 According to a recent report from talent cloud company iCIMS, priorities among Gen Z workers are shifting. The study shows that recent college grads and Gen Z workers have high expectations for their employers including support for their mental health, higher pay, and increased work flexibility. Laura Coccaro, Chief People Officer, iCIMS, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the findings of the 'Class of Covid-19 Report.'


Opening Bell

Gen Z Workers Have High Demands Amid Great Resignation 

let's bring in laura Caro, chief people Officer at essence, laura first I gotta ask you what is the chief people officer, You know what, it's a great job. I have the absolute privilege of ensuring that our team here at ISMs is well looked after, that were being strategic about our people um and that we are attracting and retaining the absolute best talent to our organization. Alright, well, now let's dig in now that we got that covered. You know, recent college grads are joining the job market at a time when they can be pretty picky. So according to your report, what are some of the top demands from these agency workers? You know, it's so interesting, Shannon, we have had the class of report happening for seven years now, we are super proud of it and this year in particular is very unique, right? Looking at um graduates from 2020, 2022, this is um a group of people who have had a shift right? In terms of the entire dynamic, they expect flexibility because they have been forced to be flexible in terms of how they have done internships, how they have gone to their college classes, right? They're asking for more flexibility in terms of how they work when they work. Um what that looks like they're asking their employers to um aligned not only to their broader sort of social corporate responsibility goals um to, you know, the values that they have as individuals, but also really want us to bring, as you mentioned mental health into the forefront um from a wellness standpoint, two thirds of them want um and expect more from their employers as it relates to wellness programs around mental health health in particular. Yeah, I guess it's one of those things that now that we know people can be more productive at home, why not be able to work from home or I get it? But you know what, three out of five hR pros say that these entry level workers are impractical. They don't have great uh you know, practical expectations of their employers. So do you expect that company perks will ever start to catch up with the demands of these younger generation of workers? Or are they just demands just too much? You know what it's interesting, there is definitely a demand there from this generation where, you know, for example, compensation, we saw that in the report um are are new grads are expecting approximately 20 k more in their entry level salary right? There are also expecting these alignments um to to the values as I mentioned, I I think that what we need to do as employers is acknowledge these expectations, I'm not sure that we're going to be able to meet them all the way. Um But this is going to be continued continued to be a significant portion of our workforce so we need to to shift, we need to think about personalized hiring experiences personalized um employee experiences because what we've also found is that gen z actually wants to be at their employer for the long term, but they have some conditions as we've seen to, to make that a reality. Yeah, you make a good point there because according to your report, nearly 70% of gen Z workers want to actually stay with the company long term, but as we've also seen with this great resignation, millions are also quitting. So what do you think are some of the main contributing factors to this? You know, it's so interesting because this report really put the spotlight on what this generation, you know, we've been deeming them as job hoppers and in fact, that's not necessarily the case. They do want to stay with their organization. Um, but they have these demands such as career advancement, career mobility opportunity to ensure flexibility, um, that strong sort of alignment with an organization where they can see themselves long term. Um, this shift is something that we're going to continue to watch because what is happening with them while they want to stay with the organization's long term, they're also not going to tolerate, um, not having the support that they're expecting. Um, so this is gonna be an interesting, uh, continue to be an interesting dynamic in our workforce. Yeah, I tell you these younger people, they're willing to quit a job, make a Tiktok about it and be out the door in five minutes like piece. So I get it. I understand and it's sort of a good thing that they're not willing to just stand for anything that they want to be respected in those positions. So I understand, but we've talked about these perks and that employers and employees want, but with them leaving and being so willing to just bounce. Is it even worth for these companies to make these investments in these workers, if they're not gonna stick around for the long haul? Absolutely, because I have to say there is this perception that there are job hoppers in this generation. But what we're finding is that you know, close to half of them um actually really do, actually, it's more like, you know, 70% of them really do want to stay. Um and so they're getting this this bad rep. Um but it truly is that if we, if we start to meet them, start to, to have these conversations about career advancement, start to showcase some of what we are doing as employers. I truly believe that um there is a loyal, there is a loyal beat to this population that we really want to tap into. Yeah. And this is a basically a big contrast to the baby boomer generation. You know, my parents, you know, they would stay at a job for 30, 40 years, retire and say, you know, they're happy doing just living to work. So what has changed and why has it changed now? You know, I do, you're right. What we are seeing from this generation is that they are working to live, they want to pursue their personal passions, they want the flexibility. They don't believe that working 9-5 is the way that they're going to be productive in their roles. I think a lot of this has been shaped by you know, this generation in particular, three years worth of grads who had a traditional college experience completely turned sideways. Right. A lot of them did um their internships remotely, they did college classes either hybrid or remote. So their expectation to have that flexibility to be able to have life and work um is something that has really shifted quickly as well. What do you expect this quick turnover among workers to become the new norm and if so, what could this due to the labor market? You know, I do think we're going to have more and more of gen z while they are giving voice to a lot of the ask around flexibility. They are not the only ones as employers. We, while we haven't fully morphed to, to get to all of these expectations, we are going to need to listen because it is, there is no question that this is going to set the tone for us going forward. Alright, well, I think I might have to try to get some of those perks too. I may not be gen z, but you know, I try to look at all right, laura carl, thank you so much, Chief People Officer at ISM.