Once upon a time, careers were linear – you started at the bottom and spent the next 40 years making your way to the top – often at the same company.

However, research shows that the youngest generation in the workforce – Gen Z – has much less interest in ‘climbing the ladder’ in the same way their boomer and Gen X parents did, nor do they want to embrace the ‘hustle culture’ perpetuated by their older millennial counterparts.

A recent survey by recruitment company Robert Walters found that 52% of UK Gen Z professionals don’t ever want to take on a middle-management role in their career. Instead, nearly three-quarters said they preferred the idea of an individual route to advance their career, which included focusing on personal growth and skills accumulation.

The reason? According to the survey, 69% of Gen Z workers said mid-level management was too much stress for not enough reward. It’s not a surprising statistic, given that 75% of middle managers (many of which are now millennials) report feeling overwhelmed, stressed or burnt out, according to a recent study by Capterra.

This is a trend that Victoria McLean, career coach and founder of City CV, has seen rising in recent years.

“Gen Z often views traditional middle management roles as a burden rather than a stepping stone,” says McLean. “I’d even say many view these positions as a trap – lots of responsibility without much decision-making power, and frankly, not worth the stress. Instead, Gen Zs are gravitating towards roles where they can make a meaningful impact immediately, whether that’s through entrepreneurial ventures or specialised expertise.”

She adds: “It comes down to priorities. Gen Z values work-life balance, flexibility and purpose over status. They don’t want to sacrifice their mental health or personal time for a role that, to them, often represents bureaucracy and burnout. They’re also a very savvy generation – they’ve seen millennials struggle with these roles and thought ‘Not for me, thanks.’”

David Rice, HR and careers expert at People Managing People, agrees that it’s hardly surprising that Gen Z has decided climbing the ladder isn’t worth the stress, especially as many of them entered the workforce post-pandemic.

“As a result of their managers being under-supported and not finding better ways to manage in remote and hybrid settings in the post-pandemic office, Gen Z’s perception of management and what it entails isn’t all that great,” says Rice. “In some cases, they see managers as being not much different from them – they just have another layer of responsibilities to deal with. In other cases, they see managers running from meeting to meeting all day and not getting much of anything that they see as important done. That’s probably not all that appealing.”

Recent research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute found that 82% of managers have received no formal management or leadership training, so it’s not surprising that Gen Z workers aren’t leaping at the chance to join them. Many millennials have become ‘accidental managers’, having found their way into managerial positions that don’t suit their skill set – and it’s showing.

But just because they don’t aspire to step into their manager’s shoes, it doesn’t mean Gen Z workers aren’t ambitious. Instead, they define career success in different terms to those who came before them.

“Gen Z are hugely ambitious; it’s just a different kind of ambition. For them, success isn’t about climbing a corporate ladder; it’s about living a life aligned with their values,” explains McLean. “They’re redefining ambition to include fulfilment, mental health and autonomy. The ‘hustle culture’ that drove millennials doesn’t appeal to them; they’re more about working smart, not just hard.”

Another study shows that 86% of Gen Z professionals seek purpose-driven work, meaning they prioritise doing work that matters to them and the world, says McLean. “They’re looking for roles where they can make a tangible impact, while also maintaining space for their passions outside of work.”

Hannah Salton, a career coach and author of Graduate Careers Uncovered, has also noticed a shift in her Gen Z clients’ priorities when it comes to choosing how, where and what work they do.

“Gen Z is placing greater emphasis on other priorities, such as working for organisations that are ethical, forward-thinking and flexible,” Salton says. “Aligning with their values – including their moral compass and, in some cases, their political views – is often a key factor in deciding where they’d love to work. For Gen Z, it’s less about the number of hours worked and more about ensuring their work aligns with their values and passions. They prioritise flexibility, aiming to fit their work comfortably around the rest of their lives.”

Rice agrees, but is keen to point out that it’s millennials who paved the way for Gen Z to be able to take this approach to work at all.

“Millennials came of age in traditional office environments and hierarchical structures,” explains Rice. “They saw what happened when flattened organisation structures didn’t work, so they see value in being a manager. But they also saw what was broken about the formality of office life. As such, they’re the generation that killed dress codes and transformed office spaces to look like game rooms with ping pong tables and bean bag chairs. They also embraced remote working and making flexibility the norm.”

While they both understand and praise Gen Z for their new approach to work, Rice and McLean stress that Gen Z’s disinterest in climbing the ladder could spell trouble ahead, for both Gen Z workers and companies.

“The risk is that if fewer people step into management roles, we’ll see leadership gaps that could stall organisational growth and innovation. It might also limit Gen Z’s influence,” says McLean. “Sometimes, you need to be in the room where decisions are made to drive real change. The challenge will be finding ways to redesign these roles to align with their values.”

Meanwhile, Rice adds that if Gen Z workers don’t step into management roles, they’ll miss out on vital learning and growth opportunities. “The fact is, you don’t just become a director, VP or C-suite member. You go through stages to get there, which teach you about leading people, teams and organisations. Middle manager jobs are stepping stones where you learn how to translate big ideas into everyday actions and how to work with, communicate with and ultimately get more out of people and teams.”

Images: Getty