Abstract
The cohort of young people born with or after the Internet has been dubbed Generation Z (Gen Z, or post-millennials). They are now entering the higher education-to-work transition phase, although this is yet to be studied. Previous studies have found that work values and work preferences vary across generations and national cultures, justifying regular and localised examination. However, very little is known to date about the work values of Portuguese Gen Zs. In this study, we describe the work values of Portuguese university students in the higher education-to-work transition phase and examine their influence on salient work-related preferences. We surveyed over 3000 students attending university degrees from eight main Portuguese universities. We find that Portuguese Gen Zs value social values above all, followed by intrinsic and then extrinsic work values, potentially configuring a unique profile. Work values partially explain work preferences such as employer size and salary expectations. Gender differences mark our results, with women expressing higher work values in all three dimensions and lower entry salary expectations. These results can be useful for employers seeking to attract the best university graduates, facilitate their integration and promote their development.
Highlights
Work values are pivotal during the higher education-to-work transition
Our research addresses the question “What are the work values of the Gen Z Portuguese university students and how do they influence their job preferences in the higher education-to-work transition?”, aiming to portray the work values of these young people about to enter in the job market and analyse their impact on work-related preferences
Apart from describing the work values of Portuguese Gen Z, we examined how work values influence their preference for highly salient job characteristics, namely employer size, and expected salary
Summary
Expressing people’s preferences and expectations about work and the workplace strongly influence career and job choice decisions central in the school-to-work transition phase (Chow et al.2017; Judge and Bretz 1992; Kuron et al 2015; Lukeš et al 2019). Knowledge about young people’s work values can be very useful for employers trying to devise effective attraction and retention strategies (Cogin 2012) and to inform public policies to tackle youth unemployment and to facilitate the transition from education to employment (Lukeš et al 2019). Research shows that work values vary across generations (e.g., Lyons et al 2015; Twenge et al 2010), life and career stages (Kuron et al 2015), and national cultures (Cennamo and Gardner 2008; Gallie 2019), justifying the continued study of new generations in different countries. A generation is, the set of individuals experiencing the same historical and sociocultural context at a specific life stage, influenced by common formative experiences and opportunities (Lyons and Kuron 2014)
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