Understanding career aspirations of China’s Generation Z: a qualitative interpretive study

Abstract

While researchers increasingly recognise the need to understand the career aspirations of Generation Z (Gen Z) (born between 1995 and 2012), current empirical studies, predominantly quantitative, mainly focus on Western contexts. Non-Western Gen Z populations have received limited scholarly attention, creating a significant gap in the human resource development (HRD) literature. This study addresses this gap by conducting a qualitative study to capture the career aspirations of 26 Chinese Gen Z participants in China. Findings reveal that China’s Gen Z had unique talent-based, needs-based, and value-based career aspirations that reflect a complex negotiation between global generational trends and local socio-cultural influences. The study makes two key contributions: first, it advances theoretical understanding by proposing a culturally mediated career development (CMCD) model. Second, it offers empirically grounded, culturally informed HRD strategies to better attract, engage, and retain China’s Gen Z talent. This study opened the door to an almost uncharted territory (China’s Gen Z) and outlined a new research agenda.

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