As every generation goes by, it’s something of a cliche for their elders to call them workshy.
When it comes to Generation Z, it’s no different. You can find countless diatribes out there accusing them of being flaky, unreliable, or simply “not wanting to work”.
But beneath the sweeping generalisations, there’s a bigger issue worth our attention. Something business owners in particular should be thinking about. I think it’s this:
What happens to the workplace when AI replaces entry-level roles?
Or, even more importantly: where do our future leaders come from if no one’s getting that early hands-on experience anymore?
Why junior roles matter
For years, ‘entry-level jobs’ have served two purposes: they’ve given businesses an affordable outlet for basic (but usually fairly tedious) work. But they’ve also been where people learn their craft.
I spent enough years as a junior advertising executive to vouch for the lessons you learn from mistakes.
It’s in precisely those roles that you absorb the unwritten rules of business. You learn how to manage clients or get a better result – all from watching the experts do their thing.
And sometimes from being told off by them too.
AI: Too tempting to resist for SMEs?
But, for many business owners, AI can take care of a lot of those junior tasks.
Note taking, scheduling, basic research, email drafting, templated data analysis – it’s all getting scooped up by ChatGPT and automated workflows.
When you’re a time-strapped business owner, it probably feels like an incredible gift. You can get more done. You can move faster. You don’t have to manage someone who’s still learning, or worry about getting employment rights wrong.
It’s incredibly tempting for so many of us to adopt it, given how low cost and easy to instruct AI is. It’s only going to be taking on more of those tasks as time moves on.
But there’s a cost
However, there is a long game to consider here.
When we lose the entry-level learning ground, we lose the next generation of skilled, experienced, ready-to-lead professionals.
I’m not even talking about leaders here. Without the entry-level, what might happen to the mid-level? You need people who understand the hundreds of small decisions that build a strategy. You need people who know how to get things done.
If young people aren’t getting exposure now, they won’t suddenly have it in ten years’ time.
So the real risk isn’t just that we have a slightly chaotic 21-year-old on our team. It’s that we don’t have any 34-year-olds who know their stuff.
So what’s the way forward?
Generation Z have had some rotten luck. They either finished their studies or entered the workforce during a global pandemic, and they’ve already had more than their fair share of economic instability and skyrocketing rents.
It’s not surprising that their expectations are different. So the key is in providing them with the right guidance, and creating professional relationships that work for everyone.
The youngsters get the opportunity to build skills, and today’s business leaders get to harness bright sparks who can use technology to accelerate businesses.
Maybe the question isn’t whether young people are ready to work. Maybe it’s whether we’re ready to support them properly.
(Now, if you ask me, I reckon everyone involved needs a coach. But perhaps I would say that.)
Because if AI is going to be the new trainee, we’d better find a way of developing the next generation.
Ready to talk?
If AI is quietly taking over entry-level jobs in your business – and you’re wondering what that means for training, progression and the future of your team – you’re not alone.
This is one of the big leadership questions of the next decade.
If you’d like a sounding board, or want to chat about how to have the best of both worlds, let’s talk.
Kind Regards,
Chris