The fight between old staff and new staff

The fight between old staff and new staff 

Thousands of graduates are entering the UK workforce confident in driving their own development according to research released today.

The figures, jointly released by leading job board totaljobs and Milkround, the UK’s most widely used student and graduate job site, found that 4 in 5 (80 per cent) graduates want to work somewhere with no obvious workplace hierarchy.

The research, which surveyed 1,000 recent graduates and 1,000 senior staff with at least 10 years experience, highlighted a real entrepreneurial spirit being fostered amongst the new generation of workers.

Three quarters (73 per cent) of recent UK graduates said they expected to add immediate value to their organisation and 88 per cent confidently believe they can bring some form of new, unique perspective to the organisation that they are joining.  Whilst graduates are clearly confident about what they can bring to the workplace, they are also humble and aware of the natural challenges it brings, with 64 per cent stating they expect to face more challenges than rewards early in their careers.

Underestimating Potential?

Whilst graduates are entering the workforce confident of the value they can add to organisations, it appears this faith is not entirely shared by the mangers that will oversee their development.

Indeed, the research found that only 1 in 5 (19 per cent) employees with over 10 years experience believe graduates enter the UK workforce with sufficient experience to succeed in their role.

These members of staff appear to remain unconvinced about the impact graduates can have on the organisation, despite acknowledging that graduates are willing to dedicate large chunks of their life to furthering their career.

For example, when asked what they felt graduates were prioritising, 56 per cent said it was work, compared with 32 per cent who felt it was their personal life. 31 per cent admitted their annual intake of graduates refreshed and reenergised the workplace. However, it would appear that these senior members of staff feel their responsibility to their graduates end as they leave the front door at night, with 54 per cent of senior staff stating they felt graduates were not maintaining a healthy work-life balance, 28 per cent of these senior staff simply not even knowing.