Browse our jobs and apply for your next role.
Reach out to us or discover some great insights that could help you fill your next vacancy.
PageGroup changes lives for people through creating opportunity to reach potential.
We find the best talent for our clients and match candidates to their ideal jobs.
Salary Guides 2025
Gen Z is transforming tech workplaces with expectations around communication, purpose, flexibility, wellbeing, and fair compensation. These needs aren’t new, but what’s different is how vocal and persistent Gen Z is about them—making it impossible for organisations to ignore. Their strong focus on meaningful work and work-life balance is changing how tech companies hire, pushing them to offer more flexible, purpose-driven roles. Understanding these priorities is essential for organisations looking to attract and retain this emerging workforce.
Here’s what you can expect from this article:
The 2025 Talent Trends - Spotlight on Technology offers a clear picture. After speaking with 5,000 tech professionals worldwide, the message is consistent. Across generations, people are prioritising flexibility, purpose, wellbeing, and competitive pay.
But one group is standing out.
By 2030, Gen Z and Millennials will make up about 74% of the global workforce, with Gen Z leading the way in openly and consistently expressing their expectations. That’s why we’ve taken a closer look at what drives this generation—and what it means for employers across the tech industry.
As Deloitte Study highlights, reveals Middle East youth are rewriting the rules of success, seeking money, meaning, and well-being. The requests are not new, but the clarity and confidence behind them are gaining momentum.
In tech, where transparency and speed are part of the culture, surface-level perks are no longer enough. People are looking for meaningful, lasting change —and Gen Z is leading the charge.
That’s why dismissive labels like “unfaithful” or “defiant” miss the point. Today’s professionals value purposeful work, fair recognition, and a culture that protects wellbeing. They are simply less willing to compromise.
The question for organisations is not whether to adapt. It is how quickly can they?
Young talent in technology is highly ambitious. In fact, our Talent Trends - Spotlight on Technology found that around 40% are aiming for promotions within their first few years. But ambition doesn’t come at any cost: many are willing to walk away if climbing the ladder compromises their mental health.
Half of these professionalssay they would turn down a promotion if it negatively affected their wellbeing — a clear sign that balance is becoming non-negotiable for younger workers. Interestingly, while Gen Z is driving this shift, workers aged 50 and over are even more likely to prioritise mental health, with 57% saying they’d refuse a promotion for the same reason. For Gen Z, though, it’s less about slowing down and more about redefining what success looks like.
This mindset reflects a broader trend across industries, from law to logistics. Gen Z is determined to avoid overwork unless the rewards are clearly worth it, as reported by Deloitte Study
Key Takeaway: In the tech world in the Middle East, constant pressures from tight deadlines and rapidly evolving fields like AI and cybersecurity make burnout a real risk. Employers must support career growth by regularly discussing goals, training managers to spot burnout early, and offering preventive measures like recharge days or flexible schedules. Gen Z seeks growth without sacrificing wellbeing, so employers must make certain ambition doesn’t come at a personal cost.
Tech teams often work across time zones and rely on remote setups. For Gen Z, flexible schedules and remote-first policies aren’t perks—they’re essentials.
Our research shows 87% of Gen Z tech workers are open to new roles. Their active presence on LinkedIn, GitHub, and tech forums pushes employers to move fast. Raised with startups and open-source projects, they expect modern tools and efficient workflows—and won’t tolerate outdated systems that slow them down.
This tech-savvy mindset is driving real change in engineering culture and leadership. Employers can meet these demands by fostering innovation labs focused on ethical AI and practicing transparent decision-making with regular town halls to build trust.
They grew up using digital tools to run side projects and learn new skills, so slow, outdated systems and rigid processes are dealbreakers.
Key Takeaway: To meet these expectations, employers should focus on outcomes over hours and provide tools that ease work—like AI coding assistants and cloud-based environments. They must regularly review tools and involve Gen Z in decisions, fostering flexibility in systems and culture. Empowered with the right support, teams become more productive, engaged, and likely to stay.
While salary is still important, with nearly half of Gen Z candidates saying it is a key factor, our Talent Trends Spotlight on Technology found that 67% report being satisfied with their current pay. This is actually higher than other generations.
How satisfied is each age group with their salaries?
What really drives long-term retention is feeling connected to a company’s mission in tech. This younger talent cares deeply about things like ethical AI development, data privacy, sustainability in tech infrastructure, and transparent leadership. Superficial mission statements are not enough.
Key Takeaway: Tech departments in the Middle East need to demonstrate their commitments every day through inclusive engineering practices, transparent product roadmaps, and genuine community engagement. They should create space for employees to speak up, regularly highlight progress on ethical and sustainability goals, and guarantee leadership is accessible and accountable. When Gen Z sees that a company’s mission is more than just words, they are much more likely to stay and grow with the company.
The tech world is dynamic, and Gen Z reflects this in their career expectations.
• 72% plan to leave their current role within three years • Only 7% intend to stay beyond five years
Gen Z views changing roles as a strategic way to develop skills, embrace new challenges, and make meaningful contributions rather than a sign of disloyalty. This mindset reflects a broader shift in how younger professionals define success—prioritising continuous learning and purposeful progress over long-term tenure.
Key Takeaway: Young tech professionals in the Middle East are more willing than any other generation to explore new opportunities. Rather than focusing on length of service, employers should create environments that offer meaningful impact and growth during each role. Supporting this approach will help attract and retain ambitious Gen Z talent.
The expectations of this new generation are here to stay, and tech companies face a choice: adapt authentically or risk losing top talent.
Outline growth from junior roles to leadership with skill milestones and mentorship. Prioritise stress management and burnout prevention.
Enable async work and trust-based scheduling. Provide modern cloud tools that support seamless collaboration from anywhere.
Show how each job supports goals like responsible AI, open-source, or sustainability. Share progress and invite feedback.
Outdated stacks drive attrition. Adopt AI-powered development tools and support lifelong learning—key to Gen Z’s loyalty and growth mindset.
Promote policies for reasonable hours, mental health days, and open dialogue. Make wellbeing a daily practice, not just a policy.
Gen Z’s voice in tech is clear and public. Recruiters and managers see it daily on social media, developer communities, and through rapid feedback cycles.
Tech companies that treat mental health, flexibility, purpose, and growth as checkboxes risk rapid talent loss.
The future belongs to tech employers who embrace urgency, authenticity, and integrity in meeting this generations expectations—transforming workplaces not just for this generation but for the evolving tech landscape ahead.
If you want to learn more about how these changes will shape the future, take a look at our Talent Trends 2025 report for deeper insights, or contact us so we can help you recruit the best tech talent.
Looking for top professionals to join your team? Talk to us about your recruitment needs today.
Get the latest salary benchmarks and hiring trends across industries in the Middle East.
