Unlike older workers, Gen Z workers are job-hoppers, ready to change jobs and careers

SINGAPORE: Gen Z workers are far less likely to stay in one company, let alone one career, than older employees. The youngest members of the workforce appear to consider sticking to one path as settling, according to Workforce Singapore.

Today’s young workers simply don’t believe that old saying that job hopping does not look good on one’s CV, or they just don’t care, and, in any case, the working environment at the moment is very different from their parents’ and grandparents’ time.

Channel NewsAsia (CNA) recently quoted Workforce Singapore as saying that the number of Gen Z workers who have job-hopped more than tripled last year. By age 25, some are already on their third or fourth job.

To date, more than 2,400 young workers have enrolled for Workforce Singapore Career Conversion Programmes. In contrast, there were only 300 in 2021.

Earlier this year, the global recruitment company Randstad showed that, based on a survey it had conducted, three in five (60%) Singapore workers said they would consider switching jobs if they didn’t feel a sense of belonging.

Unsurprisingly, this number is even higher for younger workers, with two in three (67%) saying that not feeling a connection with their workplace would be enough for them to quit their jobs as soon as possible.

Gen Z workers, therefore, prioritise careers that are value-driven, and feeling aligned with one’s workforce culture and having a sense of community are just as important as job title and salary.

We also need to add the rapidly changing environment, especially in tech, to the mix. Workforce Singapore also quoted the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023, which says that almost a quarter of all jobs are expected to change by 2027. Importantly, nearly half of all workers will need to acquire new skills just to stay relevant.

“New roles, like AI ethicist, sustainability analyst, or machine learning ops engineer, are always popping up. In this new reality, staying career-healthy means staying curious, adaptable, and ready to evolve with market trends and demands,” said Workforce Singapore.

On another note, trust appears to be more important to  Gen Z workers than to older generations. In June, Randstad said that younger workers are less likely to trust their leadership teams at work than their Gen X and millennial counterparts.

The company’s 2025 Workmonitor research also shows that they are more ready to resign from a job where they feel they can’t trust their leadership team at work.

“At the moment, 25% of Gen Zers don’t trust their employers to invest and provide opportunities for continuous learning related to non-technical skills, such as leadership, equity, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) efforts, and sustainability. However, they may also feel that their company’s take on soft skills is outdated, and doesn’t align with what they desire,” Randstad said. /TISG

Read also: Survey: 60% Singapore workers would quit if they lacked a sense of belonging; 67% of Gen Z wouldn’t hesitate