What are GenZ software engineers like at the workplace? Based on input from more than 60 “older” tech professionals, three interesting observations:
#1: Higher expectations for salary, promotions and benefits
Some respondents say younger colleagues don’t appear to offer as much in return, such as shouldering higher expectations, or taking on extra responsibilities. To be fair, this sounds like fairly typical “early-stage career” behavior; I remember Millennials being described like this 10-15 years ago!
#2:Hard to retain, high expectations, & little “loyalty”
It’s clear that survey respondents think GenZ expects promotions faster, and aren’t shy to jump ship for better pay. Respondents say there is little to no “corporate loyalty” either. This is understandable; can we entirely blame people for putting their own career first, especially after waves of ruthless job cuts in software engineering by companies following their own interests? Also, switching jobs for better pay occurs across the generations.
#3:Senior leadership distrusted, demand for transparency
Survey respondents think GenZ colleagues have less trust in management, and are skeptical of business decisions. Workplaces with low transparency may have a hard time retaining GenZ workers, some respondents believe.
Read more observations in today’s deepdive into what GenZ devs are perceived as - including the many positives, like how this lack of “corproate loyalty” was noted as a positive by GenXers and Millenials:
