Excessive workloads? No thanks – Gen Z would rather quit their jobs

Between now and 2030, one in three workers will belong to Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012. But it is also the generation that has, more than any other, turned the labour market on its head, bringing work-life balance to the fore as a priority and pushing pay and career progression into the background – whilst they remain priorities, of course. For the under-30s, the most valued benefit is free time; relationships are important, but precisely for this reason they prefer small teams that allow for genuine interaction and personal and professional development.

Failing to listen to this generation or to understand its expectations of businesses could result in a full third of the workforce holding the company back. That’s too much. This is why the “Gen Z Intelligence Report” has been launched, the first ongoing Italian survey dedicated to Generation Z and its relationship with the world of work, carried out by *Il Sole 24 Ore* and 24 ORE Ricerche e Studi, in partnership with WTW and in collaboration with University Box, which draws on a community of over 1.2 million young people.

“With this initiative, we aim to support businesses through a transformation that begins with understanding people,” says Edoardo Cesarini, managing director of WTW Italia. “Gaining an in-depth understanding of Generation Z’s expectations, motivations and priorities means being able to design organisations that are more attractive, inclusive and capable of tackling the challenges of the future of work.” The data reveals just how much the expectations of young Italians have changed: a work-life balance is the top priority (60.4 per cent), followed by stability and security (47.6 per cent), which outrank both pay (39.6 per cent) and career ambition (29.8 per cent): these figures paint a picture of a generation that is cautious by nature and influenced by economic uncertainty and the pandemic. “Understanding the expectations, values and needs of Generation Z means looking to the future. This is why the Il Sole 24 ORE Group has for years been devoting considerable attention to young people, from financial education to school and university guidance,’ observes Paola Boromei, COO and Chief HRO Officer of the Il Sole 24 ORE Group. The Gen Z Intelligence Report will help “provide businesses and organisations with useful tools to interpret the changes that are redefining the world of work”, continues Boromei. The project by Il Sole 24 Ore and WTW represents the first structured analysis in Italia of Gen Z workers, which will lead to the production of four annual reports, based on periodic surveys, published in Il Sole 24 Ore. From pay expectations to flexibility, from organisational wellbeing to opportunities for professional growth, right through to the relationship between generations, technology and artificial intelligence, the platform will provide insights into the key trends that are transforming the labour market.

The first consequence of this shift in priorities, where work-life balance takes centre stage, is that more than one in two young people (52 per cent) would leave the company if faced with unsustainable workloads. A similar proportion say they would leave their job if the pay were uncompetitive (54 per cent). In short, it is not enough to focus on one aspect or the other to retain talent; it is essential to be able to create a package that ensures the right balance between pay, work and work-life balance. In this new approach to work, the approach to benefits is also new. Whilst for the baby boomers, the most coveted and defining perk of their career was a car, today it has become extra free time (38 per cent), far more so than a gym membership, team-building events or wellness apps.