Search Results (8)

Gen Z is an emerging talent entering the world of work with distinct characteristics, expectations, preferences, and aspirations compared to previous generations. Therefore, there is growing interest in understanding Gen Z’s entry-level experiences, particularly the psychosocial experiences of this unique generation as they transition into the world of work. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the psychosocial experiences of entry-level Gen Z newcomers in South African organisations. This study used a qualitative research approach, drawing on a social constructivist perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data on the lived experiences of nine Gen Z employees who had recently entered the workforce. A conventional content analysis approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. Salient psychosocial factors influencing the psychosocial experiences and professional adjustment and transition of Gen Z newcomers into the world of work were identified. This study indicated that organisations should focus on onboarding processes, supportive line managers, reasonable workloads, promoting work–life balance, providing meaningful work, supporting career management and development, creating diverse and inclusive work environments, promoting employee well-being, and providing technologically advanced and modern job tools to enhance positive psychosocial experiences of Gen Z newcomers in the workforce. This study sheds light on the psychosocial factors that promote positive psychosocial experiences among Gen Z newcomers, offering unique insights into the growing literature on the Gen Z generation. Full article

Generation Z is becoming a dominant market segment and an essential source of talent in the hospitality industry. Their digital fluency, sustainability expectations, and preference for meaningful and personalized experiences are increasingly reshaping service delivery, marketing strategies, and workforce management in the hotel industry. Following the PRISMA 2020 guideline, this review systematically analyzed 131 peer-reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2025. Performance analysis, science mapping through co-word and Leiden clustering, and trend analysis were conducted using VOSviewer (v1.6.20) and Biblioshiny in RStudio (v2025.09.2). The findings reveal a rapidly expanding but relatively young field, with key themes clustered around technology acceptance (AI, service robots), experiential and sustainable consumption, digital engagement (word-of-mouth, social media), workforce dynamics (person–environment fit, leadership, quiet quitting), and emerging topics such as experiential education, ethics, and self-efficacy. The study highlights the centrality of the Theory of Planned Behavior and technology acceptance models in explaining Gen Z’s decision-making, while also identifying substantial gaps in cross-cultural, ethical, and experiential research. Practical implications call hoteliers to integrate seamless digital services, robust sustainability initiatives, and adaptive talent management system to meet Gen Z’s evolving expectations. Full article

The construction industry faces significant challenges including a critical skill shortage and an aging workforce, threatening the industry’s productivity, resilience, and knowledge retention. To address this issue, it becomes critical to attract, hire, and retain younger generations, particularly Generation Z (Gen Z), who are projected to become a dominant workforce by 2030. To this end, this study explores the employer preferences of Gen Z students joining the USA construction industry, providing valuable insights into their priorities and expectations. The study evaluates 27 employer of choice (EOC) factors to identify key criteria influencing Gen Z’s choice of employers. Analyses were conducted across various demographic and experiential categories, including gender, racial/ethnic backgrounds, first-generation status, those with loans, family influence, prior industry experience, intimidation by macho culture, and shifts in perspectives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reveal that Gen Z prioritizes respect, work–life balance, and job security, and values flexibility in work schedules and hybrid work environments. The findings were also used to propose eight recommendations for employers to become EOCs. Insights from this research serve a dual purpose by offering a foundation for further academic exploration and equipping industry practitioners with the data needed to tailor their recruitment and retention strategies to Gen Z. Full article

Millennials and Gen Z now dominate the global workforce, each with distinct reward preferences influencing motivation and creativity. Understanding these distinctions is critical for improving employee retention and performance. This research aims to evaluate the efficacy of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for both cohorts. The main goals are to determine reward preferences, examine the mediation effects of moral importance of work and learning attitudes, and assess their impact on creative performance. Using online survey, data were collected from 319 individuals in India and analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Results show that while intrinsic rewards were not significantly related to the moral importance of work for either generation, extrinsic rewards were linked to moral importance only for Gen Z. Extrinsic rewards also had no significant impact on learning attitudes for Gen Z, but they did for millennials. Additionally, the moral importance of work was unrelated to creative performance for millennials, but it had a significant impact on Generation Z. By examining these dynamics, this study aims to provide insights into generational shifts in workplace values in the Indian context, highlighting implications for employee’s creative performance that align with each generation’s unique priorities and ethical considerations. Full article

