GENERATION Z workers are motivated to work in workplaces that invest in innovation and are conscious of their social mission, according to a survey.
A Jobstreet survey states that factors like company values and political stances heavily influence their decision-making when choosing which companies to work with.
The Gen Zs are those born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s who are described as “confident users of new technology.”
In the Philippines, 65 percent of Gen Zs are already participating in the workforce either taking part-time or full-time jobs.
Jobstreet said Gen Zs’ goals and aspirations drastically differ from their previous counterparts and their deep regard for societal awareness influences their decision-making when it comes to their careers.
“Gen Zs are not afraid of upholding their principles as they are more empowered with access to information and sharing their minds,” the online job portal said.
Stability, work-life balance, competitive salary, and benefits are also of immense value to this new breed of workers.
Research by the World Economic Forum also revealed that 73 percent of Gen Z employees desire permanent flexible work alternatives. In less than 10 years, 40 percent of the workforce will be composed of Gen Z talents.
“The desires of Gen Z talents might seem like high-maintenance demands, but they are absolutely valid,” said Dannah Majarocon, JobStreet Philippines’ managing director.
Majarocon suggests companies can take advantage of this by improving their people programs and culture, while keeping in mind the organizational goals, to attract a new wave of empowered and engaged talents.
Employers may also explore implementing sustainable and impactful advocacy projects that focus on equality, gender acceptance, politics, and the environment—topics that matter most to Gen Zs.
She also advised to have a healthy and flexible working environment if a company wants to attract and retain them.
Power driver
Economist Bernardo Villegas points out one of the reasons for the country’s advantage is having a “young and growing population” which entices various countries, industries, and investors because of their need for human resources.
This was reinforced by economist Ronilo Balbieran who also said that the Philippines does not only have a young population but also a tech-savvy one. A young population will also drive the consumer-driven economy forward, he said.
“We have a large young, still growing English-speaking population. We are one of the youngest, the only ones younger than the Philippines are the ones in Africa,” said Balbieran, adding that there are only less than 10 countries in the world that have combined characteristics of these kinds of population.
Top choices
According to JobStreet’s Global Talent Survey, accounting and government jobs are Gen Z’s top choices in terms of industries they’d like to work in.
Male Gen Zs are most inclined to work in the computer (hardware), engineering, information technology (IT) consulting, automotive, IT outsourcing (business process outsourcing), and IT software industries.
Meanwhile, female Gen Zs prefer to look into travel/tourism, healthcare/medical, accounting, hospitality, and government-related jobs.
JobStreet currently has nearly 50,000 jobs available in the platform with a diverse talent pool of over 14.6 million jobseekers in the country.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Youth Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) was estimated at 33.8 percent in May 2023. This was lower than the 36.2 percent reported rate in the same month last year and the reported youth LFPR in April 2023 at 34.7 percent.
Youth employment rate increased to 89.4 percent in May 2023 from 87.9 percent in May 2022. Among the employed youth, 11.0 percent were underemployed in May 2023, which was lower than the reported 11.6 percent in May 2022.