54% of MZ Generation Avoid Promotion
MZ Generation Dreams of Being 'Well-being Deputy'
Reluctant to Sacrifice Work-Life Balance and Take on Responsibility
Interest in Real Estate Auctions and Other Investments
Online Class Industry Booms
Kang (35), an office worker at a marketing company, decided not to put much effort into work as he was about to be promoted to manager. This was because he had to volunteer for overtime to compete with employees whose promotions were delayed. Instead, Kang turned his attention to stock investment. As a result of day trading stocks during breaks at work, he earned an additional income of 1 million won last month. Kang said, "Investing in stocks takes less effort than increasing my salary through promotion," adding, "I want to live comfortably both physically and mentally."
Recently, the number of MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) who give up promotions to seek dissatisfaction with earned income and work-life balance (WLB) is increasing. Among office workers, the term "Well-being Daeri (Well-being + Daeri)" has even become popular, meaning staying forever at the assistant manager level for a balanced life.
The tendency of the MZ generation to refuse promotion is also reflected in statistics. According to a survey conducted last year by JobKorea targeting 1,114 MZ generation office workers, 54.8% of all respondents said they had no intention of being promoted to executive positions.
The reason for not wanting promotion was that the responsibility of the position was burdensome, accounting for 43.6% of the total. The reason that work-life balance seemed impossible was 13.3%, and the lack of desire to become an executive was 11.1%. Additionally, 9.8% responded that they did not want to continue company life for a long time.
The higher threshold for executive promotion is also analyzed as one of the reasons why the MZ generation gave up on promotion. According to data from the Korea CXO Research Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, last year the number of employees per one executive in the top 100 domestic companies was 119.8. This means that to be promoted, one has to compete with 120 people. Considering that the ratio of employees to executives was 105.2 in 2011, it is clear that the probability of executive promotion has significantly decreased.
The MZ generation who gave up promotion are turning their attention to self-development outside of work. In fact, recently, the influx of young people into the financial technology market and online lecture industry is accelerating. This is due to the growing tendency to generate additional income in fields unrelated to their jobs.
A representative example is the real estate auction market. Analyzing statistics from the Court Registry Information Plaza, it was found that last year, 3 out of 10 successful auction buyers were investors in their 20s and 30s.
Yoon (34), an office worker at a logistics company, also takes basic online classes on auctions after work. Yoon said, "I learn essential auction terms and how to analyze auction rights online about three times a week," adding, "If I get promoted, I think I will have less time to visit real estate sites. Staying as an assistant manager is more comfortable."
As such, with the self-development craze outside of work centered on the MZ generation, the online class industry is also reaping collateral benefits. According to Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute, last year, the payment amount per online class lecture by customers in their 20s and 30s increased by 18% and 11%, respectively, compared to 2019.
Experts explained that the MZ generation's refusal of promotion is one of the phenomena arising as corporate culture and employment forms become more flexible. Lee Byung-hoon, an emeritus professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University, said, "As the bond and cohesion between companies and workers weaken, the concept of a lifelong job has disappeared," adding, "Accordingly, the MZ generation also regards the workplace not as a goal but as one of the means, focusing on accumulating assets outside of work."
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