The woke reasons Gen Z are turning down high-paying jobs

Aussies may be battling a cost of living crisis – but that isn’t stopping many Gen Z and Millennial workers from leaving their jobs or even turning down high-paying roles.

And it’s all in the name of values.

The annual Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey has revealed a consistent theme – young staffers want their employers’ values to be aligned with their own.

“More than a third have turned down employers that they feel aren’t doing enough on matters such as the environment, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), or mental health,” Elizabeth Faber, Deloitte’s Global Chief People and Purpose Officer said.

Meanwhile, April 2023 data from LinkedIn of more than 7000 global workers showed 64 per cent of Gen Zs in the UK, France, Germany and Ireland now consider it important to work for companies that are aligned with their own values.

This priority shift has a lot to do with the recent pandemic and how this impacted our society, said Sarah McCann-Bartlett, chief executive officer of the Australian HR Institute.

“Post-pandemic, employees from all generations are looking more closely at the values of their employers or potential employers. We are seeing reports of younger workers leading this trend,” she said.

But while it might be easy to criticize Gen Z and Millennials for these attitudes, McCann-Bartlett explained that there was a very understandable motivation.

“While some are quick to label this as a sense of entitlement, I think it’s worth considering the broader context in which this generation is working,” she added.

Many were early on in their careers when the pandemic struck.

They didn’t have the previous experience of working in an uncertain environment and operating under pressure that other employees had. 

They had fewer learning opportunities and exposure to networking due to remote working and their professional expectations may not have been met.

“As a result, they are more discerning about where they want to focus their time and effort,” McCann-Bartlett continued.

“Gen Z employees are also the first to have grown up with the 24-hour news cycle and are more aware of social and environmental crises than other generations were at the early stages of their careers.”

“The need to engage in purposeful work could be a response to issues and unjust behaviours they’ve seen, like the climate crisis, high-profile sexual harassment cases and workplace inequality.”

With genuine and significant reasons behind the shift in what Gen Z and Millennial employees want in their workplace, not only are these generations rejecting job offers, but if they are already employed, they will make career decisions within the role accordingly, the Deloitte study showed.

“Nearly four in 10 respondents said they have rejected work assignments due to ethical concerns,” Faber said.

And with the worldwide workforce increasingly made of these two generations – Millennials are set to make up 75 per cent of the Australian workforce by 2025 – the power, it would seem, belongs to them.

“These generations hold organizations to high standards – and make career decisions accordingly,” Faber said.

“And they want to drive societal change through purposeful and meaningful work.”

This puts the values of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), work/life balance and positive societal change at the forefront, not just for employees but also employers, with an expectation that businesses and organisations embed them within their roles.

“Gen Zers and Millennials want to take part in driving change through their individual work – and they are more likely to stay in their current organization when they feel empowered to do so,” Faber continued.

“In fact, respondents have indicated for some time that they are more confident in influencing societal change through their work rather than through their personal choices.”

While the younger generations are wanting to prioritize these values, research by PwC has found that often, the wider perception of these groups is that they are selfish and lazy.

But this understanding, they argue, is actually incorrect and “poor.”

“The media, books and each generation’s set of beliefs suggest that Millennials are selfish, yet 40 per cent participated in volunteer work over the past year, more than any other generation during the same period,” said Dr. Ben Hamer, Head of Future Work at PwC.

“Millennials are thought to be lazy, and yet 73 per cent report working more than 40 hours per week.”

Regardless, with the future of Australian workplaces in the hands of Millennials and Gen Z, there may not be much option but for employees to change their approach in order to attract quality workers, McCann-Bartlett said.

“Organizations wanting to attract and retain younger employees should consider refreshing their employee value proposition to reflect these shifting expectations,” she said.

And with research proving that the organizations that do prioritize purpose and impact perform better, it might be time, for the sake of all generations, that authentic and meaningful values are at the core of Australian workplaces.