Emmanuelle Duez is a multi-talented entrepreneur and founder of The Boson Project, which specialises in the sociology of organisations and is both a consultancy and a research centre for human excellence. Her clients, in France and abroad, include giants such as Carrefour, the Mulliez group (Decathlon, Auchan, etc.) and L'Oréal. But also structures of less than 20 people. With her teams, she deciphers and analyses organisations in order to "allow the full expression of human potential, both individual and collective". This is an enormous responsibility, because, as Emmanuelle Duez likes to say from the outset: "There is no sustainable performance without human excellence".
At the beginning of your speech, you made a point of looking back over the last two years, marked by covid, in order to “lay the foundations”. Why did you do this?
Emmanuelle Duez - . Because these years have been completely new. Never before has the world of work been in such a state of 'suspension' on a global scale.
The crisis has brought to the fore the fact that the raison d'être of a company is to be a collective adventure. What makes it meaningful to be part of it is no longer the social status it can offer, or even the salary... but being part of a collective.
You and others have studied these moments extensively, particularly in companies. And consistently the same three elements emerge from the crisis. What are they?
First of all, resilience, a word that we hear a lot, it's true. But whether we like it or not, it has become an imperative. From now on, a company will either be resilient or it will not be. This concept of resilience has replaced another concept that was previously very popular in companies: agility.
Secondly, and perhaps more surprisingly, it is the word “other” that stands out. The crisis has brought back to the fore the fact that the raison d'être of a company is to be a collective adventure. What makes it meaningful to be part of it is no longer the social status it can offer, or even the salary... but being part of a collective. This gives immense meaning to one's existence. Thanks to this collective, each person can become a lever for the other. Hence the importance of this notion of “care”, the fact of taking care of the other.
The third word is “time”...
The horizon of business has indeed shifted. In recent years, we have seen the time horizon shrink: 10 years, then 5 years, then 3 years... We were all, and myself too, faced with an acceleration of time. Now the horizon is 30 years, because the new challenge is to manage sustainable capacity. And this long time frame is constantly challenging our certainties. This has led a large group like Carrefour to ask itself: “What do we believe in? What are the values we want to convey?”
And the young generation of those under 25, known as “Zoomers”, is emerging meanwhile.
And they are very permeable to these transformations: resilience rather than agility, collective narrative. These young people serve as a magnifying glass to see the transformations of tomorrow's world of work.
Did you study them?
Initially, it was a request from L'Oréal. The company wanted to know what covid meant for those who were now entering the labour market and what responsibilities this entailed for the employer. So we organised meetings with young people in many countries.
What did you find out?
This is a sacrificed generation. I'll go even further: sacrificed by the political class that had to manage the health crisis. They are in economic distress, psychological distress and are frustrated. These phenomena were already at work, but have been amplified.
It's terrible...
But this generation is also ultra-resilient, ultra-informed, ultra-sensitive, ultra-pragmatic. This is a generation that has suddenly been prevented from taking flight, like a bird with broken wings. That doesn't mean that it won't be cured, that it will never fly. But when it should have taken flight, it couldn't.
The Zoomers believe they can change the world by working at Total, where they will be drivers of the transition, rather than by creating a start-up that will deliver organic toothpaste remotely.
And the characteristics of this generation of Zoomers are interesting.
They believe in themselves as a generation. That's why their focus is: how am I going to make a difference in the world?
And they believe in business!
Because they see it as a territory of impact. And that's a big difference from Millenials, who are the opposite. Zoomers think they can change the world by working at Total, where they will be drivers of the transition, rather than by creating a start-up that will deliver organic toothpaste remotely.
But maybe only 15% or 20% of this generation think that?
Yes, but it is this 15% or 20% that can change everything!
What is the challenge for the company now?
If they don't attract them, they won't be able to transform themselves and their business.
Will they be able to collaborate with seniors?
Yes, because there too they have high expectations. They expect the older generation to give them a taste for learning, as well as a taste for others.
For this generation of Zoomers, the concept of a start-up nation is no longer a priority, not at all.
They want to be useful…
And that's in the company. For this generation of Zoomers, the concept of a start-up nation is no longer a priority, not at all. This is what we are seeing in the field. The question of meaning has been replaced by the question of utility. Leroy Merlin, for example, has carried out a huge sorting out of its activities thanks to this notion of utility. What is useful to me, to others, to the world? If a Zoomer does not know how to answer one of these questions, he or she will not join the company.
An example that struck you in this respect.
I had a CEO on the phone during the crisis, from a very large group with thousands of employees. As he was teleworking, he was more at home, and had more contact with his children... One morning, his daughter told him that she didn't understand why he was only doing business, and not really useful things. So much so that she confessed to him that she didn't dare tell her friends what her father was doing. I can tell you that this shook him up.
Another characteristic: the boundary between private and professional life is becoming even more blurred.
The credo is: as I work, I live. There is no longer any distinction between the employee, the man or the woman. There is no longer a boundary between private and professional life.
What is the role of the manager?
He has to set new standards. He or she must also carry respect and inclusion like a banner. And even more, because zoomers don't like inclusion, which consists of saying we do this or that to integrate people. They want there to be no prohibitions on integration, that's different. Finally, the manager is responsible for this notion of usefulness. This is a new responsibility, but a very important one, because this generation is the key to the “how” of the company's transformation.
So we need a new pact between generations in the company?
It's a three-stage rocket. First stage: repair. It's about healing broken wings. This is at least an ethical responsibility of the company, but also an economic one, because if there is no more talent in the company, there will be no more... company. Second stage: preparation. We have to give them the opportunity to make an impact. They are the "rising army". Third stage: transformation. The Zoomers will give what they are, because they are driven by the subject of utility. This is a new deal, what I call a life deal.
The company that does not ask itself the question of value will not survive!
All your observations and studies have also helped you to pick up on what you call “weak signals”, but which must be taken into account.
We see, in particular, that we are facing a transformation of work that is not easy to manage. Many people, including managers, have cut the emotional link with their company, the distance has reduced the mental load and the pressure to perform... But this has come at the price of a disintegration of the social body. In the banking sector, 20% of the employees questioned said that having cut the emotional link with their company had done them good. There is a danger here, because when the link is cut it is not easy to reconnect. It is therefore a delicate matter for companies to regain power over their value proposition.
You even talk about a value revolution.
We are at the dawn of this macro-challenge, which is a matter for bosses not politicians! When we talk about a 30-year business horizon, we inevitably ask ourselves the question of value. And it is central for Zoomers. A company that does not ask itself this question will not survive!
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.