Shifting demographics: How employers can attract young talent

The number of Gen Zers working full-time is likely to surpass the number of baby boomers holding full-time positions for the first time in 2024, according to a new Glassdoor report. This demographic shift is expected to influence how employers attract young talent, given that Gen Zers have different priorities compared to their older colleagues.

One of the most significant differences, as highlighted in the Glassdoor report, is Gen Z’s strong interest in transparency and diversity, equity, and inclusion at the companies where they work. In addition, as digital natives, they want to be heard by their employers.

The report offers several recommendations on how to appeal to Gen Z employees:

• Prioritise skills and competencies over college majors or fields of study.
• Make them feel heard, and emphasise opportunities for involvement in building projects, processes, programmes, and systems rather than offering something fixed.

Expectations from employers by Gen Z will likely change as they age, similar to how millennials’ preferences for in-office and downtown city centre work evolved as they moved into the family formation stages of their lives. Gen Z is still very young and in the middle of their identity-forming years (10 – 25 yrs); social stimulation and flexibility are therefore very important to them.