According to the “Labor Market 2026” report by Coc Coc Research, nearly half of workers are considering new job opportunities and 28.1 percent are ready to change jobs when a suitable opportunity arises, with Gen Z being the most proactive group as 32.8 percent are actively seeking new jobs.

The first thing businesses need is not a hasty reaction after each resignation letter, but strategic awareness, the ability to correctly read the silent signals occurring inside the organization.

Companies easily misread young people. When seeing them change jobs more often, many managers quickly attribute it to a lack of patience, boredom or disloyalty.

Second, companies also misread the value of work. For many young people, a good job is not only a place that generates income, but also a place that helps them acquire capabilities, be respected, have creative space, and maintain a balanced life.

Third, companies often misread turnover data. If one person leaves, it may be a personal choice. But when resignations increase, it becomes important management data, reflecting bottlenecks in how the company assigns work, gives feedback, or how it recognizes, develops and retains people.

Looking deeper, the fundamental mismatch lies here—many companies still see young people as “human resources” to allocate, control, and optimize for short-term performance, while young people see work as an investment in their own “human capital.” 

When one side wants to exploit quickly and the other wants long-term growth, attachment becomes fragile.

Thus, a company’s strategic awareness lies in distinguishing what is personal lack of persistence, what is a timely decision to leave, and what signals that the organization lacks talent management capability in the new era.

‘Adaptive execution’ 

Reading signals correctly is only the first step. More important is whether the company has enough adaptive execution capability to promptly adjust management touchpoints that risk disconnecting young people from the organization. 

Adaptive execution capability is the ability to recognize problems in daily work experience and pivot in time before actual turnover occurs.

For young staff, engagement is not created by a single big policy, but by a chain of small touchpoints during work.

The first touchpoint is task assignment. Young people don’t just need tasks assigned; they need to understand what goal the task serves, what meaning it has, and what capability it helps them develop.

The second touchpoint is feedback from direct managers. Many young people don’t leave because the work is hard, but because they don’t know whether they’re doing well, what needs improvement, whether they’re progressing, and whether the organization sees their effort.

The third touchpoint is the initial onboarding phase. For young staff, the first 30–60–90 days on the job is a period prone to breakdown. 

If probation is not transparent, if new hires are not guided, if team culture is unhealthy, or if managers only assign work without accompanying them, the organization can lose staff before they even understand the job and demonstrate their capabilities.

The fourth touchpoint is early detection of disconnection signals. Turnover often doesn’t start from a single incident, but from experiences that aren’t addressed in time. 

Innovation to create launchpad for youth 

If strategic awareness helps companies read signals correctly, and adaptive execution capability helps companies adjust management touchpoints in time, then strategic innovation requires companies to go further— to redesign the relationship between the organization and young people. 

In the new labor market, retaining young people cannot rely only on labor contracts, salary, or calls for loyalty.

More important is that companies must create a compelling “development contract” so young people want to stay and accompany the organization. A labor contract only retains young people’s presence. A development contract retains their commitment, energy, and aspiration to grow.

A “development contract” means young people stay not only to complete assigned work, but to see themselves growing through the work process itself. For the “development contract” not to stop at slogans, companies must answer three basic questions about young people’s work experience.

First, do young people see themselves progressing?

Second, do young people feel that their capabilities and contributions are being recognized properly?

Third, do young people see a clear future?

Associate Professor, PhD Phan Chi Anh, Dean of the School of Business Administration (SBA), VNU University of Economics and Business
PhD Pham Manh Hung, School of Business Administration (SBA), VNU University of Economics and Business