How Gen Z is redefining promotion and leadership
Gen Z in the workplace is leading the way when it comes to challenging traditional career paths. Many Gen Z professionals prioritize meaningful work, skill development and work-life balance over formal leadership roles.
A recent Robert Half survey of more than 800 Canadian workers found that 50% of Gen Zers want a promotion that doesn’t involve becoming a manager, the highest share among all generational groups. By comparison, 42% of millennials, 44% of Gen Xers and 19% of baby boomers expressed interest in non-management promotions.
These findings show that Gen Z is asking important questions:
“Can I grow in my career without becoming a manager?”
“How can I lead without having a team?”
“What does success look like for someone like me?”
These are questions employers need to be prepared to answer with flexible career development plans to match.
Why some employees don’t want to be managers
While 28% of surveyed professionals said they are interested in a management promotion, that leaves more than half either uninterested or open to advancement through other routes. According to the same survey:
41% said they want a promotion, but not to a manager role
31% said they aren’t interested in a promotion at all
These results highlight an important shift: managing people isn’t the only, or preferred, path forward for many.
There are several reasons employees may opt out of management roles:
Hands-on work is more fulfilling—Some professionals thrive by doing, not delegating, and want to preserve their technical or creative expertise. In fact, half of respondents (50%) said they find more satisfaction in hands-on work than in managing others. This was especially true for Gen Xers (56%), followed by baby boomers (50%), and Gen Zers (48%).
Concern over work-life balance—Management roles often come with increased pressure and emotional labour. In the survey, 51% of Canadian professionals cited maintaining their current work-life balance as a reason to stay out of management, with all generations sharing a similar sentiment: Gen Z (51%), millennials (50%), Gen X (51%), and baby boomers (50%).
Discomfort with people management—Another 15% of professionals admitted they simply don’t like being responsible for others’ success.
“Accidental managers”—Promotions sometimes push employees into leadership roles that don’t suit their strengths or interests. In our survey, 19% said they don’t feel they have the relevant people or leaderships skills.
Ash Athawale, senior vice president of Executive Search at Robert Half, noted that many employees who turn down management roles are doing so with intention.
“Many employees who don't want management roles often find greater fulfillment in doing more hands-on work and focusing on their own individual contributions, which can be significant and equally important,” he said. He added that “for many, work-life balance is a significant part of the equation on whether to take on the responsibility to manage others.”
Non-management career development plans for individual contributors
To retain top talent and meet evolving expectations, more organizations are building dual career development frameworks. Common non-manager promotion opportunities include:
Principal or lead roles—Senior individual contributor positions that offer increased scope and visibility, such as Principal Engineer, Lead Designer or Subject Matter Expert.
Project-based leadership—Roles that allow employees to lead initiatives and drive business impact (e.g., a Data Analyst leading a companywide dashboard redesign).
Mentorship and coaching—Some individual contributors grow by mentoring others, often serving as go-to resources or peer coaches.
Strategic advisors—Trusted experts who contribute to high-level decision-making without managing teams.
Internal recognition—Programs or titles such as “Customer Champion” or “Innovation Lead” provide formal recognition without requiring a people-leadership track.
