What do new graduates think of the workplace?

Analysis: a new survey has found graduates expressing many concerns around their experiences of working in Ireland today

By Sarah Kieran, Claire Harnett, Lorraine Ryan and Christine Cross, University of Limerick

Ireland is known for its excellence in education. On the global stage, we talk about Ireland’s talented workforce and we take great pride at home in our young graduates. However, a new report has revealed concerns around graduate experiences of working in Ireland today.

If we take the typical narrative around graduate jobs, it is one where people are enticed with stories of exciting, dynamic organisations, rewarding career pathways and competing for the best spots on graduate recruitment programmes. Back in the day, we called it the 'milk-round'. Back in the day, however, we started in very basic jobs and engaged in routine, standard, frequently boring tasks for at least a couple of years before we got a glimpse of that promised career path.

But it was in this boring but safe space that we learned the why, what, how and who of the world of work. We were ready for the more complex tasks and relationships when they came along.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today With Claire Byrne, Breda O'Malley from Hayes Solicitors answers listeners' questions on workplace problems

Today’s graduate has a very different experience of work, stemming from the multifaceted impact of digital transformation. Many of these standard, routine tasks have been digitised, so what is considered basic work today is actually more advanced than that experienced by previous generations. While we used to experience technological change incrementally, graduates now experience it all at once as they transition from college to their new jobs.

Even though we talk about digital natives, the reality is that graduates themselves do not feel appropriately skilled in the technology they encounter in today’s workplace, with 67% reporting they need some or a lot of help. The contrast between their world of social media and computer game coding and the data science and edge-technologies of our multi-national corporations is stark. It is also widely recognised that digital transformation increases the complexity of work, reflected in the finding that over 50% of graduates feel they need help learning how to problem solve.

But, it’s not just the complexity of work, it’s also the pace. This study found that 47% of graduates report working more than 40 hours per week with 7% working more than 50 hours per week. While the trope of a ‘rite of passage’ or young newcomers ‘earning their stripes’ will resonate with many managers, such working hours breach Ireland's employment legislation. Furthermore, the negative impact of the complexity, pace and hours of work is highlighted, with 40% of graduates reporting feelings of being overwhelmed and burnt out – before their careers have even got started.

From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, Steve Ward from Universum, and Beatrice Dooley from the Institute of Guidance Counsellors on what drives career choices amongst new college graduates

Digital transformation brings other well documented, challenges in how virtual and hybrid working can negatively impact work relationships, work/life balance and create feelings of social isolation. Working from home, for example, is a very different experience for a well-established. mid-career executive with space for a home office than for a typical twentysomething in rented, cramped, shared accommodation.

Ireland’s recent graduates concur, expressing the challenges they experience in building professional and personal relationships when working from home, working in virtual teams or even reporting into managers in different locations. When these factors are combined, they highlight the challenge for organisations in successfully transitioning graduates into the workplace. Graduates who experience a baptism of fire that results in burnout will vote with their feet, as 70% report they see their future career lying outside of their current organisation.

Yet, despite these challenges, the hybrid world of work is here to stay and 86% of graduates want flexible working as a norm. In fact, 54% also express an interest in working for organisations based in Ireland but from abroad – possibly creating their own hybrid work version of seeing the world but still making a contribution back home - a really interesting option for organisations to consider. Additionally, 46% expressed an interest in a compressed working week (working 5 days in 4), possibly allowing them to achieve that elusive work/life balance.

From RTÉ Radio 1's Today With Claire Byrne, Peter Cosgrave from Futurewise and Dr Laura Bambrick from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on remote working and pay

So what can organisations do?

Digital transformation and other global forces of change are only going to increase, but our management of the issues raised in this report is eminently achievable. Graduates themselves highlight the value in the social dynamics of work and herein lies the solution to developing their technical and problem-solving skills, building critical networks and nurturing supportive, personal relationships.

However, many graduates report receiving little or no formal on-boarding in their organisations and are essentially being left to sink or swim at the time in their careers when they need most guidance. Ideally, organisations need to design tailored on-boarding programmes for graduates that specifically address the critical needs highlighted here.

Additionally, the informal supports of supervisor check-ins, skill coaching, job shadowing, structured opportunities for communications and learning, and social events are all highlighted by graduates as being really important to a successful transition into the world of work. In short, graduates are asking us to retro-fit some ‘safe space’ back into the digitalised work environment – a place where they can learn the why, what, how and who of this new world of work.

The report was compiled by the KBS WorkFutures Lab and commissioned by the ICBE Advanced Productivity Skillnet

Dr. Sarah Kieran is a Lecturer in Work & Employment Studies at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. She is founder of the KBS WorkFutures Lab & a recipient of Horizon 2020 funding into the Future of Work. Dr. Claire Harnett is a Postdoctoral Researcher and lecturer in HRM and Human Resource Development at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. She is an Irish Research Council awardee. Dr. Lorraine Ryan lectures in Employment Relations & HRM at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. Prof Christine Cross lectures in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ

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