Many young people are increasingly focusing on the so-called “chocolate principle” when planning their careers, as an expert explains. Employers can’t really understand this.
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What is the chocolate principle and why do young people follow it? The chocolate principle refers to enjoying one’s career in pieces. According to Franz Kühmayer, a future of work expert, many young people seem to follow this principle and leave their companies even when everything is fine there. This is difficult for many employers to understand, he explains in an interview with BuzzFeed News Germany.
He sees a major reason for this in a high desire for flexibility and self-determination, but also in the wish for constantly new experiences. In the past, people tended to follow the “chimney principle” and enter companies, staying there for a long time to build a career.
Especially in the USA, this is a serious trend, but this tendency is also noticeable in Germany. Many young people are therefore self-employed or are working as freelancers alongside their permanent employment. However, this can have negative consequences, as the expert clarifies.
A High Desire for Flexibility with Consequences
What are the consequences of this behavior? In Germany, the number of solo self-employed people has been relatively constant at a share of between 3 and 4% for the past 30 years. Nevertheless, in his opinion, the need for professional security is still high. However, the dream of entrepreneurship is rising among young people, especially fueled by social media.
However, they often present a distorted image and convey the impression that with the right idea, one can achieve quick wealth and work from anywhere they want. While this can happen in individual cases, the reality is rather that it comes with many overtime hours and especially financial uncertainty. This leads many young self-employed individuals to quickly fall into difficult financial and social situations.
Is returning from self-employment a problem? The expert sees no problem anymore in returning to an employment relationship nowadays. He points out that former self-employed individuals were previously considered unstable, and there was concern that they would quickly disappear again. Today, however, regular changes are normal, making this issue obsolete.
On the contrary, self-employment is now even viewed more positively in a CV. Companies should therefore respond to the desire for independence and flexibility and provide their employees with the opportunity for freelance work or offer them more independence in other ways.
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