Why Gen Z should be a recruitment priority

Gen Z workers are the future. With many of the younger generation entering the workforce, employers have the opportunity to snag some much-needed talent who can provide fresh perspectives for an organisation.

8 Ways CFOs Can Win the Gen Z Talent War from Oracle discussed why it’s crucial for employers to secure young talent.

According to Oracle, by 2025, Gen Z will make up a quarter of the Asia-Pacific population. Soon enough, they will be the leaders in the workplace, so fostering development should be a key consideration.

There are also benefits that younger workers can bring to an organisation, namely, technological know-how.

“Generation Z can educate, can help and assist older generations when it comes to literacy about technology, about software – how to develop data, review data, analyse data. They can be great coaches and mentors,” explained Abe Bakhsheshy, organisational behaviour professor at University of Utah’s Eccles School of Business.

According to recent finance graduate Julius Katz, Gen Z misconceptions are due to changes in work culture, and older generations should be aware of this before passing judgement.

“The aspect of entitlement … or the aspect of laziness or any of that stuff, I think it’s just the older generation not seeing the current changes in work culture or work-life culture,” he said.

Furthermore, Oracle noted that younger workers could be better at multitasking due to growing up in environments with distractions. This can be beneficial to businesses that need employees to be focused on multiple tasks at one time.

Headspace agrees that the benefits of hiring Gen Z workers are far-reaching.

Six benefits of hiring young workers, as listed by Headspace, are:

1. Innovation and diversity
2. Technology
3. Community connections
4. A willingness to learn
5. Enthusiasm
6. Support for your business

Headspace continued: “Over the past decade, there has been a decline in the proportion of young people in full-time work. Young people are more likely than other age groups to be unemployed or under-employed and face significant barriers to seeking employment.”

“However, work has many benefits to health and wellbeing for young people. It builds skill, responsibility, and confidence, contributes to independence, financial security and improves mental health outcomes. It benefits the community too; improving productivity, building a workforce, avoiding the problems associated with financial disadvantage, and creating a sustainable future.”