Gen Z has a bit of a reputation in the workplace as “job hoppers,” but the truth is, the state of the workplace has changed a lot in recent years, and loyalty doesn’t exactly pay off the way it used to.
A recent survey delved deeper into the Gen Z job satisfaction anomaly and was able to put a more specific length of time these employees will devote to a company before moving on to greener pastures.
Gen Z is known for having a more rigid view of what they are willing to put up with in the workplace. They simply refuse to compromise when it comes to their values, and because of that, they’ve developed a reputation as a generation that doesn’t want to work. That’s really not the truth, however. Gen Zers want to work. They just don’t want to be overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.
A survey found that the average Gen Z employee will stay at a job for just under 2 years before getting a new one.
A national survey of over 1,000 employees, split evenly between Gen Z workers and hiring managers, revealed that young employees and the companies hiring them aren’t exactly on the same page when it comes to job expectations.
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The survey, conducted by Gateway Commercial Finance, found that nearly half (47%) of Gen Z professionals plan to leave their jobs within a year, and half said they’re ready to leave at any moment. Basically, if companies want employees to stay and grow within the company and their roles, they better start listening to what their workers want.
While a good number of Gen Zers seem ready for new and better career opportunities at a moment’s notice, the survey found that Gen Z professionals actually anticipate staying at their jobs for an average of 1.8 years once they sign on. That’s certainly more loyal than social commentary would have you believe.
Gen Z had many reasons for why they would be open to leaving a job right after starting.
Overall, less than half of Gen Z professionals (46%) believe that staying loyal to one employer is rewarded in today’s job market. Honestly, they’re not wrong. The workplace has changed. People aren’t hired in entry-level positions with the hope of moving up, learning, and growing until retirement.
It used to be that if you worked hard and applied yourself, job security and growth were a given. A recent survey found that a whopping 73% of employees believe their jobs aren’t safe, even if they’re top performers. If there’s no security and no reward for loyalty, how do these companies expect to retain employees?
Gen Z participants in the Gateway Financial survey were asked to list the top reasons they might consider leaving their current jobs, and the number one reason was, unsurprisingly, finding a job with a higher salary. It makes sense. If they aren’t guaranteed a future at a company, always being on the lookout for a better-paying job is a smart move.
An estimated 39% of Gen Z said inflation and economic uncertainty have made them more likely to leave their current job, while 30% said that it’s made them want to stay put. Only 1 in 4 Gen Z workers said they’re invested in their job for the long haul. For many others, the exit strategy was already on their minds.
Gen Z’s job-hopping reputation is actually just a reflection of their own ambitions.
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Most of the time, Gen Z is choosing to job-hop because it’s in their best interest to find a job that allows them to actually thrive, rather than just working to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Despite the state of the economy and the job market, Gen Z remains both optimistic and determined not to waste their lives away working a job that just doesn’t serve them.
A 2024 study by Empower found that the disconnect between Gen Z’s workplace expectations and generations before them has a lot to do with the cost of living. Boomers, for example, were adamant that a salary just under $100k was the secret to success, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any other generation that agrees. Gen X said it would take over $200k to live a successful life, and millennials expected a more modest $180k. Gen Z, however, said success wasn’t possible in the current economy without a salary of over $580k a year.
Does that seem outlandish? It depends on who you ask. These young people are drowning in academic debt. They have very little hope in the current housing market, and having kids without college expenses costs around $320k from birth to 18. With all that on the table, the whopping salary makes sense.
Research conducted by Randstad, a recruitment company, found that 41% of Gen Z always consider long-term goals when making job decisions, and that number was higher than any other generation. And second to pay, Gen Z said that a lack of career growth is their biggest driver for changing jobs.
Seems like we all really want the same thing; it’s just that each generation has different economic hurdles to overcome. Gen Z is truly just looking for roles that pay them fairly based on the cost of living, support their mental health, respect their personal time outside of the office, and actually offer some real opportunities for growth. Who can argue with that?
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
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