‘Isn’t reasonable’: Wild salary demands from Gen Z Aussies revealed

An Aussie boss has revealed the wild money demands Gen Z employees keep making, despite having hardly any experience.

“I want a pay rise.”

According to recruitment specialist Roxanne Calder, salary demands are coming in quickly from Generation Z employees.

Ms Calder noticed a considerable shift in salary expectations from the youngest generation, who she claims expect starting salaries of at least $70,000.

“They are earning a minimum of $70,000 even if they have no work experience, which I think is phenomenally high,” she told news.com.au.

Along with having high starting salary expectations, Gen Z workers are also looking for their pay to increase within the first 12 months at their job.

Roxanne Calder is a recruitment specialist. Picture: Supplied

She's revealed how salary demands have changed. Picture: Supplied

“People have asked me at three months, six months and 12 months, and sometimes they’ll quit if they don’t get that pay rise,” she said.

Ms Calder finds these instant-gratification approaches to wages challenging to navigate because she has experienced the opposite with older generations.

“I’ve had many candidates Millennial-aged and above who quit their jobs because they couldn’t ask for more money,” she said.

On the other end of the spectrum, she now often finds herself calmly explaining to a 23-year-old that three months in a job may be too soon to ask for a significant wage increase.

“They have no fear in asking for what they want. Their thinking is, why not?” she said.

Ms Calder said that no one should really be asking for a pay rise within six months of starting anywhere because it usually takes that long to understand a job.

“If you’re new to the workforce and expecting to be promoted or on a higher salary in under two years, that isn’t reasonable,” she said.

Wild reasons young Aussies are quitting

Ms Calder also previously spoke to news.com.au about some of the bizarre reasons she has seen Gen Zers turn down perfectly good job offers.

She once had a candidate who was offered a job on Friday, only to call on Monday and decline.

The reason?

“They had just got a puppy on the weekend, and that had to be their priority for the next three months,” she said.

When it comes to quitting, she has seen some pretty unique reasons from the youngest working generation. In fact, she has a list that she can rattle off.

“Quit because they couldn’t get home in time for their football training on a Thursday night,” she said.

“Quit because they wanted to take a four-week holiday and enjoy it fully they couldn’t have the pressure of thinking about the job they were returning back to. It would ruin the holiday experience.”

Young Aussies are confident asking for pay rises. Picture: iStock

Issue with Gen Z salary demands

Ms Calder said she “pushes” back on some Generation Zers and their salary demands because sometimes their newness means they fail to see the bigger picture.

Often, she’ll get a young person expecting a salary increase because they’ve been given “extra responsibility” and want to be reimbursed for it. Still, Ms Calder said not everything is a direct trade.

“It is a learning opportunity and means your manager and boss trust you, but they’ll say ‘You’ve given me more, so I should be paid more’.”

Ms Calder thinks Generation Z is eager for pay rises, not because they are greedy, but because “transparency” is prevalent within their generation but often lacks context.

“If they hear a friend is on $75,000, then they’ll think, well, I should be on that wage,” she said.

The recruitment specialist said that while the wage issue is “complex,” she can definitely see the difference in expectations. For instance, when she finished university, she was just “grateful” for a job. However, she thinks the confidence Gen Z are showing in the workplace is ultimately a positive change.

“I think in the confidence the way that Gen Z do it now is different. It is also a good thing,” she said.