefits [7].
In order to engage (and retain) employees, companies should provide them with the learning opportunities they’re looking for. And the best way to do this is custom eLearning development focused on workers’ specific roles.
Custom eLearning Development To Engage Gen Z
Gen Z loves using video to learn. In fact, 56% of Gen Z find learning material more engaging if video is included [8], and a majority of Gen Z prefer video learning to traditional methods of learning [9]. For this reason, providing them with Learning and Development opportunities via focused, relevant, skills training videos is an excellent way to engage them.
But not all skills training videos are the same, and not all premade or "off-the-shelf" eLearning content will be a good fit for these young workers. Many premade eLearning courses include extraneous information that isn’t relevant to learners’ roles. Include too much of this extra info, and young workers will start to tune out and become disengaged. But provide them with exactly what they need to learn, grow, and thrive in their roles, and they’ll become champions of your company.
Custom eLearning development ensures that the eLearning content is specific, personalized, and focused on the skills and knowledge that employees need for their individual roles and day-to-day work. By having tailored, timely, and applicable eLearning content designed, created, and delivered to younger workers, organizations can showcase their commitment to these workers’ Learning and Development, keeping them happy, engaged, and productive.
Wellness-Focused Custom eLearning Development
Organizations who want to have custom eLearning content developed for their workers don’t need to limit the focus of this content to include only technical or hard skills. With studies showing that 66% of Gen Z would like a culture built on health and wellness [10], and 42% of Gen Z workers prioritize work-life balance over other job perks [11], companies can go above and beyond in terms of employee engagement by having custom eLearning content developed that addresses employee health and wellness, or work-life balance, or both! By having custom eLearning content created that directly addresses younger workers’ concerns, organizations can truly exemplify their dedication to their young workers, further engaging them and both preventing and mitigating the effects of quiet quitting.
In Conclusion
Whether you agree or disagree with it, quiet quitting is a trend that continues to permeate the workforce, as both the cause and result of employee disengagement. While quiet quitting threatens to disrupt business productivity and growth, organizations can proactively work to prevent and mitigate the risks associated with it by providing young workers with Learning and Development opportunities through customized, focused eLearning content and courses.
References:
[2] Workers want training, development, but few say their employers provide it
[3] 2016 Udemy Workplace Boredom Study: Battling Boredom Blues: How to Engage Today’s Workers
[4] Focus on learning and development to increase retention
[5] Why Learning is Essential to Employee Engagement
[6] Millennials Want Jobs to Be Development Opportunities
[7] How Learning and Development Can Attract—and Retain—Talent
[8] Meeting Gen Z’s demands for learning
[9] Beyond Millennials: The Next Generation of Learners
[10] 2022 Global Talent Trends: The Reinvention of Company Culture
[11] 42% of Gen Z Prioritize Work-Life Balance Over Other Job Perks, Survey Says
