Why Gen Z is avoiding the corporate ladder and what ‘tough questions’ it poses for business
Generation Z is beginning to shrug off the corporate ladder climb, new research suggests, while some experts believe the UK entrepreneurial landscape – and the workplace – could be changing.
An analysis of Companies House data by accounting firm Hazlewoods showed the number of Gen Z directors of UK companies jumped 42 per cent in a year – reaching a total of 243,000.
Ryan Hancock, partner at Hazlewoods, said the numbers show that entrepreneurship in “this day and age” is on the rise.
But it isn’t necessarily following the conventional path it always has.
“A lot of young people see running their own business as an opportunity to build a career that fits around their lifestyle, rather than having to fit a lifestyle around their career,” he added.
Finding and progressing through a career was once a “dream” for previous generations, Hancock said, a trend that is now being left behind.
Anthony Painter, director of Policy at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), told City PM the entrepreneurial drive of Gen Z poses “some tough questions for businesses”.
Why is Gen Z shunning the corporate ladder?
They’re being “clear” about their preferences in the workplace, Painter said, as CMI polls suggest over half of UK’s youngest managers – those under the age of 35 – would request flexible hours and pay rises if they were to be required to be in the office five days a week.
“This latest data tells us that if companies aren’t willing to make that offer, talented workers of all ages are going to carve their own path, start their own business and redefine what good work looks like in a modern economy,” he added.
Michelle Ovens, founder of Small Business Britain, said the drive seen within the Gen Z demographic paves the way for a “new tone in entrepreneurship”.
With the technology and tools available today, it’s “easier than ever to start a business,” Andy Fishburn, managing director at Virgin StartUp, said.
These are “second nature” skills to the “digital natives” who make up Generation Z, he said.
The desire for an entrepreneurial journey is no longer a “necessity,” Fishburn said, nor is it simply meant for candidates whose chosen career paths “weren’t that great”.
“Entrepreneurship is increasingly an attractive option for some of the brightest students emerging, that would once have coveted roles in finance, banking or consultancy,” he added.
What does the trend mean for the workplace?
“Harness the creativity, energy and restlessness,” Fishburn suggests to employers with an entrepreneurial-minded workforce.
He added: “Employers often talk about a lack of general business acumen, particularly amongst junior hires, but starting and scaling your own business is one of the best proving grounds for those skills.
“The most progressive employers will look to channel this to create new products, offerings
and to find innovative and creative ways to make their own business better.”