Why twenty-somethings are ‘consciously unbossing’ to avoid workplace stress

Aiming to climb the greasy pole at work? Not if you’re a member of Gen Z, it seems.

For youngsters say it’s too big a headache and doesn’t pay enough to make up for the stress.

The trend, dubbed ‘conscious unbossing’, has been revealed in figures from recruitment firm Robert Walters.

They show 52 per cent of Gen Z professionals in the UK — those born from the late 1990s — do not want to take on a middle management role in their careers, though some admit they will probably end up having to do so.

The figures appear to be the latest to highlight the yawning gap between the workplace attitudes of today’s twenty-somethings and their sometimes bewildered older colleagues. Other examples of this attitude include “quiet quitting” — putting the bare minimum effort into a job.

In the past it might have been the case that no sooner had a young employee joined the office, they would be eyeing up the jobs of more senior colleagues.

Now, however, the figures suggest Gen Zs want to somehow make progress at work while bypassing the slog of being in day-to-day charge of underlings.

The figures show that 72 per cent of the generation prefer the idea of an “individual route to advance their career — one which focuses on personal growth and skills accumulation”.

And 69 per cent say middle management is “too high stress, low reward”.

Lucy Bisset at Robert Walters said Gen Zs prefer “to bring their ‘whole self’ to projects and spend time cultivating their own brand and approach, rather than spending time managing others”.

And many may be less inclined to spend years at the company having — in some cases — barely set foot in the office.

“Younger professionals, having entered the workforce in a largely remote or hybrid capacity with a huge focus on digital capabilities are less inclined towards complete company loyalty,” said Ms Bisset.

However, employers surveyed overwhelmingly think middle managers still play a crucial role.

Ms Bisset added: “This reluctance to take on middle management roles could spell trouble for employers later down the line.”