Gen Z Rejects Promotions: Why Young Workers Shun Leadership Roles

For Generation Z, career success is no longer defined by job promotions. Instead of pursuing managerial positions, many young workers now prefer to maintain a work-life balance. This trend presents a new challenge for companies preparing future leaders, as fewer young employees are interested in occupying management roles. Tomasz Szklarski, CEO of Enpulse and an employee engagement expert, stated that only about 6% of Gen Z globally aspire to become senior managers or bosses. “Looking at global research, only about 6% of Generation Z want to take on senior management roles and become the boss. For organisations and their structures, this is a very big problem,” Szklarski said. He noted that Gen Z’s reluctance to become managers is primarily triggered by the increasing responsibilities attached to the position. In recent years, the number of employees under a single manager has increased significantly. Where previously a manager supervised an average of about six people, that number has now risen to around 12. This situation places greater pressure on managers. On one hand, they must meet business targets set by directors and executives. On the other, they are also required to guide, motivate, and maintain the well-being of an increasingly large team. “Generation Z has carefully considered the meaning of life and work balance compared to the sacrifices required to become a boss. They clearly see the burden a manager must bear,” Szklarski said. According to him, a manager is not only responsible to superiors but must also continuously support a larger and more complex team. Szklarski assessed that this trend is not just a problem for individual companies but a global phenomenon with potentially major impacts, especially in Europe. The continent is currently facing demographic changes causing the workforce to shrink. “There will be fewer and fewer people working, especially in Europe. If we do not prepare a new generation of managers and encourage them to take responsibility for leading teams, organisations will face increasingly greater challenges in maintaining efficiency,” he said. Although artificial intelligence is increasingly used to automate various tasks, Szklarski believes the technology cannot yet overcome the shortage of leaders in the workplace. He said it remains unclear whether employees are willing to accept direction from AI algorithms or whether the technology can perform all the functions of a manager. He assessed that leading a team still requires abilities that are difficult for machines to replace, such as empathy, building relationships with team members, motivating employees, and making decisions while considering the human aspects within an organisation.