Gen Z

Gen Z has a different outlook on life than those of us who are Gen X parents. Gen Z is the first fully global generation shaped in the 21st century connected through digital devices, who engages through social media.

They live in a world where work is rapidly changing and they are predicted to work 18 jobs across six careers, and live in 15 homes in their lifetime. Common phrases include “Fam”, “FOMO”, and “YOLO”.

Gen Z are self starters, wanting to pursue the hobby dream as a hustle, or as a full time job.

The future world of work

Currently, we are experiencing a rapidly changing world of work, where the concept of “occupation for life” is rare.

Most young people entering the workplace today will have several different careers over their working lifetime.

There is pressure when leaving school that students will know what career they want to pursue, but how do we prepare them for jobs that have not yet been invented!

We now live in a different world and Gen Z have a different outlook on life. As mentioned above, your teenager can expect to have “18 jobs across 6 careers”.

Their focus on what is important is different to ours.

Some in Gen Z may never have a 9 to 5 job or work in an office but work on “gigs”. The gig economy means working in flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs, connecting with clients or customers through an online platform. They may spend periods of time without work while searching for their next “gig”. Money is not the only driver for Gen Z, they value life-work balance, positive working relationships, transparency, equity and inclusion.

Questions for you, as a parent, to consider:

● How did you view working life growing up?

● Did you expect to be in the same job until you retired, are you still in the same job?

● What choices were available to you, what did you need to get into your line of work and how easy was it?

● What does the world of work look like to you?

● Does the changing world of work concern you, what are your concerns?

● What are the concerns of your teen regarding their future career path?

● How did you make your decision, did you make it based on research and labour market information? How did you get to where you are now?

● Was your career journey a planned process or did it occur by chance?