Gen Z wants flexibility. Now remote work has opened up new doors.
Andres Padilla wants to stay in Bend, Oregon, and start a family — and he’s hoping remote work will make that possible. The 23-year-old graphic designer recently graduated from Arizona-based Grand Canyon University after a mixture of in-person and Covid-mandated online classes.
After an internship at water bottle firm HydroFlask in Bend, Padilla fell in love with the town’s mix of outdoor activities and family-friendly amenities. Now, he’s on the hunt for a graphic design job that will help him lead the life he wants, where he wants, whether that’s in-person or remote — although Padilla knows it would be easier to find work if he moved to a larger city. “I know if I moved to a big city, it would be pretty easy for me to get a job. But it’s not the kind of living that I want to do,” Padilla said."This is a place where I can imagine starting a family or raising kids.” Ultimately Padilla, who recently got married, wants a career that offers him work-life balance and the ability to eventually buy a home while spending time with those he loves. He has heard horror stories of young people who get burned out by endless working hours and little rest. But the last few years and the rapid rise of remote work has changed the game for people like Padilla, whose job search has expanded widely with the onset of remote work. “There are very few options for in-person jobs in Bend in my field. My search has been mainly remote, but I do have a few in-person leads,” Padilla said. “I don’t think I had even considered remote being a possibility when I first started out on my degree.” But the rapid rise of remote work during the Covid pandemic has opened up new doors for young workers starting their careers, a trend that has mixed with The Great Resignation and The Great Migration as people shuffle their jobs, their living situation and their work-life balance after the turmoil and upheaval of the pandemic. Meanwhile, employers are trying to read the tea leaves to figure out what Gen Z wants as companies grapple with an ongoing labor crunch that demographic experts warn will get worse as the much smaller Gen Z workforce replaces the massive Baby Boomer population. Data from LinkedIn has found that Gen Z workers are interested in remote work, with about 35% of that age group applying for remote roles in 2022, up from 21.3% in 2021.Gen Z workers are not interested in working at the same job for years like previous generations, said Lorena Perez, chief people officer at education technology firm Novakid. They want fulfillment from their job and a balanced life. “Working for a fully remote company offers great flexibility, allows you autonomy, it allows you to manage your work-life balance on your own terms ,” Perez said in an email. “Gen Z wants to fulfill a purpose in their jobs and wants true work-life balance, which remote working gives them. I've had feedback from younger employees who have said that even if the position offered a high salary, they would decline it if they felt that they wouldn't have proper work-life balance. “ She said while Gen Z is committed to doing their jobs well, they are less tolerant of work encroaching on their personal time. They also respond well to clear job descriptions, detailed goals and firm deadlines so they can plan accordingly. “By way of example, our younger employees at Novakid work from all over the world — one month, they are in Germany, and the next month they go elsewhere. Being fully remote means they can work from anywhere in the world, as long as there is a good internet connection,” Perez said.Gen Z employees are also relocating and are particularly attracted to certain cities throughout the U.S. Because of the increase in remote work, 9% of people in Gen Z moved somewhere new in 2021, while almost 5% of them are already planning to move again, according to a poll by SurveyMonkey. CommercialCafe, a blog specializing in commercial real estate, compiled a list of the top 10 cities attracting young employees in Gen Z based on different factors such as the unemployment rate locally, how affordable the area is, how many Gen Zers are already living in the area, how many parks per person are in the area and the percentage of young people enrolled in surrounding schools. While Boston and New York City topped the list, cheaper cities such as Raleigh, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Ohio and Oklahoma City also made it into the top 10. And while Gen Z accounted for only 10% of home purchases in 2021, they are already beginning to show preferences for more affordable areas, with the top city for Gen Z to purchase property being Salt Lake City, followed by Louisville and Oklahoma City — San Francisco was the least popular choice, according to an analysis by LendingTree.Daniel Linville, West Virginia state delegate and chairman of the state’s House of Delegates committee on technology and infrastructure, said in an email that West Virginia has seen a “surge” in remote workers and has launched multiple initiatives to recruit them, such as its Ascend WV initiative. Quynh Mai, CEO and founder of digital marketing agency Culture, said Gen Z is looking for an affordable mix of amenities in a community. "Gen Z, like many generations before, are drawn to cities where art, music, food and culture collide. Yes, they are moving and living in nontraditional places. Regardless of whether they have to go to the office or work remotely, they want to live where the action is — while they are young and can really enjoy all that city life has to offer. But with remote work being a viable career option, they are choosing cheaper cities where their money can stretch further. But not every Gen Z worker wants fully remote work, and some surveys show the proportion of Gen Z workers desiring remote work is actually lower than older workers. What they do want is flexibility, said Erin Scruggs, LinkedIn’s vice president of talent acquisition and the company’s Gen Z lead. The pandemic, and the rise of remote work, hybrid structures and enhanced company cultures around mental health and wellbeing, mean younger workers are entering a more caring workplace, Scruggs said., with many moving to historical employment centers and high-growth cities in the southern midwest,” Scruggs said. “. If the culture, compensation and growth opportunities are the right fit, these career starters are more willing to take jobs in new locations.”“This vibrant group of young workers needs workplaces that will holistically empower them. They actively seek employers that give them the skills and opportunities they need to make an impact. Finding purpose, balance, opportunity, authenticity and growth through their workplaces, and their work itself, is key to this paradigm,” Scruggs said.
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