Hardly any debate is conducted as controversially in practice teams as the one about Generation Z. Does the young generation really tick differently – and if so, how should a dental practice respond? In the episode „Fachkräftemangel oder Führungsproblem?“ of the podcast Queens & Sons of Dentistry, Dr. Nebo Stankovits, a dental entrepreneur with sites in Hanover and Bremen, places the subject in a differentiated context – beyond blanket criticism of young employees.
Generational change is normal – and healthy
Asked whether the new generation really does tick differently from its predecessors, Dr. Stankovits answers with remarkable equanimity: it would be a bad thing if it were not so – anything else would be stagnation or regression. Every generation has to develop further and brings positive as well as negative characteristics with it. A certain degree of rebellion is part of youth, and it is important and healthy in order to prove something to oneself and to be different from the preceding generation. Much of it repeats itself in any case, as fashion shows: sometimes skinny jeans, sometimes flares, sometimes baggy pants. Leaders cannot change this shift – they have to accept it and make the best of it.
“Lost”: too many options, too few goals
His central observation about the current generation: many describe themselves as “lost”. Most of them lack concrete goals; short-lived stimuli and dopamine hits shape everyday life, reels are becoming ever shorter and have to trigger something instantly. At the same time, the availability of options is almost infinite – and that is precisely what makes it difficult. In the past, few paths were open, such as a commercial or a skilled-trade apprenticeship; today there is an unmanageable number of highly specialised degree courses. Many first consider what they want to study instead of asking what they want to achieve – yet the degree is only the journey, not the destination. Dr. Stankovits therefore recommends a broad foundation before specialisation: first become a cook and then decide whether it is to be sushi, home cooking or Michelin-starred cuisine; first learn to play football in general and then try out being a defender, a midfielder or a striker. Specialising too early prevents any testing of whether a path really fits.
Work-life balance: a misleading term
Dr. Stankovits is outspoken about the buzzword work-life balance: there is no such thing, because the term implies that work and life could be separated from one another – as though one were not living while at work. At most one could speak of a work-leisure balance, since work is always part of life; there is no stopwatch that stops when one goes to work. Clearly formulated motives, by contrast, he considers entirely legitimate: anyone able to say that money motivates them, that plenty of holiday matters or that part-time work is desired is simply easy to understand. What is difficult, rather, is that many young applicants do not know at all what motivates them in the first place.
Recognising – and testing – self-motivation
How basic motivation can be examined is illustrated by Dr. Stankovits with an example from his own practice: he deliberately did not give an interested candidate his number, but asked her to look him up on Instagram herself and message him – she was to take one or two steps of her own first. One can set a stone rolling, but a certain basic motivation has to be there; one cannot be the coach for every individual. With trainees in particular, however, he also sees a responsibility of his own to pass on something for life alongside the professional values. His goal is employees who identify with the company, carry it outwards and are proud of it.
Clear structures instead of one-sided adaptation
Asked whether the practice has to adapt to the young generation or the other way round, Dr. Stankovits answers in a differentiated way: the needs and developments are certainly noted, but very clear structures have to be laid down – guidelines and principles within which one can move. The owner is responsible for ensuring that the framework conditions are right, which values apply and which priorities the practice has; what is decisive is that these values are also lived out. That career paths today rarely run in a straight line is demonstrated in the podcast by the Bremen site manager Amata herself: as a trained nurse she worked for three years in an intensive care unit before studying dentistry and eventually growing into the site management role – evidence that a solid foundation and an openness to development count for more than the perfect first career step.