Rise of global mobility: Younger workers less interested in single-location careers

Facts.

1.) Companies are expanding their talent perimeters to find the talent they need and are more open to the costs of getting that talent to where they need it. Additionally, more often companies are requiring international experience as part of their leadership development track. Hence the increase in rotational assignments and other developmental programs.

2.) Millennials and Gen Zs want global experiences and are less open to traditional single-location career paths. According to PwC, overseas assignments will be seen as a rite of passage. Hence the increase in international interns, volume of international new hires and hand-raisers (those that initiate their own relocation).

Fortunately, those two things go together!

In a recent post from Joe Benevides, he explained what we are seeing from Gen Z as it relates to global mobility. "Why do Generation Z characteristics matter in mobility? For starters, they don’t need or want a traditional relocation package. Simply put, they are reshaping how we think of relocation benefits. They would rather have their items donated or discarded on their behalf instead of paying thousands of dollars for a household goods shipment. They desire assistance getting them and their few belongings to their new destination as quickly and efficiently as possible so that they can be ready for their new job."

According to this recent article from FluencyCorp, "At the recent Workplace Mobility Interactive conference in Singapore, KPMG executive Jod Gill said that “younger skilled workers are less interested in traditional single-location career paths.” His statement echoes what surveys have found about millennials and Gen Zers. Millennials see themselves as global citizens, and Generation Z has been called the “first truly global generation.” Millennials’ fondness for travel is also well known. They want to explore the world through authentic experiences, not just as tourists."

Jod went on to share even more with Human Resources Online in their article, Rise of global mobility: Younger workers less interested in single-location careers. "Mobile employees are increasingly becoming a larger segment of the employee population and take a disproportionate amount of HR time. This growth is set to increase significantly over coming years and will be driven by extended business travelers. Compliance for such individuals is becoming increasingly complex as domestic tax, payroll, social security and immigration rules change far more rapidly than before."

Let's not forget that the Gen Z Rising: 2017 Graduate Employment Study revealed that 83% of new graduates would relocate to another city or region for the right job. 

What are you seeing as it relates to what Gen Z and millennials want from global mobility?