gen z's views on work and life - americas
TRANSCRIPT
Gen Z’s Views on Work and Life: AmericasKat Lynn and Kevin Troy
For the first time ever, members of Gen Z tell us what they want for their futures!
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~ 50,000 respondents
By 2030, many of the world's largest economies will have more
jobs than skilled people to do those jobs.
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As a result, the talent market is going to be even more competitive than
it is today. To prepare, Universum conducted the biggest Gen Z survey
ever to help our clients predict their future workforce.
Why this study matters
Baby Boomers
Hard working
Specialized
Individualistic
Gen X
Self-starting
Loyal
Driven
Gen Y
Flexible
Non-hierarchical
Innovative
Gen Z
?
?
?
Generational comparison
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?
• Tangible/material success
• Work to live
• No feedback
• Blend in
• Climb corporate ladder
• Experiential success
• Work for purpose
• Constant feedback
• Stand out
• Create your own ladder
What we know now
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Grew up in
uncertain times
Most global
generation
Breaking the
education mold
Always
connected
Z
1) Most global generation
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wants to start their own companies
in order to have an impact.
43% of Gen Z
Globally connected and well
traveled
Gravitating toward cities, where
populations tend to be more
ethnically and culturally diverse
Aware of global events and
business opportunities
Recognize that the world has
significant problems, and they
want to help
For them, the desire to help change the
world for the better is not about CSR or
donating to charities.
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Within the Americas, Latin America is particularly entrepreneurial
• Are you interested in starting your own company? (yes/ no)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
LATAM
NorthAM
Global
Gen Z’ers who want to start their own company
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LatAm is particularly entrepreneurial
• Are you interested in starting your own company?
55%
62%
58% 58% 58%
66%65%
67%71%
78%
41%38%
41%
Global LATAM Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia CostaRica
Mexico Panama Peru NorthAmerica
Canada USA
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How are companies responding to the desire for entrepreneurship?
• “Hack days”
• Project work
• Process, product, culture
improvements
• Stronger communication
First generation to grow up with
high speed, mobile internet
access
Comfortable interacting online
with others
Consume and share content with
ease
Easily adapt to new technologies
and implement them in their
workflow
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2) Always connected
specifically searches for employer
information through that channel. Now
imagine what that looks like for Gen Z,
who grew up using it.
60% of Gen Y
Despite the myth that Facebook is dead,
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of the world’s internet
traffic is from mobile
devices and we now
buy more smartphones
than “dumb” phones
20%
In early 2014 nearly
3 billionpeople were online
hours of video are
watched on YouTube
every month
6 billion
WhatsApp messages are
sent every day
27 billion
users worldwide
1.2 billion
pictures are
shared on social
media every day
758 million
Facebook has almost
Talent is exposed to tons of information every day
• Source: BI Intelligence http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2013/06/13/whatsapp-is-now-
processing-a-record-27-billion-messages-per-day/#!sawFj
• See also: http://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html
Are you ensuring your employer brand will stand out?
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Gen Zers are highly active in social media
is the most-used channel
globally
is the global average
number of Social Media
channels used by Gen
Z.
4.1
• Which online networks/communities do you use? (Count of used network/communities)
• This refers to general usage
comes in at #2
YouTube
rounds out the top 3
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Gen Zers across the Americas extremely open to communication from employers about jobs…
• How open are you to be contacted by a company regarding work opportunities?
83% 82%87%
74%
87%90% 90% 90%
83%88%
85%91%
84%
17% 18%13%
26%
13%10% 10% 10%
17%12%
15%
9%
16%
Global LATAM Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia CostaRica
Mexico Panama Peru NorthAmerica
Canada USA
I like it very much / I like it somewhat I dislike it very much / I dislike it somewhat
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…but hardly any of them have been contacted about job opportunities.
• Have you been contacted by any company regarding work opportunities?
29%
23% 23% 25%
11%
21% 19%22% 21%
25% 25%28%
25%
71%
77% 77% 75%
89%
79% 81%78% 79%
75% 75%72%
75%
Global LATAM Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia CostaRica
Mexico Panama Peru NorthAmerica
Canada USA
Yes No
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Have you started actively communicating your employer brand to Gen Z?
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are hopeful about their future work-life.
55% of Gen Zers
Despite economic uncertainties,
3) Grew up in uncertain times
Grew up during the “war on
terror” and the economic crises
More target-oriented, planning
career paths earlier
Exposed to dramatically changing
industries, with STEM skills
becoming more critical
Contrary to popular belief, the
uncertain times did not quell their
entrepreneurial desire
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Their greatest fear is getting stuck in a role where they don’t fit personally and can’t grow, which seems to fuel their entrepreneurial ambitions
• What are your greatest fears regarding your work life? (Max. 3)
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Friendliness of people
the #1 aspect of an employer that
should match one’s personality
(globally)
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is interested in finding out more about
how companies offer education to
people who have no university
degree
59% of Gen Z
Contrary to their parents, who
prioritized a college education, almost
4) Breaking the education mold
Student loans are increasingly
unsustainable and many schools
do not accelerate earnings
enough to offset the costs
Gen Z values experience over
tangible possessions, so the
salary argument for a degree has
less weight
Employers are looking more for
skillsets or learning capacity,
reducing the importance of a
name brand school on a resume
Growth of alternative education
and online learning tools
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Especially in LatAm, students really want to find out more about alternative education options.
• Are you interested in finding out more on how companies offer education to people who have no university degree?
59%
76%
65%
80%
62%
77%
71%76%
67%
82%
38%42%
37%
Global LATAM Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia CostaRica
Mexico Panama Peru NorthAmerica
Canada USA
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“Orville Wright didn’t have a
pilot’s license.”
• Hire for potential, train for skill
• Focus on culture fit and persona hiring
• Less stringent academic requirements (i.e.
specific major)
The time to act is now.
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By the time Gen Z enters the
workforce, they will have already
been guided and influenced.
The race for Gen Z starts now, and
anyone not thinking ahead will be
behind.
Key questions to address now:
• How are you planning to adapt or grow
your training and development
programs?
• Are you prepared to source talent from
alternative education options?
• Does your organization have a defined
purpose? Is it communicated?
• How is your organization differentiated
from your industry or competitors?
• Is your brand uniform globally, unique
in every market, or locally adapted from
a global brand structure?
