Concerns among Gen Z workers about remote work and their careers as well as all generations’ concerns about being replaced by technology were among trends found in a study released last week by LHH, a division of The Adecco Group. The research focused on the readiness of workers for the future of work and to take on their next roles.

Some 2,000 participants across different age groups in the financial sectors of the US, UK and France were included in the portion of the research released.

Among the findings:

• Women remain less confident in their career trajectories. Despite 84% of women feeling they have the skills needed to advance, study findings revealed that women are more anxious about their next career move than men. At the same time, men feel like they can grow their careers more than women.
• Gen Z is the most vulnerable group of workers. Lack of in-person workplace connections, training opportunities, and work-life balance have all impacted how Gen Z feels about remote work and their careers overall.
• Workers remain anxious about technology replacing them. More than one-third of respondents were identified as “technophobes,” expressing real worry over whether their skills would have a place in a world increasingly dominated by technology. Older technophobes (especially between ages 45 to 54) were found to be working 40% harder than their peers to keep up, while also demonstrating less self-belief.

The study “not only enables us to design more impactful and relevant solutions for the challenges facing the workforce but also provides much-needed clarity to business leaders looking to better understand their employees and the changes they need to make in order to improve retention and overall productivity,” said Mary-Clare Race, psychologist and chief innovation and product officer at LHH.