Young employees are often accused of being entitled, lazy, and lacking dedication to their assigned duties. Stereotypes paint Generation Z as reluctant to show initiative, primarily interested in money. However, a report by Hays Poland and the OFF School Foundation titled “Gen Boost. Young People in the labor market” contradicts these beliefs, finding that 39% of Gen Z identifies the possibility of learning and developing new skills as the most important aspect of work.
While remuneration is the dominant motivation for employees, it isn’t the only one. The role of financial aspects can depend on overall job experience, job tenure, aspirations, life situation, and family status. It appears that for the youngest generation of workers, money often plays a secondary role. Early in their careers, their prime concern is something entirely different—development and learning.
DEVELOPMENT ABOVE ALL
Generation Z (those born after 1995), who are increasingly entering the labor market, are in the phase of gaining their first professional experiences. This is a time for deepening knowledge, acquiring new skills, and developing existing competencies.
This is affirmed by the responses in the survey carried out by Hays Poland and the OFF School Foundation for their report “Gen Boost. Young People in the Labor Market” from October 2024. The surveyed Gen Z workers most often believe that the most important thing about work is the opportunity to learn and develop new skills (39%). Pay is of course essential, but young people place less emphasis on it. Only 22% considered earnings the most important element of work, placing slightly higher importance on the meaningfulness of the work they do (23%). This stands in stark contrast to popular opinions about Gen Z in the workforce.
Agnieszka Czarnecka, HR Consulting Manager in Central and Eastern Europe at Hays, notes: “Development is universally important for employees. Seeing Gen Z through the prism of entitled people who care more about money than their older colleagues is not only wrong but also unfair. Companies won’t be able to effectively collaborate and leverage the potential of young people if they continuously steer by prejudices and beliefs that they often haven’t even had the chance to verify in practice.”
According to Grzegorz Święch, co-founder of the OFF school, “Gen Z knows that money is a fleeting value. Living ‘in the here and now’, they want to live in harmony with themselves and defend their needs and values – the ability to gain knowledge, new skills and experiences, and to build positive, partnering relationships. They consider this as their most valuable type of ‘wealth’ and the most durable capital to support their development in the coming years.”
DO EMPLOYERS EXPECT MORE FROM GEN Z?
Gaining knowledge and improving skills usually goes hand in hand with promotions in the longer term. Employers acknowledge this interest among the younger generation. However, they emphasize that Gen Z workers are often not ready for promotion as their skills and knowledge require further development (39%) or their efforts are not always sufficient for such an advancement to occur (28%).
Agnieszka Czarnecka from Hays points out that “Young employees usually assess their readiness for promotion differently than their superiors due to differing perspectives on life, career development, and work culture, as well as different professional experiences and business awareness. The current world bombards young people with messages about widespread access to high standards of living and easy ways to earn money fast. Older colleagues and bosses often grew up during times of crisis, cultivating narratives favoring hard work and prioritizing professional life over personal life.”
According to Czarnecka, neither extreme benefits anyone. Managers should discuss expectations and development opportunities more frequently and transparently with employees. These conversations can also address competency gaps that employers report and strengthen collaborative relationships.
BENEFITS: DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES OF GEN Z AND EMPLOYERS
Employers and young employees lack a cohesive perspective regarding non-financial offer components. Many companies provide Gen Z with what they need, but they often fail to understand which benefits are most important to Gen Z. While companies correctly recognize their interest in flexible working hours (important to 69% of Gen Z) and medical care (57%), they mistakenly regard remote or hybrid work as the most attractive benefit for this generation, valuable to only 50% of respondents.
This discrepancy can be a lesson for both parties: young people should be more vocal about their workplace needs, and employers should be proactive listeners. Solutions could include regular, individual conversations, as well as company-wide studies on employee satisfaction and needs to meet the expectations of the largest possible group of workers.
ABOUT THE REPORT
The report “Gen Boost. Young People in the labor market” by Hays Poland and the OFF school Foundation is based on data obtained from a survey conducted in September 2024 among nearly 450 Gen Z workers and almost 370 employers. Its purpose is to present the situation of Gen Z in the labor market and the advantages and methods of building intergenerational, diverse teams. The publication is under the patronage of the Responsible Business Forum.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/mozliwosc-rozwoju-jest-dla-zetek-wazniejsza-od-wynagrodzenia-20461
