The Gen Z Effect and the Workforce Evolution: 2024 Statistics

Even if you’ve been living under a rock, you must have heard at least some of the noise surrounding people born between 1997 and 2012, aka Gen Z.  

They have no work ethic. 

Nobody wants to work with Gen Zers.

Gen Z’s lack of social skills is frightening.

But is the static justified? Is Gen Z really the least hireable generation, or are we on the brink of redefining the modern workplace?

To truly understand the noise about Gen Z, we’ve sifted through research from various reputable sources and conducted our own CAKE.com Gen Z in the Workforce study in August 2024. 

The study included 90 participants from 2 focus groups (managers and Gen Z employees), so each group was given a survey tailored to their role. The managers’ survey focused on their experiences and challenges in managing Gen Z employees, while the Gen Z employees’ survey delved into their work preferences and expectations.

Let’s look at what the numbers say.

Key Gen Z in the workforce statistics

Before we dive deeper into the detailed numbers, here are some of the most interesting bite-sized stats about Gen Z in the workforce: 

1. By 2030, Gen Z will make up 30% of the total workforce.
2. 65% of Gen Zers describe themselves as ready and willing to learn.
3. 49% of Gen Z employees like to use instant messaging platforms at work.
4. 70% of Gen Z recent graduates expect to be promoted within the first 18 months of employment.
5. 74% of Gen Zers would leave a job due to a low salary.
6. 60% of Gen Zers expect managers to care about their well-being.
7. 92% of Gen Z graduates would like to discuss mental health at work.
8. 40% of leaders claim Gen Z is not prepared for work.
9. 42% of managers claim Gen Z employees introduced a more casual workplace environment.
10. 75% of managers find it challenging to meet Gen Z’s workplace expectations.

How many Gen Zers are there in the workforce?

Currently, there are 50 million Gen Z employees in the US only. 

In 2023, 17,1 million Gen Zers entered the US workforce.

Worldwide data, however, doesn’t show conclusive information concerning the total number of Gen Z workers. 

In fact, the research directed towards Gen Zers mostly focuses on projections. 

Some, such as McKinsey’s Quarterly report, indicate that Gen Zers will make up 30% of the total number of employees by the time we reach 2030. Others, such as Stanford’s report on Gen Z, suggest that we’ll see more Gen Zers than baby boomers in the labor force by the end of 2024.

What does Gen Z bring into the workforce?

As an already large share of the labor population, Gen Z undoubtedly has a voice in the modern workplace. 

But what exactly do Gen Zers bring to the office desks? 

Let’s look at the numbers and get to know this generation beyond the picture painted by the stereotypes. 

47% of Gen Zers are career-oriented

We’ve all heard that Gen Zers spend time on their phones like no other generation before. 

You’d expect them to be absorbed by the online world at the expense of everything real-world-related, let alone chasing a career.

However, a GWI report on Generation Z has shown that although 25% of Gen Zers report spending at least 6 hours per day scrolling, 47% of surveyors claim they’re still career-focused. 

Moreover, their wish to progress and climb the proverbial corporate ladder goes so far that over 20% of Gen Zs report feeling overworked, as the GWI research shows. 

49% of Gen Zs already use AI to improve their skills

With 94% of Gen Zers owning a smartphone, GWI’s finding that 49% of Gen Z employees use AI to improve their skills in certain areas on a regular basis seems quite expected.

The most recent NSHSS Career Interest Survey confirms these findings, highlighting that Gen Zers use AI mostly for:

• Brainstorming: 39%
• Proofreading: 33%
• Data analysis: 21% 

Yet, our CAKE.com study has shown that Gen Zers have opposing thoughts on AI integration in their workplaces:

• 39.7% feel neutral about AI,
• 25.9% feel positive about AI, and
• 20.7% have negative sentiments about AI. 

65% of Gen Zers are eager to learn

Despite the widespread claims that Gen Zers lack work ethic and discipline, this generation prioritizes mastering skills that could help them further progress in their careers.

As the NSHSS Career Interest Survey indicates, 65% of Gen Zers describe themselves as extremely eager to learn.

The motivation to learn continues to be pivotal for Gen Zers even after they enter the workforce. Namely, 25% of Gen Zs participating in the CAKE.com study claim learning and development opportunities are their top motivators at work. 

Yet, as fully-fledged digital natives, they’re more inclined to develop their skills online.  About 66% of Gen Zs score the Internet higher than college education as their go-to space for cultivating knowledge. 

