What do millennials and Gen Zs desire from employers?

The constant onslaught of digital and societal disruption is moulding millennials’ and Gen Zs’ views around work and purpose, according to a recent Deloitte study.

Called the “generation disrupted”, the study found that they are as ambitious as older generations, but their desire to make a difference is evident in their concerns about their personal and professional lives.

More than half want to earn high salaries and be wealthy. But their priorities have evolved, or at least delayed.

Having children, buying homes and other traditional signals of adulthood “success markers” do not top their list of priorities. Instead, they’d rather travel and see the world (57%) and help their communities (46%).

Their strong desire to make a difference, especially with things like climate change and the environment, has a great influence on who they choose as employers.

Additionally, in terms of diversity and inclusion, there is a strong correlation between millennials who plan to stay in their current jobs and those who said their companies deliver best on indicators such as diversity and inclusion.

Majority of millennials responded that they give a “great deal” or “fair amount” of importance to gender and ethnicity when considering whether to work for an organisation.

Are millennials ready for the future of work?
Regarding technology’s influence on the workforce, 49% of millennials believe new technologies will augment their jobs.

Also, 46% believe the changing nature of work will make it tougher to find or change jobs and 70% think they may only have some or few of the skills required to succeed in Industry 4.0.

Millennials believe business is most responsible for training workers to meet evolving challenges, while Gen Zs – still largely in school or recently graduated – place this responsibility on academia. This presents an interesting opportunity for business and academia to increasingly collaborate to solve tomorrow’s workforce challenges.

“From the economic recession a decade ago to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, millennials and Gen Zs have grown up in a unique moment in time impacting connectivity, trust, privacy, social mobility and work,” said Michele Parmelee, global chief talent officer at Deloitte.

“This uncertainty is reflected in their personal views on business, government, leadership and the need for positive societal change agents. As business leaders, we must continue to embrace the issues resonating most with these two generations, or risk losing out on talent in an increasingly competitive market.”