Why is Gen Z out the door at 5 p.m.?

Featured in The i Paper reflecting on a debate that keeps resurfacing:  Why is Gen Z out the door at 5 p.m.?

Some bosses ask where’s the ‘loyalty’ and “why won’t they “go the extra mile like we used to”?

As I see it from working deep inside organisations across sectors this isn’t a story about Gen Z. It is a story about a cultural fault line.  What is playing out in workplaces is a generational adjustment to trust, control and wellbeing. The pandemic didn’t just rearrange working patterns; it rewired how people experience safety, belonging and purpose. Younger workers still carry that impact often unconsciously.

Many managers are, frankly, out at sea. They are leading through unprecedented uncertainty, blurred boundaries (or entirely new ones), rising and diverse employee needs, increased workplace polarisation, and the long tail of organisational trauma.  Against that backdrop, younger workers aren’t “less committed” they are redefining what sustainable, healthy high performance looks like.

And yes, that’s uncomfortable because it challenges deeply ingrained norms about visibility, productivity, presenteeism, loyalty, and “paying your dues”.  But discomfort is not decline. It’s evolution and as I say in the piece it is not that Gen Z lacks commitment; it’s that they’re redefining what sustainable, healthy high performance looks like. And that is uncomfortable because it challenges deeply ingrained managerial norms about visibility, productivity, and loyalty.

Neither generation is “right”.  What we are seeing is the negotiation of a new psychological contract, one that requires accommodation, clarity and adjustment if work is to be productive for everyone.  In my work with boards, CEOs and public-sector leaders, this is the inflection point moving from frustration about “work ethic” to creating the psychological and systemic conditions for teams to thrive in a changed world.

The future of work isn’t about hours. It is about impact, trust, relational leadership, and human boundaries.  Gen Z didn’t break the culture. They’re just refusing to inherit one that was already cracking.

Read the full iPaper piece here: My Gen Z team refuse to work overtime or go to events – it’s holding them back