Working on young India

Swati Khatri

They are young, they love taking selfies, they are hooked to social media, they are ready to chase their dreams, all they want is innovation — yes, even at their workspaces!   

They are the ones who believe in chasing their dreams with all the zeal and dedication. Their jobs fill a large part of their days and yes a larger part of their lives. With all this hard work it won’t be fair if they don’t get to have that job satisfaction they deserve. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that with the economic boom millennials in India are the first generation whose workplace preferences have been recognised by the employers over the past few years. What’s important for the millennials is to connect with their work not just professionally but even at a personal level. Call it the ‘guitar on the floor’ culture or the culture of creating innovative work spaces the employers in India are realising this need for creative work spaces to let these youngsters connect with their jobs in the best possible way.

The feel good factor

Richanshi Kulshreshta, a young textile designer from Delhi believes, having a positive atmosphere at work is what makes all the difference. Adding to this Rajat Tuli, Co-Founder and Director, Happily Unmarried, says, “It is important for  work atmosphere to be fun and enjoyable as it helps people to think in a better way. And happy people are productive people.” Getting the pulse of the matter right, there are employers accepting new cultures like the in-house café cultures or accepting things like working from unconventional setups like a farm house or a factory set up.  These new-age employers do not mind things like music on the floor or may be the use of Facebook or Twitter. They believe in giving that freedom to their employees to do the best in their fields.

May it be just to mitigate those Monday morning blues or to give a fresh atmosphere to their offices, many Gen-Y employers have achieved that feel good factor at their place of work. Adarsh Vinay, who works as an editor with ScoopWhoop talks about working in an unconventional setup as, “Working from a farm house adds that freshness to the whole space. It gives a feel of working at a chilled out location right there in the middle of a busy city.”

Discipline vs flexibility 

Flexibility and personal space are the things that these new-age organisations are ready to give to their employees. They do believe in things like flexible timings, regular breaks or may be regular chilling out sessions. Adarsh Vinay elucidates it as, “every individual needs regular breaks and these should be taken in a positive way as regular breaks help in adding up to a person's productivity.”  Out-of-the-box ideas to make a work day interesting is something that these employers are constantly looking for. They let their workforce revamp its energies by indulging in fun activities in between the working hours. Atit Jain Co-Founder, Gigstart.com says, “Our employees are free to go out for a brief walk during the day and a weekly movie night is something we all look forward to eagerly.” These new-age employers understand phrases like “a creativity block” or “a cheering up session” and are ready to provide that personal space to their workforce. What is important is to let the workforce bond with the each other so that they can become true team players. In this way these enthusiastic individuals can have a lot of fun while working in teams.

 Yes in such a scenario these organisations do have a question of where to draw the line between work and discipline. The answer is to be more of work centric rather than discipline centric. And this can be achieved by defining every individual’s goals clearly so as to keep a tab on their productivity. Vivek Prabhakar, CEO, Chumbak explains it as, “In today’s scenario what’s important is not to complete those eight to nine hours in office but to have a quality output.”

Working beyond the hierarchies

Let’s accept it; today’s generation doesn’t like to be slow. They want to grow fast both individually as well as professionally. Something true about them is that they don’t like to be under a regular scrutiny of the management, with someone constantly breathing down their neck about what needs to be done, when and how. They are the generation who love their personal space and won't like to work with someone who doesn’t understand their creative needs.  It will not be an exaggeration if we say all they need are mentors to channelise their energies in the right direction and not a boss to give them instructions. Brijesh Dahiya, Creative Head and Co-owner, Gulabo Chhap Design explains, “what is important is to focus on clarity of responsibility and not on who's the boss. This helps these youngsters create a sense of ownership to their duties.”

They constantly strive for a sense of pride associated with their work. Many organisations have found out ways to involve them in many different activities at the workplace. They are encouraged to voice their opinions and give regular feedback. What they need is an easily approachable culture. A culture where they can walk up to their mentor for a brain storming session as Prabhakar says, “One should look out for their fresh ideas as their suggestions can make all the difference.”