The kids are NOT alright. A sobering truth about today's workforce is that they are not in the same privileged position that their parents were at the same age. This is to say that many millennial children say that they are not able to afford the same kind of lifestyle that their parents enjoyed when they were the same age.
In 2020, CNN shared the story of 29-year-old Scott Larsen. Scott says that on paper it appears that he is better off than his parents were at his same age, but the reality of his life doesn't play out like that. At age 29, his father Craig already owned a home in Utah, had a wife and two children, and was able to be the sole breadwinner for the family. His father earned the equivalent of $50,000 in today's dollars.
Scott earned $60,000 today, but he still lives at home with his parents because he fears that he cannot afford housing given the soaring costs. Scott's father could purchase a home with a little more than double his annual salary at age 29, but Scott himself would have to spend about five times his annual salary to do the same. It is simply not in the cards for him right now.
Stories like Scott's are incredibly common in today's world. Not only are young people concerned about not being able to move out of their parent's homes, but they often find themselves forced to accept jobs that they are overqualified for. Many millennials admit that they take lower-paying jobs out of necessity.
US News and World Report spoke with Scott Stringer in 2016 when he was New York City's Comptroller about the situation. Stringer said the following:
"Millennials were applying for jobs in the most difficult economic climate since the Great Depression and as a result, a growing number are now working in low-wage industries and earning less than their predecessors,"
Many millennials and Gen Z individuals feel that they must work in jobs for which they are overqualified and do not receive enough pay simply to have any income at all coming in the door.
One might stop and ponder why young people feel this way when they must surely have greater access to job opportunities than their parents ever did. However, even the job hunting process has changed dramatically in the last few decades.
One area where today's generation would appear to have an advantage over generations before them would be the fact that they have access to online job boards. A quick look at a list of some of the online job boards shows a lengthy list of options for today's job hunter to try out:
With all of those options, how could one not have the ability to track down a job that is appropriate for their skills? Well, a big part of the problem is that all online job boards play to the advantage of employers instead of employees. Many job-seekers refer to these online job boards as a "black hole for applications". They submit their application to various jobs on these boards, but they never hear back from potential employers. However, this is not the only issue that job-seekers have with trying to find work via these boards.
A few known tactics used by employers to gain an advantage when using job boards include the following:
These are just a few of the ways that companies leverage job boards to find employees willing to accept sub-par pay for the work that they sign up for. This is one more disadvantage that millennials and Gen Z applicants have compared to their parent's generation.
The percentage of American adults who hold a 4-year Bachelor's Degree continues to climb. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the percentage of adults who hold a Bachelor's Degree has been on a steady and rapid incline in recent years. In 2005, the percentage of Americans aged 25 or older who held a Bachelor's Degree was 27.5%. Now, it is 37.9%. That is a significant change, and it means that the labor market has become far more competitive.
Another side effect of so many people attaining higher education is that the value of a 4-year Bachelor's Degree has been diluted. It is not held up to as high of a standard as it once was. This also means that many employers do not assign as much of a premium to those who hold these degrees. They often feel that they can pay these individuals less money than they otherwise would simply because there are so many degree holders to select from now.
For previous generations, the expectation was that one would NOT have a college degree. Thus, good-paying middle-class jobs were very often held by people with no more than a high school education. Now, it is a fantasy to believe that one could support an entire family working at a job that only required a high school education. Such things just don't exist anymore.
Given all of the hurdles that present themselves to today's job seeker, many wonder what they can do to position themselves in such a way that they might have a chance to get the kind of work that they want. Fortunately, there are still ways to find jobs that suit you.
One of the best things that you can do is learn how to network effectively. You should work within your professional and personal networks to find the kind of jobs that meet your criteria.
The reality is that the only way to get a high-paying and satisfying job is to prove that you are worthy of being employed by a company that offers that kind of work. This means that you need to sharpen your skills, connect with others in your industry, and build your resume in such a way that it truly stands out from others.
Now it's time to turn the tables and look at what the job seeker is searching for from a potential employer in 2023. Whilst it is the employer who usually holds the power, employees are demanding more favorable working conditions through the package they negociate and the growing list of perks that has become a differentiator for companies to stand out to top talent.
Remote working has become mainstream in the past few years, with many employers opting for a 'hybrid' work pattern as a best of both worlds scenario. According to Upwork, it’s expected that 25% of professional workers will work remotely by the end of 2023. This data shows that nearly 90% of employees who have the opportunity to utilize a hybrid work arrangement take it. Naturally, employers not willing to become aligned with the wants of their staff in terms of remote working for at least part of the week will forfeit attracting and retaining talent.
This leads into well-being focussed corporate benefits which are highly sought after by job seekers looking for the best overall package and lifestyle. There’s a huge range of employee benefits out there from gym memberships, mental health apps to private healthcare plans. This Oracle study found that 79% of employees want technology to support mental health in the workplace. Whilst a Deloitte survey revealed that corporate executives named “improving employee well-being” as one of the important goals they hope to achieve in the short-term future. The reason for this shift towards corporate wellness perks is clear, the data from a 2022 study carried out by MetLife, shows that healthy employees are 53% more likely to be productive and 51% more likely to say they intend to be at their organisation in 12 months’ time. A no brainer for businesses who want to stay competitive on the jobs market.
Job seekers, especially, in the millenial age bracket or younger, tend to be drawn to purpose driven companies with a prominent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy. Employees are expecting their organizations to show increased empathy and inclusion in all stages of the planning, actioning and reviewing processes. Gartner surveyed more than 3,500 employees around the world in October 2021, and 65% said the pandemic had made them rethink the place that work should have in their life. Fifty-six percent said it made them want to contribute more to society.