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Gen Z is auditing the way corporate life functions and presenting “career minimalism” as the remedy. They’re taking on roles that work in tandem with their lives and leaving roles that feel unfulfilling and rigid in scope. Career minimalism is built on self-advocacy and a driving desire to live a healthier life physically, financially and mentally.
Glassdoor surveyed over 1,000 U.S. professionals, “68% of Gen Z respondents said they would not pursue management if it were not for the paycheck or the title.” They are instead opting for income diversification and roles that offer them more time to pursue work that fits their long-term goals. This “lily pad” career movement allows Gen Z employees to move laterally across industries and roles taking positions that best fit their current needs. As opposed to traditionally staying at one company for decades.
What is career minimalism?
According to The Everygirl, “‘career minimalism’ is a growing workplace phenomenon that many Gen Z professionals are embracing in favor of sustainability, characterized by stable day jobs that offer healthy boundaries and a sense of stability, rather than a nonstop hustle.” Gen Zer’s are doing away with deriving their sense of self from their employment. It is only an extension of who they are, not who they are in totality.
So, in practice that might look like exploring side hustles and engaging in more personal fulfilling work outside of one’s 9-5. This kind of flexibility makes for a more sustainable lifestyle and allows employees to have more agency in where they are devoting their time.
Why this shift in the workplace?
This shift in attitude is reflective of flawed ascension systems, compensation not matching expected execution and a growing desire for the tables to turn. Distrust in big business and the “corporate world” is higher than it’s ever been, and employees aren’t as willing to put all their eggs in one basket. Gen Z is certainly leading the charge, but the waves they are making affect everyone living in the corporate landscape.
According to Forbes, there are a couple of factors to consider when deducing why this shift in the workplace is occurring.
- Reduced job security, even among high-paying corporate remote roles
- AI-driven restructuring that disrupts established career paths (significantly impacting Gen Z, with the dissolution of many entry level roles)
- Leadership roles bring heavier workloads and narrower support systems
- Inflation and periodic layoffs have made diversified income streams feel less optional
Namely, two other reasons for this shift in attention are the remnants of COVID-19 and burnout as a design rather than a personal issue.
Coming out of COVID-19 people had gotten acclimated to working from the comforts of their home and being able to work during their peak productivity hours. There was a certain sense of curation that isn’t really available to employees at companies with rigid work mandates.
Gen Z employees are opting for that same sense of autonomy to be implemented into their daily work. Remote work allows employees to work where it’s affordable and is conducive to their holistic productivity. Critics like to counter this way of viewing work with it being seen as lazy or non-ambitious. But really it seeks to cut out a lot of the performative nature that comes with working in an office where you should always appear busy.
For a long time, in the corporate space, burnout was looked at something that was inevitable and it was ingrained into the culture. You were expected to be “hungry” which often meant suppressing your individual needs at the hands of some business, and you would eventually be rewarded. But until that came to fruition, in some ways, you’d suffer. Now that’s not to say you shouldn’t perform well, but you shouldn’t put a mission statement before your individual needs.
Gen Z sees that you don’t have to “tough it out” in that way anymore. As featured in Forbes, “New research from Moodle shows that 66% of American employees are experiencing some form of burnout in 2025. American workers across most industries are struggling, especially young employees.” To combat burnout, career minimalism welcomes sustainable pacing as opposed to churning out work that feels hollow and solely obligatory. Career minimalism restores passion to the work itself.
By Raigan Clay