Millennials and generation Z employees’ financial knowledge and behaviour nexus perspective for public entities within eThekwini Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

Financial knowledge and behaviour in millennials and Gen Z's turbulent and volatile environment are fundamental behavioural traits for a desirable work-life balance. They could contribute to work motivation and a comfortable social life. However, the financial knowledge, financial literacy and financial behaviour viewed from an organizational context are still far from homogeneity and linearity as Gen Y and Z have to navigate through challenging settings while thriving to enjoy financial and investment-balanced decision-making and problem-solving albeit limited disposable income against a plethora of spending pressures. This study explores the synergy between financial knowledge contribution and financial behaviour that culminates in sound investment prioritisation amongst Gen Y and Z professionals in the employment of public entities. The study used the qualitative research approach to unpack the challenges facing Gen Y and Z from fifteen professionals in navigating a prosperous financial future. The findings revealed that the existential restrictive nature of the economic climate and the sluggish economic growth, characterised by the heightened cost of living and inflationary pressure, have not exempted Gen Y and Z, while the broader society is experiencing the worst unemployment. The findings also revealed that even though the participants are in relatively well-remunerating positions from their respective positions, their financial knowledge and commensurate financial literacy could be superseded by actual financial behaviour, which is symptomatic with the current era of rampant price increases on almost every product, assets and purchases which are meant to improve their standard of living and stable quality of life.  

Keywords: {'name': 'Financial knowledge, financial literacy, financial behaviour, spending patterns, investment choices '}

Authors & affiliations

Charles Tony Ngwenya
Affiliation not supplied

Thalia Chetty
Affiliation not supplied

Deposited references

Supplied references, not a list of publications citing this article.

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252563

Aminatuzzahra, A., & Nasir, M. (2014). Perception of the influence of financial knowledge, financial attitudes, and socio-demographics on financial behaviour in individual investment decision making (Doctoral dissertation, UNDIP: Faculty of Economics and Business).

DOI: 10.35808/ersj/734

Arya, P. (2018). Financial literacy and financial education in India: An assessment. International Research Journal of Commerce Arts and Science, 9(3), 72–80. https://doi.org/10.2018/SS/202211005

DOI: 10.20409/berj.2016321805

DOI: 10.7441/joc.2016.03.06

DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511711930.003

Bialik, K., & Fry, R. (2019). Millennial life: How young adulthood today compares with prior generations. Pew Research Center, 14.

DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111822

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

Deloitte. (2024). Gen Z and Millennial Survey: Living and working with purpose in a transforming world. Online: https://www.deloitte.com. Accessed: 20 August 2024.

DOI: 10.1134/S1075700715040036

Genoese, A. N. (2016). Millennials as consumers: Can businesses survive as is?

Idris, F. H., Krishnan, K. S. D., & Azmi, N. (2013). Relationship between financial literacy and financial distress among youths in Malaysia: An empirical study. Geografia, 9(4).

DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v10i8.1530

DOI: 10.1007/s10834-019-09649-9

DOI: 10.1111/fcsr.12381

DOI: 10.1186/s41937-019-0027-5

DOI: 10.1177/0886368718822053

Nadu, T. (2020). Here is Generation Z: Work attitude and characteristics of newer generation. Dogo Rangsang Research Journal, 6(10), 44-50. URL: www.drsrjournal.com

DOI: 10.20473/jmtt.v15i1.33774

DOI: 10.33884/commed.v4i2.1585

Oppenheimer, J. A. (2008). Rational choice theory. Encyclopaedia of Political Theory, 3, 1150-1159.

DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2020.1743618

Pk, H., & Reddy, R. J. (2020). An insight to financial literacy in India – A review of literature. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 7(9), 1442–1450. URL: www.jetir.org

DOI: 10.24843/EEB.2017.v06.i09.p09

DOI: 10.1177/2158244017697158

DOI: 10.1057/s41264-021-00109-w

DOI: 10.1108/RAUSP-04-2018-0008

DOI: 10.9744/jmk.22.2.142-151

Reinicke, C. (2022). Past financial crises have made millennials ‘more cautious, more proactive’ in how they manage money, survey finds. CNBC, June, 21. URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/21/past-financial-crises-have-affected-how-millennials-manage-money.html

DOI: 10.38035/dijefa.v1i5.595

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190269999.003.0014

DOI: 10.24191/jeeir.v1i3.9130

Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2023). Research methods for business students. Harlow, England: Pearson.

Sekar, M., & Gowri, M. (2015). A study on measuring financial literacy among young employees in Coimbatore City. Gyan Management Journal, 9(1), 63-72. URL: https://acspublisher.com/journals/index.php/gmj/article/view/590

DOI: 10.24912/jm.v25i3.758

Stahl, A. (2019). How Generation Z will revolutionise the workplace. Forbes. Online: https://www.forbes.com [Accessed: 20 August 2024]

DOI: 10.4108/eai.5-8-2020.2301129

DOI: 10.17358/ijbe.9.1.91

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-0702-3_2

Tiwari, A., & Yadav, A. (2022). A study of financial literacy and financial behaviour among millennials and Generation Z. Journal of The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, ISSN, 0972-0766. http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7251292

Villa, D., & Dorsey, J. (2017). The state of Gen Z 2017: Meet the throwback generation. The Centre for Generational Kinetics.