Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey finds these generations in Singapore are focused on growth, seeking money, meaning, and well-being

Key Highlights:

• Gen Zs and millennials are focused on growth and learning, and they expect more support from their managers.
• Only 8% of Gen Zs and 9% of millennials in Singapore say their primary career goal is to reach a leadership position.
• Three-quarters of Gen Zs (75%) and millennials (77%) in Singapore say generative AI will spur them to look for job opportunities that are less vulnerable to automation
• When asked about the factors driving their career decisions, Gen Zs and millennials say it comes down to money, meaning, and well-being.

SINGAPORE, 14 May 2025 – The 14th edition of Deloitte Global’s Gen Z and Millennial Survey examines the responses of more than 23,000 participants across 44 countries, including 309 from Singapore. Projected to make up 74% of the global workplace by 2030, the survey finds that these generations are seeking a “trifecta” of money, meaning, and well-being while building the technical and soft skills that they believe will prepare them for the workplace of the future.

“Gen Zs and millennials launched their careers in the shadow of a global pandemic and a financial crisis—events that respectively shaped their expectations of work and what success looks like,” said Elizabeth FABER, Deloitte Global Chief People & Purpose Officer. “These generations prioritise work/life balance and meaningful work as they strive for financial stability. And now, as they navigate the way generative AI (Gen AI) is changing work, they are reevaluating the capabilities they need to succeed and the support they want from their employers.”

Learning and development and the leadership gap

In Singapore, Gen Zs and millennials prioritise career growth opportunities and learning when choosing an employer, but few see leadership as their career goal. Gen Zs and millennials both expect their employers and managers to support their learning and development, yet many experience a significant gap between their expectations and reality. Some also have doubts about whether higher education adequately prepares students for the job market:

• Gen Zs and millennials see financial independence as more important than climbing the corporate ladder: While achieving financial independence was the top-cited career goal among Gen Zs (26%) and millennials (29%), only 8% of Gen Zs and 9% of millennials consider reaching a leadership position as their primary career goal.
• Gen Zs and millennials want more from their managers: Most (62% of Gen Zs, 63% of millennials) want their managers to provide guidance and support to team members, yet less than half (38% of Gen Zs, 34% of millennials) say this happens in reality. Furthermore, nearly half (47% of Gen Zs and 48% of millennials) want their managers to teach and mentor them, but only 36% of Gen Zs and 32% of millennials say their managers actually do so.
• Some are questioning the value of higher education: 28% of Gen Zs and 29% of millennials expressed concerns about the relevance of the higher education curriculum to the job market, and the practical experience it offers. Many are also worried about the cost of higher education, with 61% of Gen Zs and 47% of millennials in Singapore citing it as a primary concern, compared to 40% of Gen Zs and 38% of millennials globally.
  

The impact of Gen AI at work

Many Gen Zs (63%) and millennials (71%) in Singapore are using Gen AI in their day-to-day work and seeing improvements in their work quality. However, concerns about the impact of Gen AI on the workforce persist:

• Gen AI users have mixed feelings about its impact: Most of them agree that the technology frees up their time and improves their work/life balance (75% of Gen Zs, 80% of millennials), and that it has improved their work output (82% of Gen Zs, 87% of millennials). However, they also worry it will eliminate jobs (72% of Gen Zs, 77% of millennials) and say it is motivating them to look for jobs that are less vulnerable to Gen AI-driven disruption (75% of Gen Zs, 77% of millennials).
  

The pursuit of money, meaning, and well-being

When asked about the factors that impact their career decisions, Gen Zs and millennials gave responses that fell into three categories: money, meaning, and well-being. These findings underscore how these areas are tightly interconnected, as respondents in Singapore seek to find the right balance:

• Financial insecurity is on the rise: More than half of Gen Zs (62%) and millennials (52%) say cost of living is their top concern, up from 56% of Gen Zs and 31% of millennials in last year’s survey. More than half (56% of Gen Zs, 52% of millennials) say they live paycheque to paycheque, and about one-third (37% of Gen Zs, 32% of millennials) worry that they will not be able to retire with financial comfort. Among respondents who reported experiencing stress or anxiety, 46% of Gen Zs and 37% of millennials cited concern about their long-term financial future as the top contributing factor.
• Purpose influences career choices: Nearly all Gen Zs (94%) and millennials (98%) consider a sense of purpose as a crucial factor for job satisfaction and well-being. 34% of Gen Zs and 46% of millennials have rejected a potential employer based on their personal ethics or beliefs, while 40% of Gen Zs and 51% of millennials have left a job because they felt it lacked purpose.
• Work has a strong connection to well-being and identity: 37% of Gen Zs and 49% of millennials cited work as a top factor that shapes their sense of identity. In addition, 32% of Gen Zs and 39% of millennials identified their job as a primary source of anxiety or stress, with long working hours, insufficient time to complete their work, and inadequate recognition and reward being the top three factors driving stress at work.
  

“Gen Zs and millennials have been consistent about their priorities at work, but as the world of work shifts rapidly around them, employers need to rethink how they can best meet their needs,” continued Elizabeth FABER. “By being thoughtful about the impact of technology and modernising the way work is structured, leaders have an opportunity to evaluate how the workforce is supported while advancing their organisation.”

To learn more, read the full report here: www.deloitte.com/genzmillennialsurvey.

About Deloitte Global 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey

Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey reflects the responses of 14,751 Gen Zs (born between 1995 January and 2006 December*) and 8,731 millennials (born between 1983 January and 1994 December). In total, 23,482 respondents were surveyed from 44 countries across North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The survey was conducted using an online, self-complete-style interview between 25 October and 24 December 2024. The report includes quotes from survey respondents, attributed by generation and gender, who answered open-ended questions, as well as from participants in one-on-one, ethnography style, qualitative interviews conducted separately from the online survey between 19 December 2024 and 10 January 2025.

* Gen Zs are typically defined as being born between January 1995 and December 2010, but this study does not include respondents younger than 18, so each year the definition of Gen Zs in this survey shifts a year to include all adult Gen Zs