Pixel International Conferences

Nowadays, enterprises face the challenge of employing individuals from different generations and creating a work environment that accommodates their different needs. Generation Z is at the beginning of its career, while individuals from Generation Y, also called Millennials, are well established in their jobs, representing the main workforce. If Generation Y is considered the first technologic and global generation, Generation Z is the first digital native one. Therefore, if Gen Y had to integrate technology in its life, Gen Z, born between 1995 and 2010, used technology from the youngest age. The first wave of this digital-savvy generation is starting to graduate from college and is rapidly beginning to enter the workforce. But what is Gen Z expecting from a workplace? What are its expectations and what do they value? This is what we aim to understand through this paper. In a qualitative study that uses a survey with open questions, we asked 57 university students from Generation Z to state their opinions regarding the perception about themselves – both strong and weak points, and the expectations regarding a future job and employer. We asked them to describe their ideal job, the expected qualities in a perfect manager, and the factors that could lead them to abandon a job. One of the main findings of the study is the increased interest of the respondents in having an understanding and supporting superior. The respondents rejected the traditional idea of a boss, showing interest in having a leader who knows how to motivate them. Taking into consideration the fact that the number of employees from Generation Z will only increase in the next years, we consider that this research is valuable for employers, specialists from the human resources field, institutions working with the Gen Z, and even teachers who struggle to adapt their teaching methods to this generation.

Keywords: Generation Z, job expectations.

References:

[1] Jain, V., & Pant, S. (2012). Navigating Generation Y For Effective Mobile Marketing In India: A Conceptual Framework. Mobile Marketing Association IJMM, 7(3).
[2] Tulgan, B., & Martin, C. A. (2001). Managing Generation Y. Amherst, Massachusetts: HRD Press.