Until the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, remote jobs were not really a thing. Fast forward to now, 2023, we see a lot of job listings stating that a job is fully remote. This is not to say that there are no longer full-time onsite jobs, but many employers are beginning to see reasons to let their employees work from home.
While several people still work onsite, there is no doubt that the benefits of working remotely outweigh working from the office. However, one of the significant occurrences of these waving workstyles is that Genz employees will prefer to be in their pajamas all day, cracking codes, creating content, responding to customers, and doing a whole lot more. If you are reading this article and you are not familiar with the word “Genz”, maybe you just have to keep reading.
Who are GENZ Employees?
GenZ (Generation Z) employees are workers of different organizations whose age falls between 18 and 26. Currently, they make up 34.6% of the working population in Nigeria. You will find most of them working for tech companies, banking sectors, media companies, human resource organizations, social media management firms, and other new-generation businesses. Even some employers have admitted how much they cherish the idea of having GENzs in their organization and this spans around how creative they can be.
Many people will also refer to GENz employees as the ” Mighty Woke Employees” because they know their way around a lot of technology-devised concepts such as the internet. This generation of workers has been discovered to lean more towards the remote workstyle and the reasons for this will be discussed. However, let’s do a quick comparison of remote jobs and on-site jobs.
Remote Jobs Vs On-site Jobs
We bet we’ve seen the phrase “remote job is the future” several times on social media, maybe because it’s true. However, On-site jobs also make enough sense to people who do not enjoy being home all day. We would be doing a few comparisons just to point out what makes a work style different from the other.
| Remote Jobs | On-site Jobs |
| Work from your home or anywhere you want. | Work from the office with your colleagues and maybe, your boss too. |
| You can save your transport fare. | You spend some amount on transport everyday. |
| You can attend to your tasks when you deem fit provided your deliverables are ready before the deadline. | Work starts the moment you get to the office. |
| You can decide when your break will be. | You have to follow the time cut out for break by the office. |
| You must be conversant with communication tools such as Slack, Zoom, Google Meet, and many others. | Although you may need communication tools, there is little need for the use of them. |
| Collaboration may take so much effort which includes jumping on calls, sending messages, and waiting on certain team members to approve a development. | Collaboration works faster and team members get the hang of a project easily. |
| Remote jobs minimize distractions and allow workers to focus better on their work, thereby delivering quality jobs. | Employees can also focus on working onsite except there are people who are hardly productive when there are distractions and interruptions. |
| There are no really no amenities to enjoy except maybe (an Internet subscription) | Workers can enjoy on-site amenities such as free meals, gyms, and libraries among many others. |
| Employees of a certain company may find it hard to get along because they rarely meet in person. | Employees already have work besties because they are in each other’s faces everyday. This can help to build a healthy work environment. |
| Many people want to work remotely. | Only a few people want to work on-site. |
GENZ Employees want to work remotely! Why?
According to various research, GENz workers would rather work from home than appear at the office in person. Every year, new graduates are deployed to the workforce and they reiterate how much they would prefer to stay home to get their jobs done than dress up to move to the office. We have gone ahead to do our research, we also met with some GENZs, and here are a few reasons governing the decisions of many of them.
I am an Introvert
Moyosoreoluwa, 24, Nigerian. Hear what Moyo has to say:
“I don’t like being in people’s faces, does that mean that I am an introvert? Maybe I am. But, that’s the main reason for me, I struggle with meeting new people and having a couple of faces around me. I am unable to focus that way.”
While this may not be the case for all GENZ employees, it comes off as a valid reason. Some GENZs do better with their tasks when they are alone and for this reason, they may prefer to opt for remote jobs. Having GENzs together, working in a room, they have a lot to say to each other, ranging from trending tweets to fashion. Some of them may not be affected by the chit-chat and still fix their tasks but others may not be able to concentrate. The ones who are easily distracted will thrive better as remote workers, and usually, it’s a larger percentage of them.
I struggle to get out of bed in the morning
Olamide, 26, Nigerian. This is why Olamide wants to work remotely:
“I am a product designer but I wonder how because as much as I want to be out in an office, doing office buddies with some random people and being part of this Lagos traffic jam, I am too lazy to leave my house. I am not an early riser which means that I struggle to leave my bed daily. However, if the company I work for allows me to resume to the office by noon, then we are good.”
Another GENz has confirmed that GENzs will most likely want to work remotely because they can’t make it out of bed in due time to get ready for work. This may appear untenable but we must remember that GENZs are the “Mighty woke” generation and quite a number of ideas seem appropriate to them because of where they are coming from.
I can have more than one job
Promise, 24, Nigerian.
I was job-hunting for a while because I really wanted a remote job. That’s to tell you how hell-bent I am on working from home. I am a graphics designer and an entrepreneur. I work for a fashion brand and I also have a business (I design and sell nice cards that can be given to people on their birthdays, graduation, and other memorable events.) Working from home really helps me to juggle both jobs and I am doing well. If I have to go to the office everyday, my business may be hurt.”
Another likely reason for GENZs to sway towards remote jobs is the flexibility that allows them to work more than one job. Although GENZs can have an entirely different view about certain topics, they are very hardworking. Hence, the thought of having multiple jobs excites them because it literally means extra money for them.
Don’t Remote Jobs Pay more?
Naomi, 23, Nigerian.
“Well, my idea is that most remote jobs out there pay more. Is that not true? And if not, I still think remote jobs will help you save money. I mean, Lagos Danfo drivers and Uber companies don’t have to share my salary. Do you know how relieving that is? I pay other bills but one is completely off my list, that’s a good thing!”
GENZs are just trying to have some money for themselves and any opportunity they get to have or save more is what they tune towards. This can count as another reason they would rather use Slack, jump on Zoom calls, and join standup meetings on Google Meet. For them, it’s anything for the bag.
Comfortability
Irene, 25, Nigerian.
“I know people say that remote workers don’t have closing time if they don’t have proper planning and they can work from dawn to dusk. If you ask me, I really don’t mind, as long as I am comfortable, I like soft life. By comfortable, I mean, I can have a sitting posture of my choice, I can listen to music while working (I love to), and I can do my thing without having anyone interfere. I am comfortable and not under any pressure. So, remote work it is!”
GENZs operate in the weirdest ways and most times, for them, this is how to get quality jobs done. Listening to great music while debugging can be the way to go for a GENZ but it is unethical to play music in an office environment. Generally, they just want to be comfortable, so they say “yes” to remote jobs.
We already have a lot of GENZs working from home and there will be more. Although some will work onsite and hybrid, a larger fraction of them will be remote workers.
