Creating meaningful work opportunities for Gen Z
Co-operative and Experiential Education at University of Waterloo
Dedicated to the future of work and learning. Home to Canada's largest co-operative education program.
What does Gen Z (born between 1996 – 2014) look for when they say they want meaningful work??Students share what employers can do to enhance their work terms.
1.?Include your organization’s commitment to health, justice and mental wellness in job descriptions to attract emerging talent.
“The social determinants of health, justice, mental wellness and universal income are where my heart is. However, in a professional capacity going forward in my career, I want to be able to bring those pillars to help other people.”
Aisley Ellis , fourth-year Honours Public Health and Human Resources student. Read Aisley's story.
2.?Provide opportunities for growth and leadership.
“From my first co-op term to my last, I’ve never felt like ‘just the intern.’ I’ve always been presented with opportunities to take the lead and make meaningful contributions."
Vanessa Vanpopic , fifth-year Honours Arts and Business student. Read Vanessa's story.
3.?Encourage autonomy but lead the way.
“My managers have given me a lot of freedom too. They allow me to go ahead and go online to try and figure out how it’s done. At the same time I have connected with multiple people in the organization that know how different software works.”
YATHARTH SEJPAL , third-year Honours Psychology and Business student. Read Yatharth's story.
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4.?Reach out and build a connection.
“Good co-workers make work a lot more fun, so schedule coffee chats and go to social events. Not only will you get to know amazing people, but you’ll also learn a lot from doing so. Personally, some of my biggest learnings in co-ops have been through conversations.”
Salma Marzouk , fourth-year Science and Business student. Read Salma's story.
5.?Prioritize check-ins and equal input.
“In my second and third co-ops, when I went to the insurance company, I had an awesome boss who set up regular meetings and made sure to check-in. That team I worked with was also a smaller one, so it was a good learning environment for me to speak up in meetings and express what I was doing.”
Gillian Trasuk , fourth-year Honours Math student. Read Gillian's story.
Understanding Gen Z values is key to recruiting and hiring emerging talent
The Work-Learn Institute surveyed more than 2,000 Gen Z students to learn what values and work arrangements are most important to them. Learn more about what Gen Z cares about in their?Future Workforce Perspectives Survey - Master Report. Findings and key takeaways from this report can help employers better attract and?support emerging talent as they enter the workforce.
Clinical Psychologist | Medical-Legal Assessment | High Performance Counselling/Coaching | Behavioural Finance Consulting | Outreach to Psychology Majors
1 年Thank you UW for providing this valuable resource, with actual empirical data!