Nobody dreams of becoming a middle manager, but Gen Z is the first generation to refuse such a role. Gen Z will make up 30 percent of the global workforce by 2030. The oldest members are now 29 years old, and they’re becoming bosses. But they haven’t lost their propensity to question the reasoning behind rote roles and systems. To the astonishment of older generations, next gen employees don’t define professionalism as corporate obedience. They don’t define professionalism as emotionlessness, either.
Will a typical anesthetized professional landscape soon be a thing of the past? All signs point to yes, but only if Gen Z employees can stop getting fired first. A recent study found that 6 in 10 companies fired a recent college graduate they hired this year. While many next gens haven’t yet come close to upper management roles (does an image of turtle hatchlings scurrying to the ocean come to mind?), those who stick around are already overhauling existing processes, workplace culture, and the meaning of the word “respect.”
How are Gen Z bosses different? And the answer is: First they don’t really want to be a boss if it compromises their values and life/work balance, but if they are, they are more empathetic and openminded, and welcome questioning the status quo.
Conscious Unbossing
Have you ever heard of a 20-something refusing a promotion because it’s not really their vibe? You’re about to. As next gens advance in their careers, a fascinating development is emerging; and no, it’s not the infamous Gen Z stare in the boardroom or the Gen Z pout materializing in staff photos. It’s “conscious unbossing,” aka their refusal of traditional middle management roles that were stepping-stones for previous younger employees. Here’s an impressive statistic: 40 percent of Gen Z professionals want a promotion only if it doesn’t involve managing others. That’s higher than any other generation.
While prior generations may not have enjoyed taking middle management roles due to their low pay, losing popularity with their peers, and giving up work/life balance that may not serve their long-term career goals, they saw it as a necessary evil. That’s no longer the case. Gen Z’s preference for work-life balance isn’t just lip service; many genuinely won’t accept roles that take over their lives without commensurate compensation. An Instagram profile employeetears recently shared a viral post about Gen Z employees resigning with the phrase “It’s giving shackled.”
“It’s giving shackled” has become a slogan for next gens leaving workplaces that feel restrictive, citing reasons including a lack of work/life balance, demands for on-site work, uncompensated overtime, or bureaucratic top-down management styles. Gen Z is avoiding middle management by seeking roles that are expertise-driven or positions as individual contributors. It’s not that they don’t want to work their way to the top, but they don’t necessarily believe the corporate ladder should have a “top,” preferring collaborative, all-hands-on-deck environments where everyone has a voice in company operations.
Structural Change Comes with the Territory
This generation distrusts existing power structures and doesn’t blindly accept workplace hierarchies; respect must be earned, not grandfathered in. When next gens do take on middle management positions, redefining the status quo comes with the territory. Gen Z’s affinity for asking “why” has already made them infamous to traditional employers. A recent study by Resume Builder found that 74 percent of managers and business leaders find it harder to work with Gen Z than any other generation. The top reasons are Gen Z’s “resistance to learn in-office software and adopt company-wide tools, effort, and motivation,” but also that they are “too easily offended.” Which makes sense, considering that Generation Z is the most diverse generation to date, and they live with the backing of online communities within their demographic.
In the past, subtle racial and gender inequities may have been swept under the rug in the service of the shared goals of the company. Their Gen X and millennial predecessors may not have spoken out about issues of unethical treatment in the workplace out of fear of losing their jobs or not being seen as a “team player” (a term that’s caused marginalized communities to bite their tongues since being a “team player” often means not speaking up about workplace injustices, such as offensive jokes, unfair allotment of opportunities, or dated practices that uphold existing hegemonies). For many Generation Z workers, not compromising their values can feel as important to their personal survival as keeping a job––especially in light of the proliferation of mental health issues that Gen Z continues to navigate in adulthood. A job that’s unaligned with their values can quickly be categorized as soul-crushing, and they’d rather be broke than miserable.
Gen Z as Bosses
One in ten bosses is now a Gen Z. While their affinity for questioning systems and power structures often means trouble for their supervisors, it’s good news for those who work for them. After all, who wouldn’t prefer a boss who doesn’t believe blindly in the inflexibility of corporate hierarchies? Next gen managers prioritize transparency and workplace flexibility, and their aversion to top-down management models means they’re amenable to listening to an employee’s concerns. Asking “why” isn’t frowned upon by Gen Z managers because the query is not seen as criticism; it’s seen as an intellectual investment in the company’s success.
The interpretation of “professional attire” has also changed since Gen Z entered the workforce. We’ve long known that uncomfortable, restrictive clothing and excessively formal workplace attire like high heels and suffocating polyester blend skirts can emotionally and psychologically hinder one’s ability to do their best work. In-office sartorial conformity is falling by the wayside in favor of employees wearing whatever they believe will help them maximize performance. Employees who do their best work in sweatpants and sneakers will find little argument from Gen Z bosses. Employees who want to wear short shorts to cope with rising temperatures will often find their Gen Z boss celebrates that choice.
Office wear is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Gen Z bosses bridging the gap between the personal and professional. The demand for emotional intelligence and empathy is on the rise in the modern workplace, which is an arena in which Gen Z managers––who came of age in a time of unparalleled transparency about mental health––are uniquely equipped to exceed expectations. With one caveat: Generation Z is transparent about well-being in a different way than their millennial predecessors. For Gen Z, discussions about mental health are fine in the real world, but oversharing online is not. In fact, online oversharing has long been a point of contention between Gen Z and millennials; Gen Z rejects millennials’ curated, “always-on” internet personas as a fast track to inducing burnout.
Privacy, PTO, and Pathos, Oh My!
Don’t make the mistake of assuming that Gen Z managers are ambivalent about company performance and are chronically online. Quite the contrary: A Gen Z boss will likely approve PTO requests. However, they may be more likely than their predecessors to ask employees to put away their phones. As Gen Z closes in on the C-suite, the era of in-person collaboration is back; but only when employees resist distraction and can dedicate their full selves to the day’s workflow, have authentic conversations about mental health, and explain why processes exist in the first place.
Rather than deride next gens for their flexibility and authenticity, retail leaders might ask why it took this long to question unreasonable, inflexible systems of perceived power. And maybe they should be ready for when next gen managers approach longstanding infrastructures with a new lens and question “why?”
