Could the millennials and Gen Z be the actual workforce who finally understand the role of work in life?

“The Devil Wears Prada” has been in the top 10 of Netflix Ph for the past weeks. It has been teaching a lot of lessons to the younger generation over the years now — from work, relationships, career, even families, to social standards.

Lessons like: You need to do your assignment and research every day before coming in to work; Workmates should be supporting you and not dragging you down; Loyalty goes a long way; Your workplace should not force you to give up your quality work and principles; Throughout your career you may face some workplace struggles but what counts is the discovery of knowing who you are, and what makes you unique, and owning it, among others.

The film came out in June 2006 and has been a relatable work of fiction for ambitious young women everywhere.

In this world full of trickery, the question is: “Who are you when nobody is watching?” If you remain a good person even without people seeing you being good or following the rules, then you must be a person with a good attitude, no need for safeguards, but it is your beliefs, your principles, and your morals keeping you grounded even when nobody is looking.

Now that’s the difference between behavior and attitude. While attitude refers to a person’s beliefs, feelings, morals, and upbringing, behavior is the set of actions individuals exhibit in different situations. Hand in hand, behavior and attitude work together because behavior can influence attitude and vice versa.

In recent data from the United States, since November 2023 almost 4.2 million people voluntarily left their jobs, marking the 18th straight month of record-breaking quits in the US. And according to LinkedIn, even more Americans are planning to switch jobs soon, with younger employees leading the wave.

It is true this younger generation of workers tends to think that they are always right, and they are always vocal with their expressions and thoughts. But times are changing.

Surprisingly, this is also the trend in the Philippines. While millennials are choosing to leave their city life to do remote work in Siargao, as the saying goes: “Life is short, do what makes you happy.” They are the digital nomads or the virtual freelancers, working remotely, having their time boundaries at work, and still accomplishing their work and producing output.

The younger generation as part of the labor force is now reversing the curse of the typical office-type work set up with toxic bosses and no time boundaries. Today’s employees are redefining the meaning of “self respect,” prioritizing mental and physical health, which is raising the standards among older employers to practice healthy and non-power tripping work setups. Insults at work are not to be tolerated but to be faced in proper venues. Correcting and teaching younger employees does not need to be ego-centered and power tripping.

The Philippines is the seventh “fastest growing” remote work hub in the world, according to work and travel platform Nomad List. The list of fastest-growing global remote work destinations was posted on the World Economic Forum’s official Instagram account with Tokyo topping the list, followed by Vietnam, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia.

In the shipping industry, more and more of the younger generation are needed for work as discussed during the 2019 SAFETY4SEA Athens Forum. The maritime journey should be towards digitalization to address the key trends and challenges of the modern era.

Automation, soft skills, good communication, and the human element are said to be the key focus areas for the shipping industry in this smart era.

As shown by the trends and data, it is expected that a sense of caring for employees’ mental and physical wellbeing will be highly valued within the industry in the years to come. Now how does this translate? Digitalization and humanness can go hand in hand for the benefit of the employees and the company. Ship owners and operators can invest in critical human skills such as moral and ethical decision-making, listening to the employees, and making sure their efforts are appreciated and they feel valued in order to give back more in exchange.

It is true this younger generation of workers tends to think that they are always right, and they are always vocal with their expressions and thoughts. But times are changing. The industry should be able to cope with these empowered young people by guiding them and training them to do the right thing, and excelling in their performance by learning from experienced superiors.

Gone are the days of tolerating toxic and oppressive workplaces but there should rather be inspiring, honest, and amore human connection with management to forge strong commitment, loyalty and bridge any gaps between workers of different times.

For always, the older and the younger workforce must come together towards one goal — because we are in the same boat!