- Some Gen Zers are focusing on a company's mission and job security during their job searches.
- But prioritizing these factors, while ignoring salary data, could have financial consequences.
As Gen Z advances in the workforce, its members are prioritizing a set of job preferences. But ignoring a salary floor to meet these wishes might affect their financial futures.
The youngest class of workers has expectations of a diverse work environment, flexible schedules, and careers built on passion. They also prioritize a company's mission, aligned values, and wellness benefits more than older generations.
"A lot of Gen Zers feel more drawn by the mission of a company and what their goal is, as opposed to things like salary," Michael Yan, a founder of the job-search platform Simplify, previously told Insider.
Many also value job security in response to high-profile layoffs they've seen at companies like Meta, Twitter, and CNN. In a Handshake survey conducted from June 13 to July 6, 73% of respondents from the class of 2023 said they were prioritizing job stability in their search. The poll questioned 1,432 job seekers from the classes of 2022 and 2023.
"Lately, with a lot of people being let go from their jobs, it's opened my eyes to look for a job where I can feel more stable," Giana Gaitan-Naranjo, 21, a senior at San Francisco State University, told The New York Times.
But if these priorities lead Gen Zers to turn down high-paying jobs, some could be missing out on the chance to build a financial cushion as a recession looms and save for future expenses.
Gen Z's fight for equality, diversity, and sustainability is important for the future of work and life. But it's necessary for its members to bolster their financial positions in an uncertain economy.
The job landscape isn't as bad as it seems
At the start of 2022, only one-quarter of Gen Zers in a Deloitte survey reported comfortably covering their monthly living expenses, while 46% said they lived paycheck to paycheck. The survey was conducted among 23,220 Generation Z and millennial respondents from 46 countries between November 2021 and January.
Additionally, over half of Gen Z could enter retirement without sufficient savings because of savings challenges and rising costs, Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economist, previously told Insider.
While prioritizing job security might sound like a wise decision, it might not be as pressing an issue as many think.
That's because, despite the substantial number of tech and media layoffs, the US unemployment rate was unchanged in November and remained near a 50-year low. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is projecting unemployment to tick up from 3.7% in 2022 to 4.4% next year, which suggests the vast majority of young Americans won't fall victim to layoffs.
What's more, if a Gen Zer does lose their job, there's reason to believe there will be significant demand for workers not only next year but also in the years ahead.
"It's increasingly likely that the United States will face long-term hiring challenges due to aging demographics and slower immigration in recent years," Glassdoor's chief economist, Aaron Terrazas, previously told Insider.
Stability doesn't always net lucrative salaries
Remaining too long in a stable role can result in opting out of job hopping, which can garner salary bumps. As of October, job switchers saw wage gains of 7.3% over the prior 12 months, compared with 5.3% for those that remained in the same job, according to the Atlanta Federal Reserve's wage-growth tracker.
Those raises are key for workers who are just starting out and, oftentimes, earning lower salaries than their older peers. In fact, the typical annual salary for Gen Z employees was $32,500 in 2021, the personal-finance site GoBankingRates found.
To be sure, plenty of Gen Zers understand the financial pressures to come and are prioritizing salary in their job search. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed by Handshake listed a high starting salary as a top priority, the same percentage that said they valued job stability.
Those looking for new roles should weigh the trade-offs of their priorities when applying for their next job.
Correction: December 6, 2022 — An earlier version of this story included an incorrect date given by a survey company. The survey took place from June 13 to July 6, 2022.