Wage expectations and work preferences of Generation Z: profiles, determinants, and employer branding implications

This paper aims to identify the wage expectations of Generation Z students in the Czech Republic, determine their key determinants, and develop wage profiles capturing specific combinations of career aspirations, competence self-concept, work preferences, and value orientations among the emerging generation of university graduates.Based on a quantitative questionnaire survey conducted among 594 university students, the study identifies the key determinants of wage expectations-gender, field of study, level of study, preferred work location, and competence self-concept-and analyses their relationship with attitudes towards employee loyalty, job stability, and willingness to deliver extra-role performance.Four distinct wage profiles of Generation Z students are identified based on expected gross starting salary: the Stability-Oriented Regional Profile, the Mainstream Stability Profile, the Corporate-Metropolitan Profile, and the High-Ambition Independent Profile.A specific combination of competence self-concept, career aspirations, employer and location preferences, and orientation towards stability characterises each profile.The paper also compares students' wage expectations with actual starting salaries offered by selected Czech and European employers, thereby assessing the degree of alignment between subjective expectations and labour-market realities.The findings show that higher wage expectations are not associated with unconditional work engagement but rather with a conditional performance orientation consistent with the logic of a reciprocal psychological contract.The study further identifies a retention paradox: the most competent and ambitious segment simultaneously reports the lowest willingness to remain with an employer over the long term.The results provide practical implications for employerbranding strategies and recruitment communication targeted at different Generation Z segments and contribute to the development of educational, remuneration, and human-resource policies in the Czech Republic and the broader European context.