Make leadership attractive again for young talent

If organisations want employees to step up into management positions, they must start by building a culture of psychological safety.

- Henrik Bresman

The first decade of an employee's career path used to be relatively straightforward: Enter a company as an individual contributor and gradually work your way up to a managerial position. But as recent research reveals, climbing the traditional corporate ladder is no longer the default — or necessarily desired — path for many young workers.

The research, published by recruitment firm Robert Walters in September 2024, suggests a growing disdain for people management and disillusionment with mid-level management roles among Gen Z professionals. According to the poll, 72 per cent of those surveyed favoured an individual route to career progression over managing others, while more than half did not harbour middle-management ambitions. Additionally, 69 per cent perceived mid-level management roles as being high stress and low reward.

These insights reflect wider industry trends, as many young workers are exploring alternative pathways to attain both professional and personal fulfilment. Why is this happening? And, under such circumstances, what can companies do to encourage and prepare young talent to take up management roles in the future?

THE NEW REALITY OF WORKPLACE DYNAMICS A commonly cited factor behind Gen Z's distaste for ascending the corporate hierarchy is the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This compelled many employees to re-evaluate what was truly important to them. Young workers could thus be choosing to prioritise their mental health and preserve work-life balance over securing an impressive job title, and may be unwilling to put in the long, stressful hours often required to attain and thrive in management positions.