Designing Gen Z Careers: A Design Thinking Approach to Sustainable Careers

Introduction

Often, a successful career does not depend on a single decision taken by an individual in her twenties but on continuous learning, unlearning, and trying new things. As Wollen (2021) quotes Ayn Rand:

Further, Rand describes a career as the rational pursuit of productive work. As per her words in The Ayn Rand Letter (Wollen, 2021), she differentiates a career from a job as requiring a constant development of the mind, knowledge and abilities suggesting lifelong learning (Rand, 2023.). Rand’s ideas hold true in the disrupted world we live in today, where career shocks have become commonplace (Pak et al., 2020). Each generational cohort is conditioned by the world events they witness in their developmental years (Pew Research Center, 2015).

Generation Z, also known as the digital natives, are individuals born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s and have grown up with handheld smart devices and the traumas of terrorist attacks, war, migration, the pandemic, and economic recession. Talmon (2019) shows that Generation Z is comfortable with technology and expects their employers to provide the latest tools and platforms to do their jobs. Generation Z is also the most diverse generation, and they value inclusivity and diversity in the workplace (Chillakuri, 2020). Gen Z has specific career-related values that they strongly identify with, and they want to work for organizations that align with their values and provide a sense of belonging and community (Maloni et al., 2019). For instance, Gen Z values flexible working arrangements, a healthy work-life balance, and an entrepreneurial mindset (Barhate & Dirani, 2021). Overall, Gen Z seeks employers who provide a positive work culture, opportunities for personal growth and development, and a meaningful sense of purpose beyond just profit-making.

However, this also causes career-related challenges for Gen Z. Due to their career-related values, which they tend to adhere firmly to, Gen Z is likelier to experience career shocks than employees from preceding generations. Any incident beyond individual control can disrupt a person’s professional trajectory. Such disruptions are called career shocks (Akkermans et al., 2018). In today's fast-paced, disrupted economic and technical world, Generation Z, therefore, needs to develop a range of skills to succeed in their careers, the chief among which are: career-adaptability for quickly adapting to new situations and circumstances caused by the rapid pace of change in the economy and technology, digital literacy skills necessary to thrive in a digital economy, critical thinking skills for solving complex problems, identifying patterns and trends, and coming up with innovative solutions by analyzing data and information, effective communication and collaboration, and a commitment to lifelong learning (Khanna et al., 2022). By developing these skills, Generation Z can build successful careers and thrive in a constantly changing world.

Nimmi et al. (2022) argue that individual agency is indispensable for sustainable careers, as are lifewide and lifelong learning (Cole & Donald, 2022), resilience, career guidance, and a growth mindset (Donald et al., 2019; 2020). People need a robust coping strategy to handle distress brought on by career shocks, which requires career adaptability (Heslin & Seibert, 2016). Sustainable careers are developed via context adaptation and resilience to career shocks. A continual process of meaning-making and personal agency shapes the relationship between career shock sources and individual action (Guichard, 2005).