- Almost half of Gen Zers say AI and social media provide them with more career advice than their boss, according to the survey.
- While it is unwise to rely solely on tools such as chatbots, it is possible to uncover valuable insights.
- A management professor told BI that bosses should not rely on technology when giving career advice to their teams.
When you log in to ChatGPT, a pop-up will appear warning you that it is not intended to provide advice. Someone should tell Gen Z.
In a recent survey, nearly half of GenZers said chatbots and social media provide better career advice than their managers. Of course, for many bosses that doesn't mean much. Many may be overworked, while others may not be good managers.
So relying on artificial intelligence for career tips may be an act of desperation, but it may also mean that the youngest members of the workforce are onto something. Your only source of advice. Christopher G. Myers, an Academy of Management scholar and associate professor of business at Johns Hopkins University.
“ChatGPT can synthesize vast amounts of generalized information that can be extremely valuable, but what about the contextual information you get from conversations with managers and mentors within your organization? It’s different,” he told Business. insider.
The trick is to spend time with your boss, but that can be difficult. In the survey, 62% of Gen Z employees said they would like to talk more about their career path, but their bosses are often too busy. That could be one reason why some young workers find it beneficial to access bots or rely on social media for career-related questions.
The survey results also showed that employees who felt at least “some” support from their supervisors said they had made greater career progress in the past year than those who felt less supported by their supervisors. It's also notable that they were almost seven times more likely to. .
When technology becomes a head coach
Myers said it's nothing new that some workers are willing to, or even prefer, using technology as a means to advance. He cited search engines and massive open online courses (MOOCs) as some of the ways workers have been leveling up their capabilities over the years. “People will say, 'I can learn more skills from YouTube tutorials than from my manager,'” Myers says.
Besides getting information that is not specific to an employer, the other concern is that people will become too dependent on technology, he said.
“The question is, how do we make sure that people don't ignore conversations with their managers or that managers don't shift the responsibility of guidance onto ChatGPT,” Myers said.
He said when employers find themselves in tough times, training budgets are often the first to be cut. Myers said some employers may have done that during the pandemic. These types of rollbacks can make young employees, especially, feel like their career progress is at risk of stalling.
More than 8 in 10 Gen Zers say having opportunities to learn and develop is as valuable or more valuable than getting a promotion or a title, the survey found.
“Sometimes we overlook the importance of opportunities for employees, especially younger employees, to grow and develop in the workplace,” Myers said.
Manager remains the most important relationship in the workplace
He said hybrid and remote work could make mentoring and in-person learning activities obsolete unless managers make sure they continue to do so. Meyers added that as many companies have struggled to attract workers in recent years, things many employees want, such as training and tuition reimbursement, may be being left behind. Ta. “The focus was on maintaining the essential workforce,” he said.
“We're seeing this kind of continued cycle of cutting learning and development budgets, and then we find that people really value them and we invest a little bit more,” Myers said. he said.
Changes in the way we work, such as the rise of AI, are leading some people to benefit from improved skills. As BI previously reported, for those worried that the rapid growth in technology will hurt their career prospects, managers can help by advocating for on-the-job training for workers. You can do it.
How about dedicating time to training young employees? Daniel Jolls, a research assistant in behavioral science at the Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics and Politics, says managers need to remember how much their actions impact the success of their employees. He told BI that it should be kept.
He said: “The relationship between employees and line managers remains the most important relationship in the workplace.”
