Improved business conditions spurring Gen Z workers towards new jobs

Aussie Gen Z workers feel very optimistic about the job market, with an increased number of them seeking new job opportunities due to improved business conditions.

Gartner’s recent HR survey has found that the improved business conditions throughout Australia are driving 41.5 per cent of Gen Z employees to actively seek new job opportunities, reaching the highest rate in three years.

“While the current cost-of-living crisis and record-high interest rates continue to have a significant impact on Australians, Gen Z employees have a much more optimistic outlook when it comes to seeking new job opportunities,” said Robin Boomer, senior director of advisory in the Gartner HR practice.

Looking at the data from a generational lens, only 26.3 per cent of Millennials, 19 per cent of Gen X, and 8.5 per cent of Boomers were currently looking for new positions, highlighting how optimistic Gen Z workers are compared to their older counterparts.

This contrast is also reflected in each generation’s confidence in the current business environment, with Gen Z employees reaching 49.3 per cent this quarter. This is followed by Millennials (43.9 per cent), Gen X (41.5 per cent) and Boomers (39.6 per cent).

According to the data, retention statistics are also taking a dive, coinciding with workers searching for new jobs. The data showed that 35.4 per cent of Aussie employees intend to remain with their current organisation, a figure that was at 45 per cent in the previous quarter. While this is low, Gen Z workers show even less commitment to their current organisation, residing at 15 per cent.

“In the current environment, relationships with managers and coworkers have the potential to significantly impact an employee’s intent to stay, particularly negative interactions,” said Boomer.

“Failure to recognise the value of individuals and the importance of effective working relationships will lead organisations to experience reduced productivity and higher turnover.”

A major factor among Gen Z workers seeking new employment is, of course, a pay increase. The data shows that Gen Z employees are the most confident in securing a pay increase when changing jobs (9.8 per cent), followed by Boomers (7.3 per cent), Millennials (7.1 per cent), and Gen X (6.8 per cent).

Although organisations have ramped up other non-monetary incentives over the past couple of months, young workers still tend to be driven by their pay cheques. This is an unsurprising sentiment considering the cost-of-living situation.

This also coincides with overall employee views in Australia towards pay fairness in their organisation, which fell to 31 per cent from a peak of 38.5 per cent.

“While organisations may have successfully tempered employee and manager expectations about pay increases remaining flat, Gen Z employees are more willing to act on workplace dissatisfaction and seek financial compensation elsewhere,” said Boomer.