Workplaces can seem baffling and mysterious to some, with buzzwords and the key skills required to be successful today leaving many parents confused about what their children actually do all day in the office.
According to LinkedIn, a good 70% of parents in Australia are unsure of what their kids do for work, with 24% suggesting they would probably be fired if they had to do their child’s job for a day.
Just 30% of parents said they are familiar with what their kids actually get up to when they’re out making a living.
More than half of all parents surveyed (57%) said they’re baffled by the language their children use when talking about their jobs, with top jobs being misunderstood including UI designers, data scientists, actuaries and social media managers.
Despite this, not all parents are convinced their children will have more opportunities in the workplace than they did.
In one surprising result, just 54% of mothers believe their daughters have more opportunities to progress their careers than they did.
I find this particularly concerning, especially considering it wasn’t so long ago that women didn’t have a huge amount of career opportunities — other than teaching, nursing and secretarial work.
While women still don’t dominate leadership positions, and are still yet to significantly shift the demographics of some male dominated sectors, I’d like to at least think there’s a wider variety of careers available today.
The findings of the October study of 1003 parents by Censuswide is being released today on Bring Your Parents Day, a global initiative by LinkedIn that the company says will see hundreds of companies opening their doors up to the parents of employees.
At LinkedIn’s Sydney office today, I’m reliably told that around 45 parents have so far entered the building, to participate in a panel discussion and learn more about what their children do at the professional network.
LinkedIn’s head of communications for Australia and New Zealand Shiva Kumar told me this morning the office is buzzing, and that bringing your parents to work is a great way to give back and say thank you to the people who’ve supported you in your education and career.
It’s true workplaces of today look very, very different to thirty years ago — or even ten years ago. Roles and responsibilities have changed considerably.
Demographics have shifted, especially with more women than ever before in paid employment, and technology has dramatically changed industries and created entire new ones.
Such change hasn’t stopped and will continue long into the future.
The current generation of workers will have no choice but to keep up in order to be successful.
In the meantime, bring you parents to work for the day. They may just find a new career they’d like to pursue.
This article was originally published on Women’s Agenda.
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Angela Priestley is the publisher and founding editor of Women’s Agenda. She’s an author, journalist and passionate advocate for workplace gender equality and diversity. Her first book is Women Who Seize the Moment.