49% of Gen Zers prefer instant messaging platforms for work communication

We’ve all heard that Gen Z communicates differently than we’re used to in the work setting. Rumor has it that their language is much more informal, concise, and perhaps even unconventional at times.

Yet, studies show that Gen Z’s workplace communication style is closely tied to their preferred communication platform. 

Namely, research from Barclays LifeSkills found that 49% of Gen Zers opt for instant messaging platforms instead of emails at work. 

Naturally, messaging apps offer the option to infuse your personality into your message — either by using GIFs, emojis, images, or abbreviations. And, as the same research shows, 97% of Gen Zers find showing their personality and being themselves in work communication quite important. 

With all that in mind, pulling the plug on the old ‘compose a new email’ button seems like a logical outcome for most Gen Zs. 

What does Gen Z want in the workplace?

Undoubtedly, Gen Z brings a breath of fresh air into the workforce. 

But what about their expectations? How equal are Gen Z’s demands to what they put forward in the workplace?  

Let’s go over the stats and see what exactly Gen Zers expect from their employers. 

86% of Gen Z employees want purpose-driven work

Gen Zers have already earned their reputation as the most purpose-driven generation. They’re highly invested in societal issues, and are all about making a lasting and meaningful impact on causes they care about.

Unsurprisingly, Gen Zs expect their jobs to mirror their overall lifestyle. 

As the Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial survey shows, 86% of Gen Zers see purpose-driven work as pivotal to their overall well-being and satisfaction. 

The quest for meaningful and impactful work goes so far that 75% of Deloitte surveyors claim to scrutinize potential employers’ societal impact before applying for a job. 

70% of Gen Zers want to be promoted within the first 18 months

On top of being known far and wide for their purpose-driven mindset, Gen Zers have become the talk of the corporate world for their ‘all eyes on the prize’ attitude.  

According to the Ripplematch research of over 3,000 Gen Z students and recent graduates — the rumors are true. As many as 70% of Gen Zs expect to be promoted within their first 18 months of employment. 

74% of Gen Zs expect high starting salaries and job stability from potential employers

Being fairly compensated for your work shouldn’t be up for debate, and Gen Zers are here to prove it. 

As the Handshake survey on Gen Z expectations has shown, 74% of Gen Zs rank high starting salary and job stability as their top priorities when choosing a job.

But, the very idea of targeting high salaries while being purpose-motivated inevitably raises an eyebrow or two, especially among older adults.  

Truth be told, these expectations may seem contradictory at first. 

However, as the BBC article on Gen Z’s pay motivations highlights, Gen Zers have grown up witnessing the consequences of poor working conditions and economic downturns first-hand. 

Naturally, their parents’ (mostly Gen X) struggles have largely shaped Gen Z’s attitude toward work. Now, they strive towards achieving what they’ve seen missing in the workplace growing up. 

65.5% of Gen Zers want to see their salary increase every 6 months

The already employed Gen Zs have perhaps even higher expectations than Gen Z graduates.

As the CAKE.com study has shown, 65.5% of Gen Zers would like their employer to adjust their salaries every 6 months. 29.3%, on the other hand, want to see their earnings increased at least once per year.

74% of Gen Zers would leave a job because of unsatisfactory salary

As numbers have shown, many Gen Zers prioritize their earnings to the point where they expect a high salary even before entering the workforce. 

In line with these findings, it’s not surprising that low salaries could make Gen Zers give their notice quite quickly. 

As the CAKE.com survey has shown, 74% of Gen Zers rank unsatisfactory salary as their top reason that could make them consider leaving a job.

Unhealthy company culture comes next, with 50% of Gen Zs ranking this factor as a deal-breaker. 

78% of Gen Zs want to be recognized and appreciated at work

We all want to feel seen at work, but Gen Z ranks this expectation quite high, according to the Deloitte Generation Z Workforce Experience Study.

As the study highlights, 78% of Gen Zs want to receive recognition and appreciation from their bosses. 

However, Gen Zers don’t want to be merely praised for the end result. They want their bosses to recognize their efforts, too. 

Yet public acknowledgments do not move them. 

The same study points out that Gen Z employees want their bosses to reward their hard work with additional time off or monetary compensation. These expectations only confirm other findings about Gen Z’s quest for financial incentives. 

