Employers, we don’t mean to alarm you.
But you might be about to lose more than half of your Gen Z workforce. Not to ‘quiet quitting’, but like, actually leaving-the-company quitting.
That’s according to Microsoft’s latest report, which surveyed 20,000 people from 11 countries and found that 52% of Gen Zs want to quit their job. The situ is so serious, experts have coined a new phrase for what’s to come: ‘The Great Resignation’.
But what’s behind it?
According to the report, the key reason Gen Zs are keen on ditching their employers is the belief that ‘learning requires leaving’, with more than half of respondents (55%) saying they felt changing companies is the best way of developing their skills.
Another reason a Gen Z might bail on you is that they don’t want an employer at all – a staggering three out of four (76%) Gen Zs want to be their own boss.
What this suggests is HR retention strategies such as higher pay and office perks probably won’t be as effective for Gen Zs as older generations.
So how do companies stop their Gen Z employees from saying, ‘I quit’?
“Organisations and business leaders need to think about using learning as a retention lever,” Colette Stallbaumer, GM of Microsoft 365 and Future of work, told CBBC.
“Because if people are learning and growing, let’s face it — they’ll stay. Now is the moment … for organisations to really stop, pause and think about how they are helping people grow and learn new skills?”
Meanwhile, three out of four (73%) of Gen Zs Microsoft surveyed said they’d stay with their current employer if they were able to change roles internally and learn new skills.
“How do you help people think about internal mobility … [to be] more like a career playground, rather than a career ladder that you’re just climbing up?” Stallbaumer said.
The report also said that young people are also more likely to stay if their employers gave them the flexibility to indulge in their ‘side hustles’ to satisfy their Gen Z entrepreneurial spirit (and provide additional income)
And what does that look like for Gen Zs?
“It’s however, whenever, wherever you work,” Stallbaumer said.
“It’s really giving people the opportunity to do their work in ways that work for them, while driving impact for the organisation.”
Looks like not all hope is lost.
