“We know that we, graduates of major business schools, have the chance to choose our employers … and therefore also have the opportunity to put pressure on them”, considers Alice Pégorier. This master’s student at Paris-Dauphine University, PSL is a member of the collective “For an ecological awakening”, which for three years has been lobbying businesses for young graduates committed to the climate. Registered in a course specializing in energy and finance, the young woman is part – like many of her classmates – of those who want “Have the mission, in their profession, to participate in the ecological transition”. “There is no point in cycling to work to work at Total”, already affirmed, in 2018, the Student Manifesto for an ecological awakening, signed by nearly 30,000 young people.
A survey by the strategy consulting firm BCG to which 2,242 students and alumni from 138 establishments responded, confirms this trend. “Two thirds of the young people questioned prefer a more precarious but meaningful job”, emphasizes Vinciane Beauchene, associate director of the firm.
“These young people want missions that will help them grow. »Elodie Gentina, researcher in management sciences at the Iéseg School of Management
When asked in which sector they would like to work, 71% of students cite the environment. “Not only is it an aspiration, but it is also a criterion of choice, because they are ready to give up, in particular on their remuneration, up to 12% of the salary”, adds the expert.
This tendency is felt from their training period. “These young people want missions that will help them grow, notes Elodie Gentina, researcher in management sciences at the Iéseg School of Management and author of several books on Generation Z. They want to be useful to society. Elements that we found less, in the past, in business school, but which appear now, within the framework of years of gap, for humanitarian missions or associative engagement. “
A company that “feeds”
With a craze for these subjects that continues in professional choices, where opportunities in social entrepreneurship, the social and solidarity economy, and projects with social or environmental impact now have their place. Today’s students want a business that resembles them, resonates with their values. “The company must feed them. They are very suspicious of speeches that they quickly consider greenwashing. They expect proof from their employers ”, continues Elodie Gentina.
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