Gen Zers are saying 'no thanks' to promotions for reasons that go beyond money

• Gen Zers aren't eager for promotions, partly because they believe management is unfulfilling.
• It can be like "the company assigning someone to babysit," one recruiter told Insider.

For years, the corporate path was clear: Work hard and get promoted! Become a manager! Climb the ladder!

But actually, that's not the dream of many Gen Zers.

"The main thing I'm hearing about doing more work to get promoted is really just it's not worth the pay and it's not worth the stress," career coach Emily Rezkalla told Insider.

Rezkalla is a couple years older than the Gen Zers she works with, but she gets why many of them aren't raising their hands to become managers.

"Even if you have the tools to promote someone, if you don't give the right support or motivation, engagement, or incentive — it doesn't matter," Rezkalla said.

Rezkalla once had to oversee others and doubts she'd move back into that type of role again. The work left her too little time to focus on her own career. She was constantly worrying about how those under her were doing. Rezkalla, 28, said many of her clients share her concerns, even if they haven't been managers.

Her clients see managers as "glorified" employees with more to do in what can be thankless roles. "It's really not anything more than just the company assigning someone to babysit," Rezkalla said, referring to what she hears from her younger clients.

For many Gen Zers, it can be easy to look at their managers and think, "No, thanks." Why take on the added stress — even for a somewhat fatter paycheck — if it zaps your work-life balance or career goals? While management isn't for everyone, bosses who do want to promote their younger workers are going to have to do more than put up the money, career experts told Insider. They're going to have to give the support, clarity, and training that many Gen Zers — and members of all generations — crave to feel fulfilled and excited at work.

Motivate younger workers

Some older colleagues have griped that Gen Z is lazy. But even though some young employees don't want to be promoted into a management role they deem unfulfilling doesn't mean they're against working hard or learning. Many Gen Z workers, who make up the youngest slice of the labor force, hear conversations among older colleagues and make observations. Gen Zers are also "constantly having a dialogue around these things because they have the outlets to do so," Rezkalla said, referring to things like social media.

Because it's easier to have conversations about the challenges of being a manager, it's little surprise young people aren't racing to jump into those roles. "They were seeing how "burned out" managers were," one Tiktoker said, and managers "not being able to progress," ultimately deciding it's not the right path for them, Insider previously reported.

Now that work-life balance is a bigger — and likely permanent — part of the workplace conversation, bosses need to think about what other incentives might drive workers, Pradeep Philip, lead partner at Deloitte Access Economics, told Insider. "Do we now motivate them because you appeal to their sense of identity and what they want to achieve and you create the right environment?" he said.

Philip said many younger workers appear to be less motivated by the things that once pushed employees: money and promotions. And because of how interconnected we've become in the last 80 years thanks to technology, those conversations can occur much more widely, he said. As Gen Z questions the basics of how we've worked for decades, substantial changes could be on the horizon, Insider previously reported.

It's not just about the money

Gen Zers have said reasons beyond inadequate pay drive their job dissatisfaction, including lack of career development and advancement, and uncaring leadership, according to a McKinsey survey from earlier this year.

The consultancy also found that Gen Zers think meaningful work is just as important as workplace flexibility when they're considering a job opportunity.

Older managers "can't just hope that Gen Zers are going to initiate and be motivated on their own if they're not given the right tools or advice and motivation," Rezkalla said.

Rod Thill, founder of WorkDaze, which focuses on workplace issues and content, said he's had jobs where he pushed himself to get a promotion he didn't necessarily want because it felt like it's what his superiors hoped he would do.

"I pushed myself to get a promotion just to prove that I wanted to continue working at a job," he said. Too often, Thill said, higher-ups assume someone who doesn't want a promotion isn't motivated to work.

"Work can just be work," he said. "Some people are totally content with their lifestyle, they're content with the money that they're making. So why get a promotion, stress yourself out more, burn yourself out when you can just continue doing what works for you?"

Thill, who has 1.6 million followers on TikTok, said he's been in job interviews where he gets asked to outline his five-year plan. "Exist. Make money," he quipped. "I'm coming to you because I want to work here."

Thill said similar questions he's been asked, including "What does career growth look like to you?" are best answered by the person doing the interview. That is, the interviewer can say what someone's trajectory might look like at that employer. Job seekers might reasonably ask, "'Why are we talking about a role that's outside of my qualifications right now?' he said. "So that pressure is there from day one."

As managers read that Gen Zers don't want to be promoted, remembering that many of them want simpler things first, like transparency, mentorship, and an entrepreneurial culture could go a long way to understanding them, retaining them — and in the end — promoting them.