What do Gen Z and Millennial employees need to feel successful?
Behavioral reports keep you up-to-date on young people's everyday lives, preferences, and views; supplying research data on the "how many, how much, and how often" of their behavior to inform marketing tactics.
Gen Z is ready to put in the work at their first adult jobs. And already, young workers consider career to be a main focus in their lives. However, the more they give, the greater their risk of burning out. So, it's up to employers to go beyond good pay and benefits by offering mental health help especially because most young workers have anxieties about their jobs. But the way they define a successful career might be different than you think: how much money do they actually need?
YPulse's 2025 Employment and Career Goals report shows employers and brands just how career-focused young people are, what they value most in the workplace, and what they need to feel successful in their futures and careers.
Gen Z does have a reputation for having more boundaries around work, and that's certainly what they want. But the majority of young adults (61% of 18–24-year-olds) say their career already is or will be the main focus in their lives. Because they're dedicating so much time, effort, and energy into their jobs, young workers are at risk of experiencing burnout. In fact, YPulse's Mental Health report data shows 83% of 18–24-year-olds say they have experienced burn out before. Of course, constant access to work emails and messages outside of work hours can contribute to feeling overwhelmed. To combat this, 79% of employed 18–39-year-olds agree, "I would appreciate mental health support from my current job."
For many Gen Z and Millennials, their ideal work is about purpose, fulfillment, and balance. These gens have been labeled "the worst generation to work with," but often that perception comes from misunderstanding their priorities. Having a job they can look forward to each day is not just a perk—it's a necessity. So, they're advocating for healthy work boundaries, meaningful benefits, and creating an environment that they actually like being in. But of course, a good paycheck does make the job better: the top thing employed young people like about their current job is that they're paid well. The ultimate goal is to strike a balance between financial security and personal happiness—work/life balance is the second most important part of their ideal career. And trendy careers like "lazy girl jobs" allow them to have that. After all, young people (of all genders) want a job that leaves them with plenty of time and energy to enjoy life outside of work.
Many young people feel they work in a high stress industry, and it's the leading quality about their job that makes them anxious—which can lead to other poor feelings about work. And YPulse's Mental Health report data shows 42% of 18–39-year-olds regularly feel stressed about work. But the bigger picture here is their fears regarding instability and lack of growth. Their second top work anxiety revolves around feeling stuck in their current roles and a significant portion worry about being laid off, too.
Plus, navigating office dynamics and building relationships with coworkers can be challenging, especially for those with social anxiety. Recent grads especially might feel unprepared for the demands of their first professional role, which leads to anxiety about making mistakes.
Recent headlines buzzed saying Gen Z thinks they need to make more than $587,000 a year to be "financially successful," leading some to believe Gen Z has entirely unrealistic salary expectations. However, when YPulse asked the same question, we found that on average, Gen Z young adults (18–24-year-olds) say they need to earn $55K a year to feel financially successful. But there is a notable discrepancy in the idea of a successful salary between young men and women. Young males' idea of a successful salary (roughly $64K) is over $10K higher than females' (roughly $54K). Young women's lower salary expectations from the start reflect long-standing gender pay gaps: according to Pew Research, "The gender gap in pay has remained relatively stable in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned."
While there's plenty of news out there about Gen Z employees lacking soft skills—like the ability to make small talk with their Boomer coworkers—young people actually think they need training in more tangible skills. Gen Z and Millennials put time management and hard skills at the top of their "wish I were better at this" list. Figuring out how to prioritize their time better links back to their desire for more work/life balance, or even so many feeling the need to have another stream of income in their schedule. And developing more industry-specific hard skills will help them with the career advancement they crave.
Meanwhile, public speaking is a skill that many young adults specifically want to level up on. Whether it's a presentation, killing it in a job interview, or pitching ideas at work, being able to speak confidently is something young people know makes them stand out. While older gens might want them to engage in more small talk, young workers are looking to learn how to be comfortable on a truly professional scale.
Young people of color (POC) are +9pts more likely than their White/non-Hispanic (WNH) peers to place their careers as the main point of focus in their lives. And young women of color are more likely to say so than young men of color. Black women are reportedly "the most educated demographic in America" with one study showing "Black women are enrolled in and graduating from school in the highest percentages across racial and gender lines."
With their pursuit of higher degrees, young women of color are priming themselves for top earning careers. But because they're so heavily focused on their careers, they are likely in danger of burnout. That's something they'd like their employers to help them with: 83% of employed POC females agree, "Employers should help combat burnout among their employees."
Employed LGBTQ+ young people are −13pts less likely than their non-LGBTQ+ peers to say "Nothing about my job makes me anxious" (18% LGBTQ+ vs 31% non-LGBTQ+). And what makes them most anxious is the fact that they feel like there are no advancement opportunities. Sadly, LGBTQ+ young people are also +10pts more likely than their peers to worry about being laid off.
Workplaces that assume everyone is heterosexual and cisgender can make LGBTQ+ people feel excluded or unseen, and potentially less likely to get advancement opportunities for lacking that commonality with co-workers. Because of this, access to mentorship and LGBTQ+ role models in leadership positions are crucial for career growth and confidence among young LGBTQ+ employees.
The majority of parents value having flexible work hours or the ability to work from anywhere. Having to take care of children, especially for new or expecting parents, is something that's top of mind. To Gen Z and Millennial moms especially, getting paid parental leave is crucial when thinking about their futures and careers. But parents are also looking for other ways to create more family time: 83% of employed parents agree, "My life would be better if I had a four-day workweek" (vs 78% non-parents). And 71% of employed parents agree, "Companies should not force their remote workers to return to office," likely because it would seriously change their childcare plans.