43% of Gen Zs want to have a voice in their company’s decision-making process

Along with being seen comes being involved in decision-making, and Gen Zers expect employers to show they value their opinion.

In fact, as the CAKE.com study shows, 43% of Gen Zers value having a voice in their company’s decision-making process.

The findings are expected because Gen Zs are less hierarchical than previous generations, as the Stanford report on Gen Z mentioned earlier indicates. They are much more likely to expect collaborative leadership and a consensus-based work environment. 

60% of Gen Zers would like managers to care about their well-being

Employee well-being has been a hot topic for a while now. But with Gen Z entering the workforce, actual support in achieving that perfect balance between life and work has become a burning issue. 

In fact, as the abovementioned Deloitte Generation Z Workforce Experience research shows, 60% of Gen Z employees want their higher-ups to show they care about this generation’s well-being. 

Gen Zers value such sentiments from their bosses so much, that they claim that genuine care would even lead them to stay longer within a company. 

92% of Gen Z graduates want to discuss mental health at work

Generation Z has put the mental health topic under the spotlight the moment they stepped on the workforce scene. Now, they expect employers to support their mission of overcoming mental health stigma. 

They see the openness about mental health issues so pivotal that 92% of recent Gen Z graduates wish to be able to discuss mental wellness at work, the Monster’s newest State of the Graduate Report shows. 

Yet, once Gen Z starts working, reality immediately contradicts their expectations. At least, that’s how the already-employed Gen Zers report. 

As the already mentioned Deloitte survey on Gen Z and Millennials shows, only 56% of Gen Zs feel comfortable talking with their higher-ups about mental health challenges. 

On top of that, 52% believe their managers would be able to support them with mental health concerns, whereas 26% of Gen Zers worry they’d be discriminated against if they tried openly discussing mental health issues at work.   

44% of Gen Zers would reject a job based on their ethics or beliefs

Gen Zs hold their values quite dear — to the point where they’d reject a job offer if it doesn’t align with their ethical principles. 

As the previously mentioned Deloitte survey on Gen Z and Millennials reveals, 44% of Gen Zers are willing to turn down employers if they notice something that doesn’t align with their beliefs.

Some of the factors surveyed Gen Zs list as key to turning down an employer are:

• Having a negative impact on the environment,
• Contributing to inequality, and
• Not offering support for employees’ mental well-being or work-life balance. 

The CAKE.com study confirms these findings since 41.4% of surveyed Gen Zers find their employer’s social and environmental involvement quite important. 

81% of Gen Zers value transparency and honesty at work

Being known for their authenticity, it’s obvious why 81% of Gen Zers participating in the CAKE.com study prioritize transparency and honesty in their workplace, too. 

On top of transparency, Gen Zs expect their workplace to mirror other values they hold dear, such as:

• Ethical business practices: 81%
• Innovation and creativity: 62.1%
• Diversity and inclusion: 43.1%

57% of Gen Zs want an in-person job

Contrary to popular belief, Gen Zers don’t want to stay in the remote work stage forever. 

Namely, Joblist’s United States Job Market Trends Report pinpoints that 57% of Gen Zs search for office-based jobs. On the other hand, only 27% of Gen Zers prefer a fully remote role. 

Other research, such as LinkedIn’s State of the Labor Market report, sees this preference for in-person work settings as a logical consequence of Gen Z’s lack of office life experience. 

While other generations have decades of in-office work experience, many Gen Zers entered the job market during the pandemic. That’s why they’re more likely to feel like they’d be missing out on the community if they accepted a remote job offer. 

How do higher-ups see Gen Z?

Every generation entering the workforce comes with a specific set of attitudes and expectations under their belt — and Gen Z is no different. 

But what does it look like from their higher-ups’ point of view? 

Let’s see what people who have worked with Gen Z say about this generation’s expectations, work ethic, values, and strengths.

40% of leaders believe Gen Z graduates are not prepared for the workforce 

Gen Zs have already made headlines for their workplace expectations, challenging traditional corporate narratives.

Since their leaders have been operating within the same work structure since they first entered the workforce, it’s easy to see where the generational clash might occur.

Unsurprisingly, a survey from Intelligent, which included 1,243 business leaders, shows that 40% of leaders see Gen Z graduates as unprepared for the workforce. 

Of all the business leaders who’ve described Gen Z graduates as unprepared, 70% see it as a consequence of the generation’s lack of work ethic and communication skills. 

