Imagine if you could have learned two years ago what your youngest workforce wanted when it came to office life.
In 2021, MACIAS PR partnered with the news portal, Brooklyn Chatter, to get a better understanding of how their readers feel about life and work. It was a prescient view of what motivates Generation Z, especially since more recent surveys have revealed similar behavioral patterns.
MACIAS PR conducted the survey from March 18 to 29th, 2021, and involved 2,240 Americans, ages 18 to 24. Participants answered online questions spread across partnered news sites and popular Gen. Z groups, including Her Campus, Gals in Journalism and the Young Journalist Community.
The data found Gen. Z doesn’t want to work remotely and would prefer to split their time between an office and a remote location. And in a more shocking discovery, only 2 percent said they wanted to continue working remotely full-time.
More than half – 52 percent – said they wanted to split their work time between the office and home. Roughly 27 percent of Gen. Z participants said they wanted to spend all 40-hours at the office.
Targeted surveys like this can give companies data-driven insight into the behavior patterns of customers, helping them make more informed decisions. In the case with Brooklyn Chatter, it helped the news portal learn more about what their readers wanted to follow.
How Gen. Z Views Wealth, Work, Social Media in a Post-Pandemic World
When it comes to wealth, 47 percent of survey participants believe the current system prevents their generation from achieving wealth; 27 percent believe that if a person works hard, he/she can achieve anything; 25 percent want to replace capitalism.
Instagram continues to be the most popular social media platform (60 percent) among Generation Z, followed by Tik Tok (22.5 percent), Twitter (10 percent) Reddit (5 percent).
No participants said Facebook was their first choice for social media.
Mark Macias, founder of MACIAS PR and survey pollster, said the research gives us a deeper look at how the younger generation is shaping the future of work.
“This social media trend reinforces how Generation Z is disrupting the way brands reach consumers,” said Macias. “Consumers are more fragmented today – and this behavioral trend is only going to become more pronounced as Gen Z gets older. The good news – we have 5 years to figure out this generation before they overtake Millennials with consumer market share. Of course, knowing Gen. Z, they’ll probably figure out a way to make it happen sooner with a new innovation.”
Generation Z Survey on Post-Pandemic Life
When it comes to where the younger generation wants to live, don’t look for them in the suburbs. An overwhelming 65 percent of those surveyed say they want to live and work in a big city like New York, Boston, or LA over the next 2-3 years.
Only 10 percent said they want to “leave the grid” and move to a small town; 12 percent said they would like to move back home. Another 12 percent say they see themselves living in another country.
Brooklyn Chatter creates content for Gen. Z on topics ranging from relationships, dating, fashion and real estate.
The Brooklyn Chatter editor, Jazmyn Gray, said they wanted to get a closer look at how this generation views work, wealth, social media, and life outside of work.
“Brooklyn Chatter is created with the Gen. Z voice in mind, and we wanted to get inside that mind,” said Gray. “Our survey found when it comes to work, Gen. Z wants to make a difference in this world. They aren’t motivated by power, money or even flexible work hours. We’re idealists. We want a job that makes a difference in this world.”
Gen Z Wants to Make a Difference in World
The survey found 62 percent of participants want a job that allows them to make a difference in the world; 15 percent said they are motivated by money, while 15 percent say they want a job that gives them flexible work hours.
“Most behavioral scientists and pollsters are focusing their research on Millennials,” said Macias. “And for good reason, Millennials are the largest consumer market. But Gen. Z is going to disrupt the consumer market and workforce in a much more powerful way. Every business will have to learn how to sell to them. And they’re a trickier group to influence, especially since they’re going to become the most educated group in history.”
ABOUT MACIAS PR
MACIAS PR is a boutique public relations agency located in New York City. The PR firm focuses on tech, consumer and healthcare industries. The PR agency also conducts consumer surveys and scientific political polls that have margins of errors as small as +/-3 percent.
ABOUT BROOKLYN CHATTER
Brooklyn Chatter is your urban guidebook to the City lifestyle. It’s sophisticated content for social climbers. It includes original news articles, honest confessions and advice columns from real New Yorkers. The forward-thinking content is relatable to everyone, regardless of where they live.