WEEKLY EDITION BY ZIHAN LYU

Welcome to your latest HRD Connect's Weekend Digest, your go-to source for the week’s top insights and updates tailored for HR professionals.

Here’s what’s inside:

◾ What Gen Z and Millennials really want (it’s not ping pong tables or purpose)

◾ 4 proven ways leaders are making work healthier and more productive

◾ Why DE&I efforts are failing—and how connection is the missing ingredient

EXPERT INSIGHTS

The 4 Top Motivators for Millennial and Gen Z Works (and Why they Matter)

More than half the workforce is now Gen Z or Millennial—and what drives them isn’t what most employers think. New research shows comfort, personal connection, challenge, and excellence top their list of motivators.

Pay, purpose, and perks? Surprisingly less important. These findings flip traditional retention strategies on their head and call for deeper investment in psychological safety, team cohesion, and meaningful growth opportunities.

INSIGHTS

How to Work Healthier in 2025

EY’s latest research reveals four shifts driving better business outcomes through wellbeing.

➼ Connection builds psychological safety
➼ Focus eliminates stress from task-switching
➼ Predictable flexibility prevents burnout
➼ Efficient impact helps avoid unnecessary collaboration.

Top-performing companies are already adopting these strategies—and it shows in engagement, retention, and innovation. Key habits like “sacred hours,” shortened meetings, and digital boundaries are fast becoming the new normal.

INSIGHTS

The Power of Connection in Fixing DE&I Shortfalls: A Workplace Guide

Years of DE&I investment haven’t translated into real inclusion—and here’s why: disconnected leadership, unclear culture, and outdated systems keep barriers in place.

Instead, companies seeing results are building connection into every layer of the business. That means training empathetic leaders, rewarding inclusive behaviours, and equipping underrepresented talent with networks and skills.