Team Management News: What Gen Z Actually Wants From a Manager, According to New Survey Data

If you manage a team with younger employees, you have probably heard plenty of generalizations about what Gen Z wants at work. New survey data gives a clearer, more specific picture, and some of it will surprise managers who assume flexibility means "let them work from home."

What the Survey Found

Deloitte's global Gen Z and Millennial survey, covering more than 22,500 respondents, finds these generations prioritizing stability, skills development, and well-being over fast career progression. That alone reshapes how frontline employers should pitch a role: growth and security matter more than the promise of quick promotion.

On flexibility, the data is more nuanced than it first appears. 71% of Gen Z say a flexible schedule makes them more likely to apply for a job. But only 14% of Gen Z jobseekers actually want fully remote work, and two-thirds say in-person work builds stronger relationships with coworkers. For a frontline employer, that is genuinely good news: schedule flexibility, not remote work, is what draws applicants, and in-person connection is something your business already offers by default.

That gap between "flexible schedule" and "remote work" is worth sitting with, because a lot of frontline employers assume they are automatically at a disadvantage against office jobs that can offer remote or hybrid arrangements. This data suggests otherwise. Most Gen Z candidates are not actually asking to skip the in-person job. They are asking for some say over when they show up for it, which is a far more achievable ask for a restaurant, retail store, or clinic than remote work would ever be.

Recognition matters far more frequently than most managers assume. 75% of Gen Z employees want recognition from their manager at least a few times a month, not once a year at a formal review. Gen Z also weighs an employer's stated values and "good global citizen" behavior more heavily than prior generations did when deciding where to work. And on training, this generation expects digitized, modern methods, not a paper binder and a sign-off sheet.

What This Means for Your Team

• Advertise schedule flexibility explicitly, even if remote work is not possible. Since 71% respond to flexible scheduling but only 14% actually want remote work, you are not at a disadvantage as a frontline employer. You are often solving for the thing they actually want.
• Build recognition into the weekly rhythm, not the annual one. A quarterly or annual review cycle is far too infrequent for what this data shows Gen Z wants. Short, specific praise tied to an actual task or shift, delivered a few times a month, matches their expectations far better.
• Lean into the social and relational side of in-person work. Two-thirds of Gen Z say in-person work builds stronger relationships. Make onboarding and shift culture something that actively builds those connections rather than treating the job as purely transactional.
• Modernize your training materials. If your onboarding still relies on printed manuals or a stack of forms to sign, you are working against what this generation expects. Short videos, mobile-friendly checklists, and clear digital instructions land much better.
• Be ready to talk about what your business stands for. Values and community behavior matter more to Gen Z applicants than to previous generations. If your business supports local causes, treats staff well, or has a clear standard for how customers and employees are treated, say so during hiring, not just in a mission statement nobody reads.

The Bottom Line

The data complicates the easy assumption that Gen Z just wants to work from home. What they actually want is more achievable for most frontline businesses than that assumption suggests: predictable flexibility, frequent recognition, real in-person connection, and modern training. None of that requires giving up an on-site operating model, and much of it costs nothing more than a manager's attention and a willingness to update habits that have not changed in years.

How MyTeamTasks Helps

Frequent recognition and modern, digital training are both easier to deliver consistently when they are built into your daily task system rather than left to memory. A platform where completed tasks are visible in real time gives managers natural, specific moments to recognize good work, and gives new hires clear, mobile-friendly instructions instead of a paper binder.