Gen Z is well-recognized as the first generation to have lived through the full digital era. They are used to utilizing technology, have been on social media since they were young children, and have even developed an addiction to it because they grew up in a technologically advanced world. Preliminary research has looked at Gen Z’s educational preferences in the marketing and education realms, as well as product promotion techniques directed towards them. Furthermore, most of the early Gen Z research was conducted in the United States. Because there is a lack of reliable literature studies on HR and organizational research material related to Gen Z and their career-related objectives, organizations are ill-prepared to accept this new generation into the workforce. This study identifies the organizational values that the members of Generation Z find significant. The purpose of the study is to ascertain how closely the members of Generation Z align with corporate values and preferences. The research employs a quantitative methodology: 109 Turkish university students who were enrolled in classes were given a survey. Consequently, this identified the preferences of Generation Z members in Turkey. The literature lacks reliable studies regarding diverse investigations on Generation Z’s preferences conducted outside of the United States. This research will add to the literature about this topic. This study’s conclusions highlight how complex and multidimensional Generation Z’s views are regarding innovation and sustainability in the Turkish setting. The analyses did not show any significant mediating or predicting effects, contrary to the initial hypotheses that suggested a direct relationship between these attitudes, society contributions, educational attainment, and personal values. This implies that the variables influencing university students in Generation Z’s sustainability and innovation orientations are more complicated than previously thought and might not be directly impacted by the variables looked at in this study. Full article

The current working environment requires employees to have some control over their jobs. Drawing on the job demands–resource (JD-R) theory, we investigated the relationship between job crafting and job boredom. Based on the generational cohort theory, we determined the strength of the relationship using generational diversity as a moderator. Data from 320 participants employed in white-collar jobs in the private sector were collected over two time periods. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression were used in the analysis. The results of this study show that job crafting has a significant negative impact on job boredom. This effect is further differentiated by generational differences, that is, belonging to Gen X or the Millennial cohorts. The use of self-administered questionnaires may result in the selection of ‘socially desired’ outcomes. This study has implications for today’s intergenerational environment, since different generational groups have different attributes, priorities, desires and motivations that impact their actions. This study adds to the limited research on the impact of job crafting on job boredom. However, this is the first study to examine the moderating effect of Gen X and Millennials on the relationship between job crafting and boredom. As a result, appropriate incentives can be implemented to encourage crafting among generational cohorts within organizations, especially with the entry of Generation Z into the workforce. Full article

Generation Z is arriving in the workforce. Do these youngsters have the skills and traits to fit project teams? This study reviews the literature concerning project management competencies and the traits that are associated with Generation Z. To deepen the understanding of its members (Gen Zers) traits, we explore the self-awareness of their profile, strengths and weaknesses with an empirical study. We used a mixed-method approach, implementing a survey on a sample of 211 college students about to enter the labor market. Comparing our survey results with the literature, we identified differences that reveal some of the lack of awareness of Gen Zers about their traits. Further analysis also revealed a significant correlation between the most highlighted Generation Z traits and essential project management soft skills, pointing to Generation Z as a promissory asset in the project management field. However, other essential project management (PM) soft skills were not grounded in personality traits. Our findings, namely the lack of awareness and association results, suggest the need for further research on educational approaches and re-thinking and targeting education and training policies that could strengthen Generation Z soft skills. Our results also suggest reflections about whether the Gen Zers traits fit the PM competencies sought by organizations. Full article

Generation Z (Gen Z), the future of America’s workforce, is forecasted to represent more than 30 million persons by 2020. Volunteer rates have been declining since 2002. Most compelling is that overall lowest volunteer rates were found to be within the Gen Z segment, with expectations of continued decline. Thus, this study explored motivations associated with sustainable volunteering by Gen Z based upon past research that documented intent to volunteer is strongly associated with age. In doing so, the Volunteer Functions Inventory was adopted to identify Gen Z motivations for volunteering. This study then employed the theory of planned behavior to test the relationships between Gen Z volunteering motivations, their attitudes and job performance using data obtained from 306 Gen Z volunteer special event participants. Among five motives identified to be important to Gen Z, only four motives (“value”, “career”, “learning” and “self-esteem”) were found to significantly influence their attitudes. The ‘social’ motive was found to have no significant effect on their attitudes towards volunteering. This research framework was supported by validating the significant relationships between volunteer motivations, attitudes and job performance specific to the Gen Z volunteer segment. “Job training appropriateness” was found to be an important moderator for improving the relationships between Gen Z volunteer attitudes and job performance. Full article