Core Drivers Behind Gen Z’s Rapid Job Transitions
As a young, working professional, Ben James has a plan for his life.
The 26-year-old works in recruitment and sales and wants to retire at 65. He regularly checks on his net worth, income and investments to make sure he’s on track to meet his retirement deadline. But there was a time when he wasn’t sure where his life was headed.
Back in 2023, James juggled working as a bookkeeper at a recruitment agency and being a semi-pro rugby athlete. After his stint as a rugby player was over, he spent six months mulling over the direction he wanted his career to head in.
“I never thought that (bookkeeper) job would turn into a six-figure opportunity — that I could save for a house,” he said, adding that he wanted to “find a field with higher-earning capacity.”
James isn’t alone, according to a new survey from Randstad Canada that finds 42 per cent of Gen Z workers are considering a job change. That’s almost twice the rate of the average Canadian worker in 2026. Younger workers are showing “record mobility intentions” as they look for jobs that best suit their needs, such as higher wages, better work-life balance and more growth opportunities, according to the survey, which canvassed over 3,500 Canadians.
Experts say it’s a shift employers cannot ignore as older generations start to age out of the workforce and younger workers start looking for more.
“I don’t mean to sound too one-dimensional here,” he said. “But it’s all about money.”
The cost-of-living crisis
Generation Z, or Gen Z, is the term used to describe people born between 1997 and 2012. It’s the first generation born into the digital age and the first to grow up immersed in social media.
Their entry into the workforce has been difficult: they’ve been faced with high inflation rates, rising grocery costs, unaffordable housing and a global AI boom that’s starting to scoop up some entry-level jobs.
Employment rates went up for youth workers aged 15 to 24, with 33,000 finding jobs in June this year, according to the latest Statistics Canada data, but it’s not necessarily a sign that things are turning around just yet, said Andrew Fields, a senior analyst from Statistics Canada’s Centre for Labour Market Information.
Between May and June, the youth unemployment rate dropped slightly to 12.7 per cent from 13.4 per cent, but still remains higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent, measured between 2017 and 2019, according to StatCan. Those pre-pandemic numbers were a sign of a healthy youth labour market, he said.
“Youth are still searching for work,” he said. “And are having a harder time in recent years.”
This lack of financial health and security has stirred anxiety among workers of all age groups, according to a new RBC report looking at employee well-being between 2025 and 2026. The report found that workers across all ages experienced a decline in well-being, with the sharpest drop occurring for workers between the ages of 18 and 34.
“Canadians are navigating real pressures of a challenging few years and it’s showing up in how they feel day-to-day,” said Tony Bruin, head of group benefits for RBC Insurance in a news release.
The report notes that the rising cost of living is the most significant barrier for most respondents when trying to improve their well being, such as their physical fitness, diet and sleep quality.
The Star spoke with three young workers, including James, who noted that their priorities are focused on being financially independent. They said they felt achieving financial independence would help secure their future as they enter a world that feels uncertain to them.
James now works in recruitment and sales at Randstad. One of the considerations that prompted the career change from bookkeeping was how expensive groceries have become and the unaffordability of the housing market.
“I don’t really have an option except to pursue a higher income,” he said.
Job-hopping to get ahead
Gen Zers are feeling extra pressure to find suitable long-term employment that pays well and meets their personal needs due to the cost-of-living crisis, experts say.
To find employment that meets their needs, it’s not uncommon for younger people to hold multiple jobs to explore their options, said Jason Dorsey, the lead researcher at the Center for Generational Kinetics based in Texas.
Job-hopping is this generation’s way of being “self-reliant” and gain experience that could lead to future long-term employment and financial security, said Dorsey.
“What we’re seeing is that Gen Zers don’t know or expect an employer to be a fit for their career or be in one career for their entire working span,” explained Dorsey.
“There’s a little bit of, if you don’t love the job, you should go ahead and start looking for another one,” he said. “Because if you’re going to be working for decades, you might as well make progress towards the (job) that better fits you.”
According to Eric Termuende, a workplace culture expert and leadership consultant based in Vancouver, jumping between jobs can help a worker get a pay bump or promotion faster than sticking it out at the same company. It’s not a new phenomenon — younger workers have always been more likely to switch jobs, he said. But Gen Zers have embraced the strategy like no generation before.
“Every generation has a distribution of ambition and grit and desire,” he said. Gen Zers “are trying to go after it as fast as possible” to keep up with expenses by seeking higher salaries. Younger people are also likely to focus on their needs rather than other responsibilities, such as a mortgage or children, which allows them to move freely between positions, said Termuende.
“Loyalty was rewarded in the past,” he said. “But it’s becoming more of a hindrance.”
Priorities in the workplace will inevitably differ between generations. One difference between millennials (people who are born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Zers, is the importance of work-life balance, said Eddy Ng, a professor of organizational behaviour at Queen’s University.
Typically, millennials look for advancement opportunities, which can often come with heavier workloads, said Ng. This “actually contributes to negative well-being and stress, so in that sense, it’s harder to sell (to young workers),” he said.
Meanwhile, Gen Zers are focused on financial compensation and personal development. If positions that offer those opportunities are being held by older employees, this younger generation isn’t going to wait around for those jobs to open up, said Ng.
“Mobility is more of a necessity rather than a preference,” he said.
Recent research by Ng and others shows this generation values financial stability, environments that allow for a healhy work-life balance and prioritize their mental health. In an article he wrote, Ng said this was because Gen Z watched their parents “navigate dual-career households” and witness “economic disruptions.”
What are Gen Zers looking for?
As Gen Zers look for these financial and growth opportunities in new jobs, they’re leaning away from the “hustle culture” and grind mentality that defined previous generations, according to experts.
Typically, these opportunities were earned through hard work and hustle culture, which is defined as the glorification of never-ending work, according to Nancy D’Onofrio, vice-president of strategic accounts and social selling at Randstad Canada.
As D’Onofrio puts it, “the more you hustle, the more reward and recognition you get.”
One reason Gen Zers tend to reject hustle culture is that their identities are more likely to be informed by what they do outside of their careers, such as their hobbies or personal aspirations, said Dorsey.
Hustle culture is no longer seen as the right method to get ahead in one’s career, especially at the expense of mental health, so Gen Zers are willing to job-hop to find jobs that suit their financial and personal needs, he said.
“We see Gen Z really wants more … non-traditional health and wellness benefits, such as work-life balance and free mental health services,” said Dorsey.
Olga Morawczynski, founder of Heal-3, a Toronto-based company that designs mental health programs for organizations, said employers need to be more accommodating of the younger workforce and their needs, such as flexibility with remote work options, in addition to providing fair compensation and opportunities for career growth.
More than anything, Morawczynski says she believes young people need to have purpose-driven work that can sustain them for years.
“They do want to work differently,” she said. “It’s not a new problem that’s going to get any better with the next generation.”
“They’re super ambitious because they see what’s possible,” said D’Onofrio.
Following his bookkeeping run, James spent six months transitioning into his current job in recruitment and sales at Randstad (a separate department from where the survey was conducted). He read books, watched YouTube videos on entrepreneurship and applied to dozens of jobs.
When asked if he plans on sticking around with his current job, James said he’s hoping to stay for long-term at his company, where he feels valued. James’s father stayed in his job for two decades, and the 26-year-old is hoping to emulate that.
“I’m at the start of my journey.”
This article was first reported by The Star
