What Gen Z Employees Want

Ellen C. Wells

Let’s focus on the Gen Zers, or "Zoomers," as some article anointed them recently. Anyway, those Gen Z employees are a new breed of worker, and to keep them on board once hired is important to you—namely, because finding workers nowadays is a difficult thing. The talent acquisition company Lever recently released the results of a survey of 1,200 fully employed adults of all ages that asked how employers can best attract and retain workers through this difficult hiring year.

Here are a few key findings of what Gen Z wants and needs from an employer:

Career flexibility. The study found that 40% of all employees plan to stay at their current company for less than a year. For Gen Zers, that percentage increases to 65%. Also, 41% of all employees who do plan on staying will ask for a role change at work. In fact, the flexibility and work-life balance they hope to achieve through a role change is so important to them that 31% would take a pay cut to make it happen.

Removing roadblocks to mobility. 21% of employees overall and 37% of Gen Zers don’t feel they can openly discuss moving to another role or department with their employers, because many (33%) feel the company doesn’t encourage role changes. Lever suggests employers be proactive in their current employees’ awareness of open jobs and have open conversations about career development.

What motivates current and future employees. While 48% of all full-time workers would rather be at an organization that pays them more, 39% would rather have a sense of purpose at work. But when it comes to Gen Zers, that percentage jumps to 42%. When it comes to other generations, 49% of Millennials are motivated by higher compensation, while that number jumps to 56% for Gen Xers. Said Lever about the importance of understanding motivating factors, “Being able to align each candidate’s goals to the opportunities at their company gives recruiters a leg up in the hiring process.” GP