Generation Z in the labour market : contestation or adaptation?

Abstract

PURPOSE: The main goal of the article is to identify the level of awareness of Z generation (representatives of the second-year students of master's studies of the University of Economics and Business in Wroclaw) regarding the structure of demand for specific professions and specialties in the labor market and to identify factors that have a decisive impact on retaining young employees in the company.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The investigation involved the revision of relevant literature and conducting own research. The presented goal and research questions implied the need to select appropriate methods, techniques and research tools. The authors conducted their research using a questionnaire, which contained closed questions in the form of a disjunctive cafeteria with a 4-point scale. The questionnaire was followed by a metric, enabling the socio-demographic characteristics of the studied population. Then, as part of the adopted research methodology, the data analysis method was used. Due to the nominal nature of the variables, frequency and percentage statistics were used in the statistical study. The empirical part is based on the results of the survey conducted in the first quarter of 2020 on the sample of 271 representatives.

FINDINGS: The results showed that the youngest generation of employees aims for employment stability, they have an ‘idea for themselves’ that will allow them to meet the needs that are important to them. The findings should help managers in Polish companies not only understand young employees but also facilitate the orientation of the young Z’s in the labor market in reaction to the existing working and employment conditions.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The research results shall contribute to the debate on the kind of employees the young people from Generation Z shall become and whether and how they shall differ from representatives of previous generations. It should be noted that there is a difference between what Generation Z declares and what they really need. Paradoxically, despite the great openness of Generation Z to changing their workplace, the vast majority of them is also looking for the security of having it.