Accept the time lag between efforts and rewards

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Accept the time lag between efforts and rewards. This summer, a friend’s child came to Beijing to attend school and stayed at a friend’s classmate’s home. The student worked on their own while taking care of this child and taking him out to play. As a result, when it was time for the child to leave, there wasn’t even a goodbye call or text message, let alone any thanks. Later, a classmate described the incident in detail to us, helping us understand the reason: that classmate always acted as a responsible adult, giving lectures from a superior position, saying things like \"competition in society is fierce; one must work hard\" and so on. Although the child knows that his uncle is trying to do what’s best for him, he still can’t stand being constantly lectured and dislikes having authority figure telling him what to do. Although it’s just a small example from everyday life, it really struck me: people born in the 1980s have strong personalities and a high sense of independence, but they lack the ability to put themselves in others’ shoes; they are very different from people of our generation. In recent years, those born in the 1980s have gradually become a force that cannot be ignored in corporate development. The average age of employees at some new power companies for whom I have provided training services is only around 28 years old; such companies are entirely in the post-80s generation era. They generally have strong learning abilities, are culturally open, prefer independence, and possess a high degree of creativity; they represent the \"fresh blood\" for a company’s growth. At the same time, due to a lack of experience, as well as the absence of a systematic training framework and a mechanism for building a talent pipeline, the growth of some employees is hindered, and their initiative cannot be fully utilized. Over time, this leads to a negative atmosphere within the company. When providing human resources transformation consulting services to an electric power company, we conducted interviews and gathered data, and then used cluster analysis to identify three main groups of people within that company: those who have contributed value in the past, those who are contributing value currently, and those who have the potential to contribute value in the future. Those who contribute to the historical value are mostly senior members, primarily holding positions such as vice presidents and middle-management roles; they have made contributions to the company in the past, but their knowledge structure and adaptability no longer keep up with the company’s development needs ； Those who contribute to real value generally have worked in companies for over a decade, hold a college education, are responsible for key tasks within the company, but only occupy middle-management or supervisory positions, with ambitions to realize greater potential ； Potential value contributors are those under 30 years old, mostly young employees born in the 1980s. Their strengths and weaknesses are quite evident; with proper guidance, they can play a greater role. If companies ignore them, it may result in them achieving nothing. This grouping of employees into different tiers actually reflects some deeply rooted elements of Chinese traditional culture, such as the \"soybean-pot culture,\" hierarchical order, factionalism, and the idea that it takes years for a woman to become the head of the household. These cultural phenomena repeat themselves over and over again between new employees and those who are more experienced. Those who have made historical contributions take it for granted; those who make contributions in the present have no choice but to accept it, but it may be unacceptable to the open, active, and innovative people born in the 1980s. I remember that in an achievement presentation earlier on, Wang Xuan said, \"I currently have too many titles, honors, accolades, and financial rewards. I’m sorry, but the amount I invest in research and the value I create now are far behind the pace of development in this industry; I invest too little while receiving too much in return.\" However, decades ago, I invested a lot and put in a great deal of effort, but received very little in return. There is a long delay before any returns are seen, and it constitutes a large portion of one’s life. ” This is determined by the broader context of social, cultural, and economic development. Even Wang Xuan could only adapt to and accept it; employees born in the 1980s, faced with this reality, should not merely dwell on self-pity, but rather understand the company’s culture, history, and overall operations, adjust their mindset proactively, and prepare for a long-term struggle ； At the same time, one should develop a career plan based on the stage of the company’s development and their own strengths, identifying a path that suits them while also contributing to the company’s growth. Within limited time, they should strive to acquire more knowledge and skills in order to become capable of handling key responsibilities as soon as possible. For businesses as well, it is necessary to identify as soon as possible the characteristics and strengths of employees born in the 1980s, assign them suitable job positions to complement their weaknesses, and adjust management styles and communication skills accordingly ； At the same time, it is necessary to make more efforts in building systems such as a \"succession plan,\" a \"reserve cadre training program,\" a \"rotational training program,\" and an \"exit mechanism.\" This will enable the provision of the most suitable positions and benefits for employees at various stages. Employees’ contributions and value creation should be rewarded as soon as possible, so as to reduce and eventually eliminate the time gap between value creation and its distribution. By doing so, delays in rewarding employees can be minimized, thereby achieving common development for both employees and the company.