A study by Prof. Dr. Norbert Rohleder
Development and relaxation—when choosing an employer, bachelor’s students up to age 30 with practical experience focus both on opportunities for career advancement and professional development and on a healthy work-life balance. This is the finding of a brief study conducted by Professor Dr. Norbert Rohleder at the Department of Economics at Mainz University of Applied Sciences in the spring of 2019.
According to the study, for over 70 percent of respondents, the development opportunities offered are the most important factor in defining an attractive employer. Furthermore, the brief study confirms that those born in 1995 or later, in particular, distinguish more clearly between work and personal life than previous generations: Nearly two-thirds of so-called Generation Z value a healthy work-life balance. Gender differences in this regard are only marginal: Both young women and young men in “Gen Z” view job security, compensation, and a collegial work environment as other important attributes.
However, the importance of compensation appears to increase with age—while only one in two Gen Z members with professional experience considers compensation an important employer attribute, for just under 66 percent of respondents aged 25 to 30 with initial and extensive practical experience, this factor is highly valued—thereby pushing a healthy work-life balance down to second place on the list of priorities. From the perspective of respondents with professional experience, recreational opportunities, the attractiveness of the products, the industry, and corporate social and environmental responsibility are the factors least likely to characterize an attractive employer.
The detailed results of the study can be requested free of charge from the study’s author (norbert.rohleder (at) hs-mainz.de).
