Gen Z grads will quit jobs if employer tech is poor
Another round of Gen Z college graduates is entering the workforce and expecting more from employers, like flexible working arrangements and the tech tools needed to do their jobs from wherever they please.
Half of Gen Z graduates said they would quit a job if it didn’t have the right technology, tools and processes for them to do their work in the flexible working arrangements they desire, a survey including over 1,000 respondents from NinjaOne, an IT management platform, found. Fifty-five percent of recent Gen Z graduates said they want to work in remote or hybrid roles.
Other reports have found Gen Zers still want to spend some time in the office for socializing and career advancement, though they largely want flexibility and authority over their own working arrangements.
A top tech challenge they anticipate potentially running into is using outdated technology. Some examples include a company providing only a desktop computer rather than a laptop, or having poor processes for employees to access needed materials across different devices when working hybrid. They also loathe poor IT support.
“To be successful in what they’re looking to do, they need to have devices that are secure that have the software that they need, and to be able to be productive and resolve issues as they come up,” Shay Mowlem, NinjaOne’s chief strategy and marketing officer, said.
Despite the emergence of new workflow platforms and technologies throughout the pandemic, and the more recent AI boom, companies are still behind in their abilities to effectively leverage new tools.
More than 90% of business leaders said using tech to improve work outcomes and team performance is important to the success of their organization, but just 22% said they think their company is ready to utilize those tools, according to Deloitte’s 2023 Global Human Capital Trends survey.
Many workers still face a variety of tech challenges, and solving IT issues swiftly is extremely important to Gen Z. About a third expect IT to help resolve an issue in less than a day, and 25% said they expect it to take one to two hours. About 17% expect help resolving a tech issue in less than an hour.
And while Gen Z workers make up the digital-first generation, other reports have found many actually aren’t as tech savvy as their coworkers may believe. They experience “tech shame” or feel judged when experiencing technical issues, more so than their coworkers who are 40 years old or older, a report from HP found.
“It’s really important to work for a company that has immediate and effective support for productivity issues so they’re not sitting idle for hours at a time, waiting for someone to resolve the problem,” Mowlem said.
Recent graduates’ first introduction to their company’s technology will be through their onboarding processes, and 94% said a positive onboarding experience is important, the survey found.
Learning how to use company computer systems and other tech tools is a key part of onboarding, and one made trickier during the pandemic with remote work. “[New hires will be assessing] How easy are the tools to use, how quickly can I get up and running?” Mowlem said.