The Changing Attitude of Gen Z in the Workplace
When Nick Ash was in his twenties, he didn’t think twice about working overtime when it was required. He attended events outside of working hours, often stayed late in the office, and took every opportunity to socialize with colleagues. However, as the managing director of Lincolnshire-based W&P Legal, he has found himself somewhat frustrated by the attitude of some of his younger team members towards out-of-hours commitments.
Recently, when the firm hosted a big party to celebrate a company anniversary, complete with free food, drinks, and live music, the younger staff members were unimpressed. “We really struggled to get the younger staff involved,” says Ash, who has eight staff members in their twenties in a team of 17. “Our Christmas party – also free for staff – is struggling for numbers. Team-building events have been abandoned, because nobody wants to suggest anything or be involved.”
It is not about the work, he says – everyone is pulling their weight. But he is concerned that by refusing to do anything outside their contracted hours, Gen Z are being held back in their careers, and missing out on engaging with their colleagues.
“They just don’t seem to realize that your job is a big part of your life,” he says. “It sometimes feels like they see work as something to get through rather than something to get involved in.” Ash, born in 1964, comes from a time when a drink after work, or at lunch, was the norm. He made friends and learned things he would never have picked up in the workplace. “If you never go to an event,” he says, “you miss out on the informal learning and networking. Things like picking up new skills, understanding the business, or just hearing about opportunities. Just knowing more about your colleagues in a social setting can give real insight into how they think and work. That alone can make life at work more tolerable and more efficient.”
As for working extra hours – forget about it, unless it’s being paid for, or time in lieu offered. “Five thirty on the dot and they are gone,” says Ash.
It’s a phenomenon that marketing director James* has never seen anything like in his 40-plus year marketing career. “Everyone is out of the door at five on the dot. There seems to be little loyalty and teamwork,” laments James, who works for a health company based in the east of England, with a largely 20-something team of 12.
“In general, Gen Z don’t want to work overtime or do anything outside work hours. It’s a very different attitude to just a few years ago. Everyone these days seems to be entitled. Gen Z seems more concerned with individualism and being independent, rather than being interdependent and team-focused. Their ‘rights’ and how they ‘identify’ is more important. But this job for me has never been just nine to five.”
A New ‘Work to Rule’ Generation
It isn’t just happening to Ash and James. According to Owl Labs’ survey of 2,000 full-time workers in the UK, Gen Z were most likely to “work to rule,” or do only what’s in their job description, strictly within contracted hours, compared with Millennials, Gen X and Boomers.
And, data from graduate jobs platform Bright Network reveals that 58 per cent of Gen Z do not expect to regularly work outside of their contracted hours.
It’s having an impact across many sectors – headteachers and parents complain that teachers are now reluctant to help at, or even attend, Christmas or summer fairs.
One headteacher of a London primary school says he’s seen a rise in “job description culture” among young teachers. Though he understands that evening events can be inconvenient, he feels “discretionary effort is on the wane” among young teachers.
“I have seen a decline in patience and resilience in younger colleagues. Career progression is now expected by many in the education sector, as opposed to earned.”
Creatives say their young team members don’t read newspapers or books in their spare time – something they always did, to generate ideas and stay informed about their area.
“The benefits of going to out of hours events are not held as highly by Gen Z as other generations,” says Andrew Hulbert, vice chair of facilities management company Pareto and chair of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. Hulbert manages around 12 Gen Z team members across several ventures.
“When I was their age, I did not even think about boundaries, I just worked. The old school of thought of ‘attending events gets more sales’ hasn’t always trickled down to the Gen Zs. I think it’s the responsibility of the older generations to bring the younger ones on a journey.”
Time vs Impact
A manager who works for a charity says he used to complain that his young reports were too keen to keep to hours and not go beyond their job description, but is now seeing signs of change. “I suspect a lot of it was Covid-connected. The feelings of hopelessness and the mental health crisis during that time, and the trends for ‘quiet quitting’ led to people self-limiting their personal development. My team have been doing really well this year and seem more proactive and sociable.”
Some argue that they have a healthier approach to work-life balance, that’s helping to banish presenteeism and burnout. Hannah Penn, joint managing director of advertising agency Pablo, recalls one of her first bosses as a junior executive telling her that she should be the last to leave the office, as a sign of her dedication.
“Gen Z are less inclined to work beyond their contracted hours for no reason. They aren’t sat clock watching like I was at 7pm because their boss hasn’t yet left,” says Penn, who manages around 35 Gen Z employees in her 100-strong agency.
“They’re advocating for themselves and their time more confidently than my generation did. What I see is a cohort who are better at demanding some of the fundamentals in business; they want to know what they are working towards, how they contribute to the overall goals of a business, and they want to feel actively valued and invested in.”
James acknowledges that having entered the workplace in a protracted cost of living crisis, with the threat of AI, Gen Z understandably don’t have the same expectations of a job for life.
“An ex-colleague of mine has just been made redundant after completing 25 years’ service. He said to me, ‘all that extra effort and commitment was in the end worth nothing’. I think Gen Z understands that,” he says.
Boundaries in the Future of Work
Leadership coach Rachel Cashman says that managers struggling with Gen Z team members who are unwilling to spend more time at work need to take a look at themselves instead. “Many managers and leaders I work with are, frankly, out at sea,” Cashman observes.
“It’s not that Gen Z lacks commitment; it’s that they’re redefining what sustainable, healthy high performance looks like. And that is uncomfortable because it challenges deeply ingrained managerial norms about visibility, productivity, and loyalty.”
Indeed, dictating ‘how things have always been done’ is no longer sustainable, argues Gen Z engagement expert Shoshanna Davis. “Boundaries aren’t a lack of work ethic, they’re the future of work,” she says.
“The workplace has fundamentally changed. Overtime shouldn’t be the default, it should be transparent, compensated fairly and never used as a measure of commitment. Most young people are happy to put in extra effort at key moments, but they aren’t willing to sacrifice wellbeing for performative presenteeism.”
Her advice to employers is simple: be transparent about expectations in job postings and throughout the hiring process, compensate for extra time fairly and avoid equating late nights with loyalty. “Modern performance is about impact, not hours,” she adds.
Pareto’s Hulbert is finding much to admire about his Gen Z employees, conceding that, in many ways, “they’ve got it right.” “They are not afraid to say no when something crosses into their personal time, and they see balance as part of doing their best work, not a sign of weakness,” he says.
“I think their mindset comes from growing up in a world where burnout and mental health are openly discussed. They are rewriting an outdated culture that said longer hours meant more ambition.”
But he still believes there is a place for taking up extra opportunities to learn and progress. “Success still takes relentless effort, and those who go the extra mile will always stand out. It is about finding the balance, working smart but also being willing to outwork your competitors when it really counts,” he says.