- 82% of young American knowledge workers now consider themselves global employees
- The 'American Dream' is more about career opportunities, wherever they may be
- Social networks and leadership are far more important than AI, for Gen Z
New research from Pebl has claimed Gen Z workers in the US actually see themselves as global employees, not American employees, as hybrid and remote work continues to spread across the world.
In fact, more than half (54%) said that achieving the 'American Dream' doesn't actually mean they have to remain in the US – just that they purse the best career opportunities possible.
Consequentially, 53% would choose to work for the world's best company over America's best company, with four in five (82%) already considering themselves part of a global workforce.
Young workers see the career landscape as global
It seems that workers are also keen to interact with colleagues from other countries, with benefits including broadening perspectives (73%), improving leadership skills (71%) and improving problem-solving abilities (68%).
But even though other studies have pointed toward remote working being a non-negotiable for many young workers, they're still keen to work internationally, whether that's in person or remote. Two in five (41%) envisage careers involving work across two or three different countries, and two in three (64%) would be very or extremely interested in temporary work opportunities in another geography.
"Gen Z is not just more open to international careers – they increasingly see global experience as essential to becoming stronger leaders," CEO Francoise Brougher explained. "If companies want globally minded leaders tomorrow, they need to start creating globally minded careers today."
Ongoing return-to-office mandates have also placed a big emphasis on in-person collaboration, and it's clear that younger workers agree. Building strong and professional networks (28%) and gaining experience in leadership and management (26%) ranked much more highly than developing AI skills (11%) among the 1,022 US Gen Z knowledge workers surveyed. Pebl explained AI's role as a human skill amplifier, not a replacer.
Ultimately, after years of major upheaval across both in-person/remote working routines and AI/automation, young workers are still very optimistic about in-person relationships and new career opportunities.