62% of respondents see culture as the main culprit for recent graduates not being ready for the workforce. 

As a way to solve this issue, 88% of leaders recommend the introduction of office etiquette classes at universities. 

45% of hiring managers say Gen Z is the most challenging generation to work with

Considering that a great number of leaders see Gen Zers as lacking skills necessary for the workplace, hiring managers’ stance on the difficulty of working with Gen Z doesn’t come as a surprise.

Namely, 45% of hiring managers surveyed by Resume Genius claim that working with Gen Z is challenging to such an extent that they plan on hiring more Millennials. 

The survey doesn’t go into the reasons behind such sentiments. However, perhaps something could be ascribed to the “they know what got us here won’t get us where we need to go” viewpoint Marcie Merriman, the Managing Director of EY, attributes to Gen Z in the most recent EY Gen Z Segmentation Study.

Being born into an uncertain environment and seeing how such conditions shaped the society we’re living and working in today, Gen Zers are much more likely to question the existing establishments and expect change. 

With their higher-ups having been trained to manage generations with sharply different expectations — it’s only natural that they’d find working with Gen Z challenging. 

75% of managers claim recognizing Gen Z’s needs in the workplace is difficult 

On top of having difficulties finding common ground while collaborating with Gen Z, managers report having a hard time understanding Gen Z’s expectations. 

As the previously mentioned Deloitte Generation Z Workforce Experience Study shows, 75% of managers are not able to pinpoint exactly what Gen Z needs in the workplace.

The same study reports that a gap between leaders and their Gen Z employees goes beyond knowledge. Some leaders understand Gen Z’s needs but don’t agree with them, while others see that certain changes are necessary but aren’t sure how to implement them. 

72.4% of higher-ups see regular feedback as an effective motivator for Gen Z employees

Although Gen Zers have already been labeled as unprepared for the workforce, managers can still find a workaround to help them adjust to the work environment as smoothly as possible.

For 72.4% of managers participating in the CAKE.com study, that solution is regular feedback. 

According to 45% of surveyed managers, providing mentorship or coaching is another effective way to motivate Gen Z employees.

Additional motivators managers have pointed out include:

• Recognizing achievements publicly: 41.4%
• Offering career development opportunities: 35%

45% of managers have difficulty matching Gen Z’s salary expectations 

Up until this point, we’ve all become aware that Gen Zs expect to be adequately compensated for their work. 

Yet, if we pair this expectation with the higher-ups’ dilemma on how to meet Gen Z’s needs, it’s easy to see why managers may find it challenging to meet this generation’s anticipated pay range.

In fact, 45% of managers participating in the CAKE.com study claim that matching Gen Z’s salary expectations is one of their biggest challenges.

Career advancement expectations come out as a runner-up — with 41% of higher-ups facing challenges meeting Gen Z’s career development ambitions. 

42% of managers claim Gen Zers fostered a more casual atmosphere in their workplace

Gen Z’s more casual approach to work style, communication, and many other conventional workplace norms has made an impact on the world of work, at least to some extent. 

As the CAKE.com study shows, 42% of managers have noticed Gen Z’s presence creating a more casual and flexible work atmosphere. 

21% claim Gen Zers contributed to a more collaborative environment, whereas 20% of managers see an increased focus on technology and innovation after Gen Zers joined their teams.

Yet, 31% of higher-ups see Gen Zers having little to no impact on their workplace culture, showing that there’s still a long way to go until we see significant workforce changes resulting from Gen Z’s presence. 

The Gen Z impact on the workforce remains unfolding 

As the numbers show, we’re yet to witness the influx of Gen Z into the workforce.

However, based on the findings we have up to this moment — the already employed Gen Zers have established the generation’s reputation as a cohort driven by strong purpose and high workplace expectations.

As it is with all ‘the kids these days,’ Gen Z’s wishes are not exactly met with approval. At least not in the traditional workplace environments we’re all still a part of.

Managers find it challenging to collaborate with Gen Z, and they still don’t have a solution that meets Gen Z’s expectations. 

Perhaps the challenges both Gen Zers and their higher-ups face testify to the fact that nobody’s yet prepared for the workplace swarmed with digital natives.

What’s for sure is that something in the world of work is about to change.

Yet, whether we’re about to see tectonic shifts that’ll fit Gen Z’s approach to work, or witness Gen Zers conforming to the established workplace narratives — it remains to be seen.