Out of an active labour force of 121 million in Indonesia, it is estimated that 48 million will comprise Gen Y—this is also the fastest growing population segment, said the study, which aimed to explore the workplace attitudes, expectations and aspirations of this generation’s finance professionals in the country. With this understanding, employers would be able to engage more effectively with this generation of staff.
Priorities at the workplace
The study findings suggest that there are generational differences between what Indonesian Gen Y finance professionals and their managers' value and how they engage in the workplace. Career advancement is the most important workplace objective for Gen Y finance professionals and their managers appear to recognise this. An environment that allows for teamwork and open dialogue is also key.
However, managers seem unaware of the significance of remuneration as a driver for Gen Y, believing instead that Gen Y professionals prioritise self-actualisation in terms of using their abilities and knowledge in the workplace.
Positive impressions of the FSI workplace
An overwhelmingly high proportion (88%) of Gen Y professionals in the Indonesian FSI reported that work "met their expectations", while only 9% of them rated it as "below expectations". Meanwhile, 40% of Gen Y professionals report "above expectations" in terms of how proud they are to work for their current organisation. This is good news for organisations in the Indonesian FSI and reflects that it has an image of being a prestigious employer among Gen Y professionals and is regarded as an industry Gen Y is proud to work in.
Expectations of one’s manager
The study showed that Gen Y professionals value managers that have good communication skills (ranked 1st), support their staff in career progression (ranked 2nd), and have professional expertise (ranked 3rd). The ideal manager according to Gen Y acts as a professional catalyst to support their team’s career progression and motivates employees (ranked 4th) to perform better. Respect for employees and trusting employees to get on with things are among the other qualities ranked highly by Gen Y in terms of what makes a good manager. Gen Ys respond best to managers who function as a peer, coach or mentor.
Engagement at work
Findings indicated high levels of engagement among young professionals in the Indonesian FSI. 96% of employees are willing to go above and beyond their duty at work, 95% are personally motivated to help their organisation, and 91% are proud to work for their employer.
This could be a reflection of Gen Y’s work-life integration. Among young professionals, there is a blurring of lines between their lives in and out of the workplace, instead of keeping their work and personal lives separate as previous generations attempted to do.
The study’s findings seem to indicate that Indonesian Gen Y finance professionals are highly ambitious, engaged and show high degrees of loyalty to their organisations. This suggests that FSI should nurture long-lasting and productive relationships with Gen Y employees in Indonesia. In fact, workplace engagement and plans to develop long-term careers with their current employers are considerably more pronounced sentiments among Gen Y FSI employees in Indonesia than in other ASEAN countries.
Organisations should strive to engage, enrich and empower this generation in the workplace and to maximise their potential and commitment. Providing Gen Y with a clear career progression plan, good communication on how to achieve it, independent and challenging teamwork, as well as fair remuneration along the way, should be an organisation’s priorities.
Managers should also be aware of their status of a coach or mentor, which their protegees would prefer of them, rather than exercise a "command-and-control" style. They should also foster a culture of openness and dialogue needed to effectively engage with their Gen Y counterparts.
Dr Raymond Madden, CEO of the Asian Institute of Finance said, "We hope that this report can provide data-driven insights on Gen Y for Indonesian financial services organisations to benchmark their talent strategies competitively."
The study considered responses from more than 200 Gen Y professionals and managers from banking, insurance and capital market organisations across the Indonesian FSI.
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