Star power: Shocking number of Gen Zs do this before accepting a job offer

A recent study found that a staggering 41% of Gen Z and millennials research the zodiac sign of their potential bosses and colleagues before accepting a job offer. 

Why is the younger and younger-ish generation turning to the time-honored practice of astrology to help them determine if a job is the right fit?

According to research, Gen Z employees are less likely to work in independent and self-directed workspaces — as they value human contact and collaboration. This suggests who they work with is just as important to this demographic as the work that they do.

In astrology, the birth chart is a map of selfhood that indicates certain inclinations and temperaments. Thus, it’s reasonable and perhaps even advisable to do a little star stalking before joining forces with a company.

Synastry is the study of the interaction between two birth charts. While most people use it to determine romantic compatibility, the same principles can be applied to any relationship, personal or professional.

The same survey found that 62% of Gen Z respondents would accept a lower salary in return for a better work-life balance.

Gen Z workers also prioritize a supportive work environment, as 78% said the workplace should build community, social connections and belonging — and 75% stated that having fun at work is important.

In this sense, the youthful workforce values connection, compatibility and collaboration, and astrology lends itself to both.

However, in terms of astrology, work compatibility does not necessarily translate to ease or similarity.

As the motivational poster in your high school locker room maintains, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you, and if we think of our careers with a growth mindset, we shouldn’t seek to work with or for people who are inherently like us.  

While there’s no shame in being celestially curious about your co-workers, it’s more beneficial (and significantly more professional) to familiarize yourself with the company’s culture, mission statement, benefits, DE&I policy, and reputation among employees past and present. 

It makes more sense to be energetically aligned with the values and intent of the company that you are considering than astrologically compatible with your coworkers.

If you make it to the interview stage of the game, may I humbly recommend not asking your potential employer for an advanced copy of their birth chart. If you can find those details online, well played, but play it cool. While it might feel like comradery to tell your future boss that you really get him/her/them because you’re also a Cancer, rushing into that kind of intimate star speak is unwise. 

Instead, make like a Scorpio and pay painstaking attention to how your hiring manager speaks to you and about the company. Do they maintain eye contact? Are they engaged? Did you get the impression that they value time and honor boundaries? Green lights or red flags, folks? Aspirational or disquieting. 

Focus on your instinctual response and save the “what’s your sign” conversation for its natural habitat, happy hour.

Unless, of course, you’re rich and calling the shots, in which case, and as per usual, none of these rules apply to you. Case in point Jennifer Lopez abjectly refusing to hire a Virgo backup dancer. 

Astrology 101: Your guide to the star

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.