Work vs Life: Here's what defined workplaces in 2024

The year 2024redefinedworkplace yet again. With work-from-office mandates and rising living and commuting costs, working is not the same as it was a year ago.

The atmosphere in many workplaces was one of the unsaid battles—between senior workers who might have never worked remotely and a growing number of young people who not only started their careers during the pandemic but also completed their education online.

Read to find out what’s changed!

Workplaces are becoming younger

The worker population across the globe is becoming younger with many companies accepting people without the need for a formal degree and focusing more on skills instead. This has created a new generation of workers who have started working earlier than ever before. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics says that Gen Z (those born after 1996) will make up almost 30% of the workforce in the country by 2030, highlighting the growing influence of this age group.

Change in professional language

2024 saw a change in the language used in workplaces. An X(formerly Twitter) post went viral which showed an employee ‘informing’ and not ‘requesting’ for leave from their boss with just a one-line message saying: “I will be on leave on 8th Nov 2024. Bye.”

The post which now has 2.8 M views sparked a furious debate on social media with some slamming the employee for being unprofessional. Others supported them in setting clear workplace boundaries.

Memes went galore about senior workers being baffled by their younger colleagues using ‘cool,’ ‘byeeeee’ and other such ‘slangs’ in professional emails.

GenZ workers constantly referred to their ‘boomer bosses’ as not being ‘chill.’

Fall of remote work

Work post the pandemic, has changed since companies and workers have realised that remote work has both pros and cons.

Remote work allows the cutting down of commuting costs and time for employees, leading to higher productivity and employee satisfaction.

However, there were also cases of remote workers being let go due to not working enough, and often at all.

In Aug 2024, an Australian employee with 18 years of experience lost her job after her company- Insurance Australia Group, tracked her work over three months and found that she did not have enough keyboard activity and often started work late and logged off early.

The incident went viral with many employers blaming remote employees for working less than their in-office colleagues.

Anna Sebastian, Narayana Murthy & Mental Health

In July 2024, Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old employee of Ernst and Young, took her own life reportedly due to work pressure. Sebastian’s mother also penned a heartfelt letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani highlighting how her child was burdened under unrealistic work pressures.

The letter ends with: “I hope my child’s experience leads to real change so that no other family has to endure the grief and trauma that we are going through. My Anna is no longer with us but her story can make a difference.”

It prompted widespread condemnation of ‘hustle culture’ and the myriad ways in which work affects the mental health of employees.

Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys and one of India’s foremost businesspersons reiterated his stance about work, sparking a new wave of support and fury.

In November, he expressed his disappointment over India switching to a five-day work week from a six-day one and called for a 70-hour work week to become the norm once again.

“We first have to get a life, then we can worry about work-life balance,” said Murthy, talking at a media interaction.

Anna Sebastian’s tragic death and Narayana Murthy’s comments, when seen in the larger context, form the perfect example of the growing need to value mental health at work.

According to the World Health Organisation, 15% of working-age adults are estimated to have a mental disorder. It adds that globally over 12 billion working days are lost every year, due to mental health ailments, incurring a cost of US $1 trillion.

A ‘toxic’ work environment, it appears, is bad not just for workers but also for the economy.

Learning the new and unlearning the old

This author asked a senior, mid-level professional, a fresher, and a future employee about what they can learn from each other’s working habits.

Anuradha, [name changed] a deputy manager, with 11 years of experience, says “In my first job, I would do tasks and ask for more, wanting to learn more. But this behaviour was imbibed after seeing my seniors do something similar. Only when situations are getting out of hand, would I seek a senior's opinion. The shift I see with the GenZ joining the workforce is that they are not shy asking for more work, they are very articulate as well. Striking a balance in the two will be the perfect blend.”

Mayuri, [name changed] a marketing professional, with two years of experience, says “The GenZs and younger generation of workers will someday be in the senior level of management, and if we go along with the existing way of overworking just to prove to your manager that your existence is worth paying for, it does not bode well for those even younger who are waiting to get into the workforce.”

Gargi, [name changed] a fresher, and new entrant into the workforce, says “It would come as a benefit for freshers to understand that long-term growth isn't always about climbing a traditional corporate ladder. Instead, it is more of staying adaptable, exploring opportunities, and positioning oneself for roles that align with evolving interests.”

Khyati, a college student and soon-to-be employee, says “It might sound very Gen Z but I'm not in favour of working extra hours than assigned. Although I understand that on special occasions I as an employee or my entire team would need to work on something other than our working hours.”

Invisible workers’ very visible suffering

The majority of the world’s workers are in the informal economy with hazardous work environments, detrimental to both their physical and mental health.

According to a report published by the Institute for Human Development and the International Labour Organization, 82% of India’s working population works without any formal record of employment- in agriculture, manufacturing etc.

453 people have passed away while cleaning sewers, according to a statement given by Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, in the country’s lower house.

Thus, the freedom to work remotely, or even to work without facing actual death, remains a privilege in much of the world.

Employee, Employer- Human

The way to bridge the gap between warring employees is to keep adapting and not succumb to cancel culture. Treating each other as human beings, capable of working with and not against each other, will help diffuse heated discussions in the workplace.

Empathising and not criticising may help turn workplaces into environments where all workers- formal, informal, young, old, junior and senior, feel welcome.