Generation Z (Gen. Z) is having marketers and employers scratch their heads. Born in the Information Age, these folks - loosely classified as those born after the mid nineties, whereas some researchers classify Gen. Z from 2005 onwards - are exhibiting increasingly complicated attitudes, behaviours and characteristics (ABCs). They are not a monolith, that much is known. But who they really are is little understood.
We have the likes of Pew Research in the United States doing some really insightful Generations Research, specifically on Millennial (those born between 1981 and 1997) and inter-generational distinctions in ABCs. Now we have some insights on Gen. Z, the immediate generation after Millennial, as regards their higher education preferences and career aspirations and fears.
The Sweden-based employer-branding consulting firm Universum recently polled about 49,000 people, born between 1996 and 2000, in 47 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and South Africa. Survey excluded Pakistan, but insights are nonetheless relevant given that regional countries like China and India were part of it.
Some 70 percent of the respondents were pursuing high school education, 9 percent vocational education, and 15 percent bachelors degree. Since high-school folks dominated the sample, findings must be interpreted accordingly.
Across all the regions, majority of respondents reported their parents as having the most influence regarding their education and careers (60%), followed by friends (24%), teachers (22%), and news (19%). In choosing a particular subject, their top motivations were personal interest (67%), followed by earnings potential (39%), and helping out others (33%).
Respondents seemed spread out in terms of their future study plans. About 16 percent wished to enroll in humanities and social sciences, 14 percent business, 12 percent medicine, and 9 percent natural sciences. Only 8 percent preferred engineering, 5 percent law, 3 percent computer sciences. About 14 percent would choose other subjects, while 17 percent did not know yet. Females comparatively chose fields of humanities, medicine, and law more.
Among the regions, Medicine field was the top choice for Middle East respondents, Business was top choice for APAC region, Humanities was the top pick in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), while a majority of respondents in North America and Western Europe, the developed nations, was undecided.
In terms of career, a majority of respondents, spread across the continents, wouldn't consider an employer who would accept them without a formal education. While this suggests a bend towards acquiring some level of formal education, the survey also showed that 55 percent of respondents were interested in starting their own company. This entrepreneurial spirit was the highest in the Middle East and CEE (76% each) but least in North America (41%).
Since majority showed inclination towards starting up, it is interesting to highlight their motivations for doing so. Top five reasons were, becoming your own boss, having an impact, working through flexible hours, learning a lot quickly, and working with peers. Among those who look forward to careers, goals most important were work/life balance, job security, independence, leadership, and sense of mission.
Top attributes that made an employer compatible with Gen. Z personality included staffs friendliness, promotion of equality and diversity, office environment style, organizational structure, and employee environment. Greatest fears were that they won't find jobs that suit their personality, would get stuck in stagnant jobs, and would underperform.
Perhaps the most important finding of the Universum survey is that Gen. Z happens to be a largely hopeful generation. Nearly 56 percent Gen. Z respondents felt they would have higher living standards than their parents.
The optimism was the highest in APAC (65%), perhaps explained by the tremendous economic expansion there post-1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Optimism was the lowest in Western Europe (41%), signifying the effects of dispiriting stagnation that much of the Euro zone finds itself in.
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