Developing Leadership Culture for a better Employee Experience : leading Generation Z Employees at Eckerö Line
Vanhanen, Paulus (2026)
2026
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202603194595
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202603194595
Tiivistelmä
The subject of the thesis is developing the wellbeing at work and commitment to it of Generation Z employees onboard Eckerö Lines Finnish ferries. The research focuses on means of influencing by leadership to improve these things.
Generation Z, or people born between 1997 and 2010, is growing strongly in numbers in the job market. The oldest of them have already graduated from universities, while the youngest ones are still far away from reaching the working age. Their values, attitudes, and wishes and hopes regarding work differ so much from those of Generation X and Y that companies seek to understand them better to motivate and commit them to their work.
The Tourism and Hospitality sector has been suffering from a shortage of workers ever since the COVID-19 pandemic closed businesses and many decided to switch professions. The ones still working in the sector are less motivated and committed to their work and employer. To keep the sector dynamic and lucrative, new, young employees are needed. It is crucial to understand their values and attitudes and the factors that motivate them to be able to offer them a job where they feel good and wish to commit to it.
A lot of research has been done in the field of leadership and leading people at work. New theories have emerged as more data from the research has become available. There is a special interest among organizations towards Generation Z, because their numbers are increasing, and the previous generation already highlighted the need to update the leadership doctrine in organizations.
The research was conducted using a structured quantitative questionnaire, targeting all the employees working onboard Eckerö Line’s ferries born after 1996. The questionnaire was designed based on theoretical frameworks and previous research relevant to the topic. It primarily consisted of Likert scale questions to measure attitudes and perceptions in a standardized way. In addition, two open-ended qualitative questions were included to gather deeper insights into the participants’ personal experiences and perspectives, allowing for a more nuanced interpretation of the quantitative findings.
Generation Z, or people born between 1997 and 2010, is growing strongly in numbers in the job market. The oldest of them have already graduated from universities, while the youngest ones are still far away from reaching the working age. Their values, attitudes, and wishes and hopes regarding work differ so much from those of Generation X and Y that companies seek to understand them better to motivate and commit them to their work.
The Tourism and Hospitality sector has been suffering from a shortage of workers ever since the COVID-19 pandemic closed businesses and many decided to switch professions. The ones still working in the sector are less motivated and committed to their work and employer. To keep the sector dynamic and lucrative, new, young employees are needed. It is crucial to understand their values and attitudes and the factors that motivate them to be able to offer them a job where they feel good and wish to commit to it.
A lot of research has been done in the field of leadership and leading people at work. New theories have emerged as more data from the research has become available. There is a special interest among organizations towards Generation Z, because their numbers are increasing, and the previous generation already highlighted the need to update the leadership doctrine in organizations.
The research was conducted using a structured quantitative questionnaire, targeting all the employees working onboard Eckerö Line’s ferries born after 1996. The questionnaire was designed based on theoretical frameworks and previous research relevant to the topic. It primarily consisted of Likert scale questions to measure attitudes and perceptions in a standardized way. In addition, two open-ended qualitative questions were included to gather deeper insights into the participants’ personal experiences and perspectives, allowing for a more nuanced interpretation of the quantitative findings.