A new era for Gen Z employees as the Great Resignation winds down

CURATED READS FOR GEN Z—AND THEIR Z-CURIOUS COLLEAGUES

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Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

first up

An image linking to the web page “Help your employees find purpose—or watch them leave” on McKinsey.com.

Welcome back! This week, we’re talking about how the end of the Great Resignation could change the calculus for Gen Z at work.

There are new signs that the Great Resignation—the era in which millions of people quit their jobs during the pandemic—may be coming to an end.

Thanks to persistent, looming question marks hanging over the economy and a labor market in flux, the allure of leaving your job in search of better pay has lost some of its luster. (Some Gen Zers are even embracing the corporate girlie persona. Side note: if you need an explainer on “girlies,” read this.)

For plenty of Gen Zers, their entire experience in the job market has been characterized by talk of actual quitting or quiet quitting—the idea of doing the bare minimum. A labor market vibe shift would be a marked change, one unfamiliar to young professionals who are, at most, just a few years into their careers.

The good news, at least in the short term, is that Gen Zers who are staying in their jobs for more than a year are seeing higher pay increases than their older coworkers, even if that’s because they had the lowest wages to begin with. That fact coincides with the reality that as the job market changes, offers to go work elsewhere may not have all the extra sweeteners to entice would-be hires. Plus, the resiliency measures many employers are undertaking means it’s probably a good time to step up to the plate at work; quiet quitting or working your second job while on the clock for your first one feels just a little riskier when more companies are trying to weed out underperformers.

Still, if you were tempted to quit (or quiet quit) but have backed off, the idea of staying in a job where you lack a clear path for development or advancement or meaningful work can feel depressing. But when your job offers you purpose—that enduring, overarching sense of what matters in a person’s life—staying in it for years won’t seem harrowing at all, McKinsey senior partner Bill Schaninger and his coauthors found. (While you can create purpose in other parts of your life, many people, according to McKinsey research, say their job provides them with that sense, so it’s worth exploring how to find it in a career.)

In an entry-level job with menial tasks, finding purpose can be challenging. It might feel like you’re not working toward any bigger-picture thing. In this case, finding out whether your manager or company leadership believes in—and is actively working toward—the company’s purpose can help you discover your own. (If you feel comfortable having conversations about purpose at work with your manager, do it!)

Another way to approach it is to figure out whether your own values align with your employers’. If they don’t, well, maybe this job really is just a paycheck for you. If your values do align but you still feel some sort of disconnect, have hope! With communication and some effort, you’ll likely be able to bridge it.

It could also be that you believe in your company’s purpose but your current job leaves you bored or unfulfilled. Looking for a new job within your company could help ease some of that malaise.

TL;DR: things will start to look up when you begin to look within.

VISUALIZE IT

Gen Zers tend to say social media affects them negatively at higher rates than other generations—with the highest negative impact reported for the fear of missing out.