Why Generation Z stays in a job, or leaves

Every young person who leaves costs the company dearly

Generation Z changes jobs often, so-called job hopping. Replacing an employee usually costs 50% to 60% of their annual salary, and can reach 200% in roles that require specific skills, according to a study cited in the thesis. That is before counting the knowledge that walks out the door. Choose a monthly salary:

Dignity is also built in everyday work

There are different ways of thinking about dignity. The thesis starts from social dignity, proposed by researcher Nora Jacobson: it is built, strengthened or violated in encounters between people. Compare the three views:

The literature already said what retains people, but not why

The thesis has five articles. The first two combed the scientific databases: one for what keeps Generation Z in a job, the other for how what we consume says who we are. The third joins the two ends in a model. Choose one:

The research listened to 121 young workers

Between October 2025 and March 2026, the author interviewed 26 young people from Generation Z in formal employment: some had stayed more than a year at a company, others had left before that. She then held three discussion circles with 95 more. The categories came from what people said, with no ready-made list (Kathy Charmaz's constructivist Grounded Theory). Tap a group:

Young people arrive at work with eight symbols of dignity

A symbol, here, is whatever tells a person they have worth: a properly registered contract, an idea that is heard, a team that welcomes you. The height of each block is the number of interviewees (out of 26) who spoke about that symbol. Tap a block:

Companies also communicate through symbols, for better and for worse

From the accounts, the author mapped what companies offered. Some of it promotes dignity, such as a career plan or support during bereavement. Some of it violates it, such as paying someone as a contractor while demanding what is asked of an employee. Each cube is a category; tap a column:

What a person values is not always what they get

For each interviewee, the author set the symbol the person values next to what the company offers. Three fits emerged: aligned, mixed (partial delivery, or delivery at a cost) and misaligned. Classify these real cases:

Many stay even with things out of place

The author reanalysed the interviews for reasons to stay and to leave, and then compared them with the fits. Some stay with everything aligned, some stay with a mixed fit but already have one foot out the door, and some have left. Filter or tap a person:

What matters is not how many symbols match, but whether the central one does

A misalignment in a symbol that is central to the person can be enough to make them leave, even with everything else aligned. Several problems in peripheral symbols, by contrast, are tolerated as long as the central one is preserved. Build a person: mark with ★ what is central to them and say what the company delivers.

For many young people, a formal job became a stage and contracting a gamble

In Brazil, a formal job under the labour code (CLT) comes with paid holidays, sick leave and severance. "Pejotização" means hiring people as contractors (PJ, a legal entity) instead. It came up so often in the interviews that the author took it to the discussion circles. Young people know the risks, but many still want to be PJ. Where do you think the idea that "CLT is for people who settle" comes from?

I think you start with CLT, gain experience, security... then I think about PJ