Asked how they would judge career success, 44 percent said it's the amount of money they make, while 35 percent said it's how quickly they'll advance up the ladder. (Photo: iStock)
After years of intense focus on millennials, attention is beginning to shift to Generation Z or iGen, the group of people who are just now entering the workforce in the early 20's.
Like their millennial predecessors, Generation Zers are presumed to be exceedingly comfortable with technology and interested in flexible, fun work. However, also like millennials, young people today are not necessarily willing to dismiss conventional employment concerns –– job stability, benefits, good pay –– in favor of flexibility.
A survey of 3,400 members of Gen Z across a dozen countries by the Workforce Institute and Kronos Incorporated finds that youngsters are interested in gig work, but most are hesitant to forfeit the stability that comes with a traditional job.
Forty-six percent said that job stability is "very important," while 91 percent described it as at least "somewhat important."
Twenty-seven percent say they expect their first full-time job to last less than two years.
Asked how they would judge career success, 44 percent said it's the amount of money they make, while 35 percent said it's how quickly they'll advance up the ladder.
Only one-third of Gen Zers say they wouldn't put up with an employer who didn't allow workers to have a say in their schedule. Only a quarter of all respondents said that they would work longer and harder at a company that provides scheduling flexibility.
Of the 10 percent of those surveyed work full-time in the gig economy and 18 percent do gig work part-time, nearly half (47 percent) say they would prefer a full-time job.
Defining the gig economy is difficult. The icons of the term are sharing economy services, such as Uber and Lyft, but it can also refer to freelance work, which has always existed but has been made easier by the internet.
Uber and Lyft have been touted as convenient ways for workers to supplement their income, pay for school or pursue their dreams as artists. Despite their wild popularity, neither company is close to profitable: Uber reported $5 billion lost last quarter and Lyft reported more than $600 million of losses.
Furthermore, in a recent column in the Wall Street Journal, University of Texas Finance Professor Ken Wiles and Kep Sweeney, a business consultant, argued that whatever drivers earn from Uber barely makes up for what they lose on fuel, maintenance and, most notably, the depreciation in the value of their vehicle. The authors likened Uber's business model to payday lending.
Thus, it's worth asking whether the gig economy will even be there for Gen Z, regardless of their preferences.
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