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Burnt Aussie bosses done with Gen Zers

A young worker has shared her horror discovery after her “whole team got cut” and it has revealed a Gen Z working trend.

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Bosses are becoming more “cautious” about hiring Gen Zers because the return on their investment is becoming increasingly low, according to recruitment experts.

One young officer worker recently made the observation, sharing that she had noticed a lack of her fellow Gen Zers in the workplace.

Sarisha, who is from the UK, had “noticed that offices are increasingly barely having any junior staff at all?”

The 25-year-old went on to explain that she’d been working at the same office for over three years and had noticed a lack of Gen Z talent being snapped up and hired.

“I’ve been the youngest in my team for the last three years in three different jobs and I’m 25. Where are the grads?” she asked.

Sarisha went on to explain that she’d previously worked in recruitment at one of the largest employers in the UK.

Her “whole team got cut”, and she’s noticed ever since that big employers are “cutting down” on the number of fresh graduates they hire.

“I just wanted to mention that because I know how gruelling the job search is and just how crushing it can be,” she said.

“The lack of new talent being brought into companies isn’t the fault of Gen Z, it’s the fault of employers not giving them opportunities.”

The 25-year-old is the youngest person at her workplace. Picture: X/carbdiem
The 25-year-old is the youngest person at her workplace. Picture: X/carbdiem
She believes Gen Zers aren’t getting hired. Picture: X/carbdiem
She believes Gen Zers aren’t getting hired. Picture: X/carbdiem

This isn’t just a trend being seen in the UK, it is one that is impacting Aussie workers as well.

Recruitment expert Roxanne Calder explained that there is more “caution” when it comes to hiring Gen Zers because they tend not to stick around for very long.

“All the resignations that have come through have burnt employers,” she told news.com.au, adding that Gen Z employees are often seen as higher risk investments than other hires.

Ms Calder said that if you’re hiring a Millennial or a Gen X worker, they’ll be immediately able to hit the ground running because they’ll bring experience and expertise to a role.

Gen Zers are typically workers who need training and need a company to invest in them first before they become an asset to the business.

If they quit 12 months later, it isn’t a great investment of time or money.

“You’re investing in their potential and their future with you. If they want to move on within 12 months, that is a very low return on an investment,” she explained.

Ms Calder explained why Aussies bosses are cautious. Picture: YouTube
Ms Calder explained why Aussies bosses are cautious. Picture: YouTube
She explained some Gen Z workers can be a bad investment. Picture: YouTube
She explained some Gen Z workers can be a bad investment. Picture: YouTube

Ms Calder said she understands that might sound cold but that is how companies need to look at things from a “commercial perspective” when hiring.

There are also some reluctance from bosses because they fear that Gen Zers will expect more from their workplace than older generations.

“There’s a real gap between expectation and demand,” she said.

Ms Calder said that while it is important to want to know what your workplace can do for you when you’re young, you need to think about the “bigger picture” and not just office perks.

It seems that Sarisha isn’t alone in feeling like there are a lack of new Gen Z hires, with her rant on X immediately met with comments from people who had their own theories on why this was the case.

“Gen Z also don’t want to work traditional jobs anymore,” one person argued.

“Nobody wants to hire young Gen Zers,” another complained.

“There is a real worker crisis with not enough new employees with the qualifications needed for the job,” someone else theorised.

“Companies expect years of experience now, but don’t want to invest in training anyone,” another said.

“100 per cent. I’ve gone from being the young one in my mid-20s to the young one in my late 30s,” someone else explained.

“Old workers are not retiring as early as they used too,” one noted.

“I can’t prove it, but am convinced employers are doing mass age-based discrimination against young people,” someone else said.

There’s a growing trend of Gen Zers job hopping. Picture: iStock
There’s a growing trend of Gen Zers job hopping. Picture: iStock

Data from Employment Hero has found that Aussie workers often choose to leave only six months into a new gig, costing businesses money that they have invested in them.

Ben Neumann, managing director at Liquid Infusion, previously explained to news.com.au that Generation Z are leaving jobs in droves because they have a grass is always greener mentality when it comes to work.

He explained that the youngest working generation sees it as a “rite of passage” to job hop rather than just feeling happy to have scored employment.

He warned that their mentality to constantly want to upgrade in their careers can lead to regret.

Mr Neumann claimed that young people will see a “perk” on a job listing, which would be enough to “drive” them into leaving their current gig.

He warned that this kind of fairweather approach to employment could end up hurting their careers in the long term.

“It will come back to bite them, in fact, just last week, I’ve recently got some messages from some Gen Zers seeing if there’s any availability to do work for us again,” he said.

Originally published as Burnt Aussie bosses done with Gen Zers

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Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/business/work/at-work/cautious-why-gen-zers-arent-getting-hired/news-story/e23302a1d4100c59fc0cafca30727ae1