According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), millennials and Generation X are the two largest groups of employees in Poland. In recent years, Generation Z has entered the job market. According to NGA Human Resources data, millennials are the largest generation in the workforce worldwide, representing 43.3%, followed by Gen X with 37%. Baby boomers still outnumber Generation Z with a ratio of 13.3% vs. 6.4%. Forecasts indicate that the Generation Z workforce worldwide will be 20.7% in 2025 and 33.4% in 2030.

The labor market in Europe looks slightly different. Here, in 2020, Generation Z accounted for 4% of all employees. Projections say that by 2025, their share in the labor market will increase to 14.5%, and in 2030, it will rise to 25.5%. Currently, the European job market is composed of 41.7% Generation X, 37.3% millennials, and 17% baby boomers.

A change in the awareness of successive generations is evident, and it has always been the case, but now we are witnessing a real revolution in the job market. For earlier hashtag#generations, work was an extremely important element of life, not just economic. It was a place to spend time, establish relationships with other people, and make friends. Today's young generation, vigorously entering the professional path, works to live, develop their passions, but does not attach themselves to work and does not plan to stay with the employer until retirement age. They can leave at any time, ideally wanting to change their place of employment every 2-3 years.

"The work cult is the domain of older generations, and Generation Z is moving away from it very clearly. For them, private life, physical and mental health are a priority, and employers should remember the work-life balance principle. Young people want to pursue their passions, travel the world, develop and educate themselves. They pay attention to a healthy lifestyle, nutrition, appearance, go to therapy - and what's more, it is not a taboo topic as it was still a few years ago," explains Mikołaj Niewirowski, Co-Founder at Yard Corporate.

For the young generation, it is no longer just a salary, laptop, and mobile phone that constitute compensation. They expect attractive benefits that are not sports vouchers, the possibility of using private medical care, as these are standard for them. "Representatives of the new generation value above all the hashtag#opportunity for continuous professional development, work flexibility, and additional days off. Subsidies for courses, training, and even postgraduate studies are often the first expectations in their career path," emphasizes Mikołaj Niewirowski, adding that the IT industry is particularly demanding. Salary level is of course very important, but it is not crucial for Generation Z.

"An eight-hour workday is an eight-hour workday, not overtime. The employer must organize the team's work in such a way as to divide the tasks and projects to fit within working hours, not on weekends. Older generations accepted and still accept that they have to sacrifice their personal time in the evenings, on Saturdays, and Sundays, but younger people are firmly against it," said Mikołaj Niewirowski.

According to the "Generation Z in the job market - attitudes, priorities, expectations" report, the most important values indicated by young respondents are happiness (62%), family (60%), the ability to pursue their passions (56%), ecology (51%), independence/freedom (51%), health (44%), and love (37%). Only 11% of the respondents consider career development to be important, and 16% consider financial security to be important.

Generation Z values remote work and employers should take this into account. Given the choice between a slightly better salary and working from an office, or a lower salary and remote work, the majority will definitely choose the latter option. Young people value their time. Commuting to work "steals" a lot of moments that could be better spent than sitting in traffic. The same applies to completing projects.

"Generation Z believes that a well-done project is also a project completed quickly," says a representative from Yard Corporate. "Older generations have the belief that if they have worked on an assignment for a long time, they have done a good job. For young people, this is a waste of time, as they believe that a task can be done well and quickly move on to the next one."

Let's remember that the internet has "shaped" Generation Z. The online world is just as important to them as the real world. Access to continuously developing technologies, on which Generation Z has grown up, is also important, especially in IT-related professions.

"This generation is characterized by their excellent navigation in the virtual world. Young people are much better than older generations at accessing a larger amount of information/knowledge," says Mikołaj Niewirowski. "They learn quickly and a lot, and they draw their knowledge from many different sources, such as access to the latest scientific research from the best universities in the world with just a few clicks."

According to the report, what do young people value most in their work? Flexible working hours are important to 65%, the opportunity for creative and innovative work for 57%, a good atmosphere for 51%, and the possibility of business trips/travel for 44% of respondents. 38% of people indicated a focus on career development and gaining professional experience, 18% on receiving professional work tools, 11% on career advancement opportunities, and 6% on job stability. What should a supervisor be like? The three most important qualities are showing respect for employees, treating them as individuals, and being friendly.

From the report "Studying in the world of uncertain future: perspectives, agency, visions of the future", it follows that for 51% of young people, individual work is more important than teamwork. Interestingly, more of them point to a team with diverse age groups rather than among peers - 58% and 42%, respectively.

"Extremely important is also the way employers communicate with Generation Z. Most young people communicate through messengers and social media, which employers should also take into account. If they want to maintain good contact with a Generation Z employee, it's worth communicating with them through social media as well - emphasizes Mikołaj Niewirowski. But! We are slowly observing moving away from Facebook, which is becoming a source of communication for older generations. Young people prefer Instagram and TikTok."

The way of communication also differs. #Zetk's concentrate for much shorter periods of time than older generations. Therefore, they expect short, concise messages without going into topics that are not relevant from their point of view. Moreover, they prefer to "have" some online or face-to-face meetings via email. They highly value feedback and expect it on an ongoing basis, not like in the case of other generations - during weekly, monthly, or quarterly meetings.

Employers should also remember that young people value social responsibility in business. Shared values, environmental protection, and the absence of discrimination are values that shape the world of Generation Z and must be respected by employers.

And which industries are the most interesting in the opinion of young workers? According to the "Generation Z in the job market - attitudes, priorities, expectations" report, new technologies definitely lead the way. Next are video games and music, sports, fashion and computer science, as well as media, art and automotive. Heavy industry and agriculture - these are definitely not industries in which Zetas would see themselves.