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Generation Z in Germany – born after 1995 – follows in many ways similar trends to be seen in other countries. Contrary to Generation Y, it is less career-focussed, less keen on financial rewards and less willing to work flexible in a competitive world with total work–life blending. They look for structure, security and feeling good. What is different: Germany is one of the few countries in the world in which Generation Z in many cases can live up to their dreams. Germany has a prospering economy, a stable society and still a good educational system. Most important, for young people, it has an unemployment rate of virtually zero per cent. Therefore, companies definitely must engage in the war for talents and provide Generation Z with a fitting employer value proposition: Generation Z looks for meaningful and exciting work but seeks also meaning and excitement in private lives. In particular, they demand a clear separation of their private lives from their job. All this stands in contrast to the ambitions of the industrial sector in Germany promoting a more Generation Y-type environment with flexibility, agility and work–life blending. This conflict is not dealt with in an open way, since politics and media stand on the side of the large companies. Still, the power of Generation Z is not to be underestimated. Therefore, the chapter leaves it for the future to find out whether the Generation Z or other forces will win.

Europe currently displays a fascinating complexity. It experiences severe disruptions in the economic and educational systems, the labour markets and the political orientation. Also, we see demographic issues with not enough young people on the one hand, and also not enough acceptable jobs on the other hand. All this raises questions regarding the consequences resulting from these dynamics for the young generation. This chapter deals in particular with the so-called ‘Generation Z’, which started – depending on the chosen author – between 1990 and 1995. In this analysis, the concept of ‘generation’ by Karl Mannheim plays an important role since it explains to us why and how cohorts of people are shaped in a specific period of time in a very similar way. When dealing with Generation Z, the following hypothesis of global convergence immediately comes up: since Generation Z is a digitally connected generation, it must move in the same direction. Even though this is partially true on the global scale, we see differences – even within Europe, since Europe is a heterogeneous space. Therefore, we cannot talk about ‘the European Generation Z’ but rather about the ‘Generations Z in Europe’ with their differences, their similarities and their dreams about their future. Besides arriving at the letter ‘Z’ in Generation Z by just continuing from X and Y to Z, the ‘Z’ provides us another interpretation: It stands for ‘zeitgeist’ and for a promising vision of Europe.

The period of transition to democracy in which Generation Z members in Bulgaria grew up was characterised by profound changes in the economic and social system of the country, with frequent episodes of chaos and instability resulting in a long-term demographic decline. At the same time, the years of their adolescence have been marked by globalisation processes and the rapid development of digital technologies opening countless opportunities for work, study and travel to this group of young people.

Although research on Generation Z in Bulgaria is scarce, in this chapter, we have attempted to draw a portrait of the typical representative of the young generation based on the results of a couple of empirical surveys. Decreasing social orientation, less focus on sustaining interpersonal relationships and lower self-confidence and initiative are among our most remarkable observations making this generation of young people rather different than previous ones. Furthermore, Generation Z members were found to be quite demanding at work requiring stress-free working conditions, good work–life balance, opportunities for competency development and adequate pay from employers. This certainly creates a serious challenge for Bulgarian employers who might have to change their standard human resource practices in order to attract and retain the potential of this new group of employees. Generation Z members could be a source of innovation, meaningfulness and flexibility for the Bulgarian labour market and because of that they certainly need to be studied in more detail.