20-somethings who speak their minds at work are the new normal and it's changing the office forever

Sam Ghelli, 23, was ready to quit her previous job when her manager made an impassioned plea.

"He was like, 'How much do I have to increase your salary to make you stay? I want you to stay here,'" Ghelli said.

But Ghelli, true to the stereotype of a Gen Zer, stuck to her guns. She was determined to leave the job because the culture at the company was no longer working for her. And, ultimately, her Gen X manager did help her out — by helping her find new roles and hopping on the phone with her now-boss.

That might not sound like a typical relationship with a boss you're leaving. Ghelli, a 2022 college graduate, is one of the Gen Zers trying to reshape work.

The pandemic recession-battered generation has lived through a Great Rethink of work that started right as they received their first offer letters. An economy shaped by labor shortages and the Great Resignation briefly bent to workers' desires for higher pay, more flexible hours, and people-first policies. For some new graduates, it's the only economy they've known.

With Gen Z on track to outnumber boomers in the workforce by 2024, their desires for a shorter workweek, better compensation, and time-off aren't new — but their influence is.

"Just because it's the way it's always been doesn't mean it needs to continue like that. Young people have the voice of today," Ghelli said, adding that Gen Z's voices are starting to matter more.

"We need to break free of these awful habits and expectations that have been set at a wartime precedent a hundred years ago. It's no longer what we need to do," she said. "And if we want longevity and happiness, then we need to start where it all begins — which is, basically, work."

More PTO and a 4-day workweek

This July, Business Insider in partnership with YouGov conducted a survey of more than 1,800 people across five generations, including more than 600 Gen Zers over the age of 18. In the survey, 38% of Gen Z respondents, more than any other generation, supported the idea of being able to live a comfortably middle-class life while working less than 40 hours a week.

Gen Z is widely considered to include the generation born between 1997 and 2012.

However, the data shows that younger workers are working 40 hour weeks, but they clock in for slightly shorter hours than today's elder millennials and young Gen Xers did at the same time in their lives. The 20 to 24-year-olds who work full time today are clocking 40.4 average weekly hours at work, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to 41 hours a week in 2002.

Jonathan Zunitch, a 23-year-old law student, said having clear boundaries between his work and home life, even in a field as notorious for overtime as law, will be an important consideration in his upcoming job search.

"We live in a world with tremendous luxuries compared to what things used to be," he said. "Given the luxuries we have today and the ability to produce things that we have today, I think we could all get away with working less and maintaining the same or similar lifestyles."

Taylor, a 24-year-old in Washington, DC, found an old corporate role to be completely inflexible. Even when she came in early, and left eight hours later, she said she would be perceived as leaving early — despite getting her work done. She chalks that up to the "nine to five corporate structure that everybody was really accustomed to." Even after she left for what she thought would be a more flexible role in tech, she found the corporate structure to be grating.

"I just really disliked the idea of this traditional corporate America where you can't leave and go run your errands," or have to set aside time on Sundays just to get prepared for the work week, she said. She believes she doesn't need to spend 40 hours a week working to be successful.

Before starting her current role, Taylor discussed with her would-be bosses why she didn't want to work on Friday afternoons. Her justification is that, in her field, she said people aren't responsive on Fridays. While she can and will work if something urgently needs to get done, she usually winds down earlier on Fridays.

"A lot of what I've seen in various studies is folks saying, look, I'm going to work from home on Friday — that's the day I may use to go play golf in the morning, or go for a run, or pick my kids up from school, or go to the dentist," Stanford professor and work-from-home expert Nick Bloom said on the Financial Times' Working It podcast. Those workers make up those hours on Thursday nights or the weekend instead, he said.

As Gen Z moves through the workforce, and boomers and other generations start to retire, Taylor believes there will be a "huge" push for a four-day work week.

"I think now we're just going to continue to push the boundaries and ask questions, like is this meeting an effective use of our time or is coming into the office five days a week an effective use of our time?" Taylor said.

Gen Z wants meaningful work — and bosses are listening

DeAndre Brown, perhaps better known as TikToker "Corporate Baddie," is a member of Gen Z and makes humorous videos about his generation in corporate America that have garnered over 700,000 followers and 40 million likes.

Brown's following demonstrates how social platforms like TikTok have become key forums for younger workers to vent their frustrations and share their ideas or solutions for issues at work. The ease of posting a 30-second clip about the mundane experiences of working has led digitally native Gen Z to discuss their experience in the Internet's new town square.

Brown's videos and messaging have been so popular that he quit his job to start a consulting agency where, in part, he helps corporations understand how to work with and retain Gen Z.

"When it comes to businesses, they just want to know what we want," Brown said. Brown chafes at the idea that Gen Z doesn't want to work. Instead, he thinks that Gen Z is probably one of the most hardworking generations — but just has different priorities.

"We want to work, but also still have a life," he said.

Having a job with purpose is especially important to Gen Z workers.

"Gen Z stands out among the four generations here in saying that they want a job where they can help others," said Jean Twenge, a psychologist and the author of "Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future."

And Gen Z isn't afraid to quit a job that isn't working for them, either: According to data from payroll company Gusto, which works with small and mid-sized businesses, the voluntary quit rate for workers ages 22 to 26 has continually outpaced their slightly older peers over the last three years.

Starting in 2022, that cohort's year-over-year wage growth has also outpaced their older peers; as of October 2023, they were still notching wage growth of 6.8%.

The changes Gen Z is driving in the workplace will have ripple effects, impacting colleagues of all generations. Gen Xers are bittersweet about Gen Z's splash onto the scene, previously telling Business Insider that they both admire and envy the younger generation's ability to prioritize their lives over work.

"I think you still want work to matter in your life, but you're thinking about how it fits into your identity, into your consciousness in a more critical way than I think the previous generations likely did," Rob Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal, and the author of the forthcoming book "What Work Is," said.

"That level of consciousness and critical thinking about work is huge," he said. And that might have its own trickle-down effect on other generations, who are not new to wanting better work-life or pay, but haven't had the same platform to push for it.

Andrew Pickett, lead trial attorney and founder at Andrew Pickett Law in Florida, said his firm noticed its Gen Z workers valued flexibility in their schedules, as well as open communication and growth opportunities. In response, the firm added remote work options and adjusted its office hours to accommodate flexible schedules, and worked on "creating a culture where their voices are valued and considered" and providing "regular feedback and opportunities for growth and development," he said in an email.

After making these changes, Pickett says the firm saw better retention and increased productivity and overall work satisfaction.

"Honestly, I think Gen Zers are bringing a fresh perspective and innovation to our workplace," he said. "They are digitally savvy, creative thinkers who constantly challenge the status quo and push us to try new ideas and strategies. Their energy and passion for continuous learning have also positively impacted our company culture."

"Some of those shifts are taking place now because of Gen Zs and what they're bringing to the workplace, I think some of the members of older generations in my view are benefiting," says Julie Lee, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at New York University. "Some of these discussions and changes that we're talking about are things that some of us wanted but didn't think were quite possible or accessible."

After all, if the last few years have taught Gen Z and the larger workforce anything, it's that things can change in an instant.

"If we're progressing as a society, why do we have to do the same things that the previous generation did?" said Zunitch, the law student. "If we can work less and maintain the same lifestyle, why are we still working so much?"