From “job apocalypse” fears to mismatched values and AI-driven career pivots, the Gen Z workplace story keeps morphing—and so do the stakes for employers.
The real story about Gen Z employees may not be about attitudes at all but about systems. Gen Z wants progression and purpose at work, but many employers are still following rules that were written decades ago. That mismatch is reshaping everything from employee retention to the development of leadership pipelines.
McKinsey Senior Partner Aaron De Smet, an expert on employee engagement, corporate culture, and organizational effectiveness, spoke to Mind the Gap about what happens when legacy systems collide with Gen Z workers’ preferences—and how companies can move past stereotypes to better engage the next generation of talent.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
McKinsey: In an article you coauthored with McKinsey Partner Tim Koller, you wrote about cognitive bias and how it can get in the way of good decision-making. We also know that stereotypes about what Gen Z wants from work can be untrue. What biases do employers still tend to have about Gen Z?
Aaron De Smet: Gen Z is quite diverse, so even if any biases have some merit, it’s probably not helpful to apply them to individual Gen Zers. But if I had to answer, I’d say the complaint I hear the most is that the younger folks coming into the workforce today have unrealistic expectations about what they will receive before they’ve put in the effort to have earned anything.
Every generation has had some people—but not all—who are like that, and Gen Z is no different. I do think Gen Z workers expect more from their employers, though. They’re more willing to give up a job to try a different one. They have higher expectations for engagement, career advancement, and authenticity of leaders.
McKinsey: Are employers meeting those expectations?
Aaron De Smet: In small ways, yes. But many organizations are still stuck in the past when it comes to managing these things. Gen Zers want to see some form of meaningful career progression every year or two, and most organizations are not set up for that.
One of the things that leading organizations are doing is redefining career advancement away from promotion through the hierarchy. There’s a push for organizations to be leaner and more agile, with fewer hierarchical layers. And when you bring agentic AI into the workforce, that’s going to allow for even flatter organizations. So when people say they want a promotion every one or two years, it becomes impossible.
There are lots of other ways to achieve career progression—ways that meet Gen Z’s expectations and are also helpful to organizations. I could imagine a world in which an organization gives people skills credentials as a way to advance. When employees gain a new skill, they get a slight bump in pay and a badge on their profiles. Companies could gamify it and allow people to get a new skill badge every six to 18 months.
McKinsey: We’re talking about Gen Zers who already have jobs, but what about those who are having a tough time breaking into the labor market? How will gen AI and agentic AI affect entry-level roles, if they haven’t already?
Aaron De Smet: It’s likely that AI will not eliminate entry-level positions altogether, but it will change them. That may mean more hands-on apprenticeship and development at the entry level. It may be that having people work largely independently won’t be the model for how new hires learn in the future.
McKinsey: In your research on return to office, you note that employees often rate levels of mentorship as ineffective in their organizations. If you could design a mentorship or apprenticeship program that would improve the employee experience and retention, what would it look like?
Aaron De Smet: Start with the role itself. What kind of talent is in that role, and what do you want them to learn for the next role they might go into? Apprenticeship is more skill-based, not just responsibility-based. Translate the tasks or the deliverables of a job into the skills most needed for the job. And if you really want apprenticeship, you need leadership. You need much more hands-on coaching. To get the most out of apprenticeship, this needs to be a contact sport, so to speak.
Apprenticeship doesn’t always have to be hierarchical, either: It can come from a manager or a boss, an adjacent leader or a project leader. Even people in similar roles can learn from one another. As AI frees up time spent on routine tasks, people will potentially have more time to focus on helping others.
McKinsey: Just a few years ago, during the Great Resignation, the labor market looked a lot different from the way it looks now. Today, people are “hugging” their jobs or staying put even if their career growth might be stunted by doing so. Do you see Gen Zers doing this?
Aaron De Smet: If the best and brightest Gen Zers in your organization are not engaged, they are not just going to hold on to that job; they will find another job. Eventually, if the turnover is high enough, that becomes a pipeline issue. The problem will become cumulative, and in ten years, your culture carriers, your future executives, and your innovators will be gone. It will be a competitive disadvantage down the road.
McKinsey: Every now and then, headlines pop up claiming Gen Zers don’t want to work a typical nine-to-five workday. What does a well-designed workday look like for most people?
Aaron De Smet: A well-designed workday varies by person. Different individuals have different patterns of when they have the most energy, when they are most creative, and when they have the most cognitive focus. But people also work in organizations and with teams, so there needs to be a give-and-take regarding how to optimize for both individuals and teams.
The best teams I’ve seen spend time aligning on team norms and working rhythms, including how and where to work and people’s work-style preferences. Increasingly, that’s what the world of work is going to look like. Routine work is becoming automated, meaning work will become even more dynamic and team-based. Achieving optimal performance will involve figuring out how to meet individual working preferences, where appropriate, and how to ensure that those preferences mesh at a team level to help people collaborate effectively.
As AI takes on more standardized tasks, people will be able to focus on higher-order cognitive work, so helping them perform at their best will become increasingly important. For instance, people may need to take more breaks, especially if they used to take mental breaks simply by doing routine tasks on autopilot during the day. Many of those routine tasks are becoming automated. Ask yourself, “What kind of break do I need to recharge and be at my best?” It could be taking a walk or calling a friend. Make sure you give yourself time to recharge and not do something mentally taxing.
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