There seems to be many members of the MZ generation who leave their jobs early regardless of their companies’ public image or size and the degree of difficulty they face while job-hunting. Why is the early retirement rate particularly high among the MZ generation? ST looked at what companies thought about the prospects of MZ leaving and how they should look at it in the future.................................Ed
Companies say that the increase in the resignation rate of the MZ generation is different from that of the existing generation. What characteristics of the generation were reflected in the spate of resignations?
According to a survey of 500 companies last year on the status of early retirement within a year conducted by Saramin, a job platform. 49.2% of companies responded that the early retirement rate of the SMS MZ generation was high. Among all new employees, an average of 28% of them quit early, and 3 out of 10 decided to quit within 5 months of joining the company. This is an increase of more than 10% in two years, compared to the average resignation rate of 17.9% in 2019. Most Companies attributed the MZgenerations’ high turnover rate to their higher focus on individual satisfaction (60.2 percent, multiple
responses), opinions blaming their lack of patience compared to the previous generations followed.
These responses show the reality of how the companies view the MZ generation. They simply view them as selfish individualists who lack patience. However, with this sort of biased, outdated view of the MZ generation, companies will not be able to solve the problem of employee retention. In fact, experts have stated that there are correlations between generational characteristics and high turnover rates. Seo Yi-jong, a sociology professor at Seoul National University, said, “The corporate culture of the establishment, such as authoritative relationships with bosses and collectivist evaluations, does not fit with the MZ generation.”
If the characteristics of the generation interlock with social phenomena in such a way, companies must adapt accordingly. Rather than showing antipathy to the increasing resignation rate simply because of the characteristics of the generation, they should take steps to address the fundamental issues in current social conditions.
Kim Gyeong-min(ST Cub-Reporter)
netencom@soongsil.ac.kr
