Aton among the Best Workplaces for Gen Z

In 2024, we asked ourselves what would make a company the “perfect” workplace for young people. And we did the most Gen Z thing of all: we asked them.
Seven students from Contamination Lab Veneto worked for three months on a concrete challenge: identifying the elements that can increase engagement, sense of belonging and productivity, while bringing together wellbeing and sustainability.
The project revealed young people’s priorities: an inclusive culture, work-life balance, a sense of purpose, continuous learning and growth paths.

Two years later, Aton’s third place in the Great Place To Work Italia Best Workplaces for Gen Z ranking reminds us that good things take time. This recognition sits alongside our ranking among the Best Workplaces for Trusted Leadership, in the medium-sized companies category.

Two different rankings, but closely connected. Because you cannot become a good workplace for young people without credible leadership. And credibility does not come from declarations: it comes from example.

Young people are not asking for less responsibility

Gen Z is often described as a demanding generation. They ask for flexibility, autonomy, purpose, listening and opportunities to grow. Anything else?

The risk is to dismiss these requests as if they were unreasonable whims. I believe the opposite is true.

Young people want to understand the impact their work has and the criteria they will be assessed against. They are not running away from responsibility: they are asking for it to be concrete and connected to a measurable result.

For a long time, we Gen X and Millennials were asked to work well, be patient and trust that someone, sooner or later, would notice.

But a career defined by “we’ll see” feels more like a miracle than a project.

Growth becomes real when it is connected to a defined organisational model. This is the logic behind our development projects: up to three meetings a year with the team leader to take stock of the growth path and check that it is still consistent. This is not about Performance Appraisal. It is about creating a relationship of trust.

Four generations, one organisation

Today, Gen Z represents 27% of atonpeople. Four generations and nineteen nationalities coexist within the company.

Diversity, however, does not automatically generate innovation: you can share the same office for years with very different people and still work in parallel worlds. True story. Value is created when there is a real exchange.

People with more experience bring method, knowledge of the context and the ability to anticipate the consequences of decisions. Young people bring new languages, speed and questions. Above all, that magical six-letter word followed by a question mark, the one we no longer ask ourselves enough: “Why?”

Gen Z’s questions concern everyone

In 2024, we asked ourselves what would make a company attractive to new generations.
Today, the question feels broader: what makes an organisation capable of helping people of different ages, skills and cultures grow?

I was born in 1983 and, according to INPS, I am little more than an apprentice.

Purpose, autonomy, flexibility, learning and the possibility of making an impact are not only relevant to Gen Z. Young people simply ask for these things more directly and are less willing than we were to accept vague answers.

In a way, they are helping us.
They force us to distinguish trust from lack of guidance, flexibility from confusion, meritocracy from individual competition, and listening from simply collecting opinions.

The recognition we have received does not mean that we have found a definitive answer or reached the finish line.

It means that the direction is the right one, and that it is achievable for everyone, not only for Aton.

In the end, a good workplace is not one where difficulties and obstacles never arise. It is one that clarifies goals, recognises people’s contribution and allows each person to become the protagonist of their own story.