Abstract:

A great deal of theoretical and empirical work has been published regarding the career preferences and work-related generational specifics of Generation Y. Since the upcoming Generation Z has just started to enter the workforce, there is a considerable lack of data that would provide insights on their work preferences and career-related issues. We have thus built upon the existing theoretical research on Generation Z and both theoretical and empirical research on Generation Y to explore the career preferences of Generation Z university students in more detail. The present study is a part of a prospective research on career expectations of Generation Z university students in Slovakia. This paper deals with preliminary findings from the first series of 2016 data collection. The primary objective is to elaborate on the existing theoretical and empirical work on Generation Y by examining the extent to which factors that have been recognized as determinants of Generation Y’s work-related expectations and behaviours also matter to Generation Z.