Forget purpose or career – Gen Z just wants decent pay

Employers have spent years being told that young workers want purpose, flexibility and a mission they can believe in. But ask Australians aged 18 to 29 what they actually need from a job, and the answer is far more practical: pay that keeps up with the rising cost of living.

That is the central finding of What Gen Z Workers Want 2026 – Australia, research commissioned by global HR and payroll platform Deel and conducted by YouGov. The findings sketch a pragmatic generation, more preoccupied with living costs than with corner offices or causes. For HR leaders trying to recruit and keep young talent, that is useful to know. Paying people correctly and on time, offering security and mapping out a path forward are all within an employer’s control.

Pay comes first by a wide margin

Asked to rank the three things that matter most in a job, 72% of respondents named pay that keeps up with living costs. Job security, the assurance that a role won’t disappear, came second at 57%, followed by learning and career development at 47%.

Two attributes long treated as Gen Z must-haves trailed behind. Flexibility over when and where people work, and work that aligns with personal values, each drew 44%. Working for a good manager ranked last at 36%.

Force a single choice and the gap widens. When respondents could pick only one factor, 37% chose pay, almost three times the 13% who chose values-aligned work. Job security took 18%. The report’s authors describe a generation far more pragmatic than popular belief allows, one that puts financial adequacy and job retention ahead of everything else.

Men and women rank their priorities in much the same order, although women lean slightly harder on pay (74% compared with 71% of men). The sharper divides lie elsewhere. Men were more likely to prioritise job security (61% against 52% of women), while women placed more weight on having a good manager (39% against 33% of men).

Payday is where trust is won or lost

If young workers rank pay above everything else, getting it right is the minimum they expect. Many have been let down. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents said they had experienced administrative or payroll friction at work. More than a quarter (28%) had been paid late and 23% had found a mistake in their pay, and the two problems tend to travel together: 45% of those paid late had also found an error.

Part-time workers fare worst, with 37% having been paid late and 29% having found errors, compared with 23% and 20% of full-time workers. Smaller frustrations add up as well. Some 29% have had to print, sign and scan a document, 24% have handed over the same personal information twice and 20% have waited too long for an expense refund.

For a generation that ranks pay as its top priority, a late or incorrect payslip strikes at the heart of what they value most.

Money and burnout keep them up at night

Some 85% of Australian Gen Z workers carry at least one workplace worry. Financial instability, whether struggling with costs or fearing a loss of income, tops the list at 48%, even though every respondent was employed. Burnout follows at 37%, then the lack of a clear path for career growth (29%) and the fear of becoming stuck in a job they don’t want (27%).

The backdrop helps explain it. The report points to the Ipsos Issues Monitor for August 2026, which found cost of living remained the top concern for Australians aged 18 and over.

Some of the anxieties often attributed to young workers rank lower. AI making their skills less valuable and not feeling valued or heard each registered 23%.

The gender gap is wide. Some 90% of women reported at least one workplace worry, compared with 81% of men. More than half of women (53%) cited financial instability against 44% of men, and 41% of women flagged burnout compared with 33% of men.

One job is no longer enough

Asked whether they do any paid work outside their main job, 39% said yes, 20% mainly because they need the money and 19% mainly because they enjoy it. Another 33% don’t have a side hustle but are looking for one. Altogether, 72% either have extra work or want it, leaving 28% who don’t want one at all.

The report reads this as a bid for financial independence, a theme that also shows up in employer preferences. A quarter of respondents (26%) said their ideal was working for themselves, which the authors attribute to a desire for autonomy.

Men are more likely to have a side gig already (43% compared with 34% of women), while women are more likely to be looking for one (37% compared with 30% of men).

The pressure on employers to respond will only grow. Gen Z is projected to make up almost a third of the workforce across OECD countries by 2030, according to Oxford Economics research commissioned by Snap.

“If workplaces are going to attract and retain young people, they need to understand the fundamentals of what motivates them,” said Deel regional enterprise leader Shannon Karaka (pictured).

On this evidence, the employers best placed to win and keep Gen Z talent will be those that pay fairly and on time, offer security and show young people a way forward.

Security outranks status

Young Australians gravitate towards size and stability when picturing their ideal employer. A large, established company came first at 37%, ahead of self-employment (26%), government and the public sector (15%) and small companies or start-ups (13%). Charities and non-profits drew just 4%, level with family businesses, a result the report warns should concern a not-for-profit sector already struggling to attract talent.

The same instinct shapes their long-term plans. Asked about their goals for the next decade, 68% named financial security and 53% named owning their own home. Some 37% want to become an expert in their field and 35% want a job they can leave at the office. Working in a different country came last, at 16%.

The corner office loses its shine

Management barely features. Only 24% listed leading a team as a manager among their 10-year goals, meaning 76% did not. Among women the figure drops to 18%, compared with 29% of men. The report notes that this mirrors a global pattern identified in Deloitte’s 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey.

Effort is another matter. Asked how they are approaching their job right now, 31% said they were giving everything to progress where they are, and another 15% are giving everything without chasing progression. A further 27% do the job well within their hours and 9% do what is asked and no more. Some 19% want out, including 13% who are actively job hunting.

Commitment tracks closely with employment type and income. Some 53% of full-time workers said they give their all, compared with 32% of part-timers, and part-timers are twice as likely to be actively job hunting (20% against 10%). Workers from households earning $50,000 to $99,000 were 2.4 times as likely to want to leave (24%) as those from households earning more than $150,000 (10%).

Perception plays a part too. Some 45% believe their generation is seen by leaders as entitled and lazy, and 60% feel they are expected to be grateful simply to have a job. The report suggests promotion alone may not motivate this group, and that recognition, better pay and development that doesn’t depend on climbing the ladder may count for more.

The AI gap employers may be missing

Only 33% of respondents agreed that AI tools make them more productive at work, and 27% said none of the listed statements about workplace AI applied to them. In Singapore, by comparison, the report found 49% of Gen Z workers reported productivity gains and only 9% were disengaged.

Their concerns centre on dependence more than replacement. Some 20% worry about becoming too reliant on AI, compared with 17% who fear it could make their job less secure.

For HR teams, governance may be the bigger issue. A quarter (25%) use AI on personal devices for work and 13% use it more than their employer knows, yet only 7% say their employer monitors their AI use. The report warns that organisations may have little visibility of how AI is actually being used, which could create security and compliance risks.

The research surveyed 1,059 working adults in Australia aged 18 to 29. It was commissioned by Deel, designed and analysed by ThinkerTank and conducted online by YouGov between 13 and 24 August 2026. Download the findings here.

This article was produced in partnership with Deel