Pretend for a moment you just zoomed 10 years into the future. It’s now July 2030. You and a group of friends are discussing the terrible spring and summer of a decade ago—2020—the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. What will you say was the most profound change that emerged from this awful experience?

For Gene Marks, a business analyst, author and professional speaker, the answer’s easy—it’s the impact that the coronavirus has had on Gen Y and millennials (born 1981–’96 or later) in the workforce. In effect, this is their “Pearl Harbor” moment. While humanity will recover from COVID-19…certain attitudes ...