Bosses gain more by leaving 'work-shy' Gen Z alone

The headline suggests that managers may see better results by not micromanaging Gen Z employees, who are often unfairly labeled as “work-shy.” Instead of enforcing rigid control, allowing this generation more flexibility and independence in how they work could lead to improved performance, innovation, and job satisfaction. The article likely challenges stereotypes about Gen Z’s work ethic and highlights the benefits of adapting leadership styles to suit evolving expectations in the modern workplace.

With Labour preparing to make it law that employees can disconnect from work emails after hours, Matt Potter argues that the biggest impact will be on young people who’ve grown up with smartphones and blurred work-life boundaries.  Much like flexible working, TikTok, or Gen Z slang like “FRFR,” the right to disconnectoriginally proposed by Labour as part of its workers’ rights agenda - is a litmus test revealing people’s deeper views.

Your reaction to Labour’s new law granting the right to disconnect probably reveals more about your mindset, values, and generation than it does about the actual legislation. Currently, there is no legal protection for employees wanting to log off after hours. Bosses can call or email outside of work hours and even pressure you to respond or take on extra tasks. But ensuring home doesn’t double as a round-the-clock office is far from the business-ending change some fear.

Other countries like Ireland, Belgium, and Australia have already enacted similar laws. This isn’t a radical shift - it’s a correction to the creeping encroachment of work into personal time. For anyone working before smartphones and home broadband became widespread in the mid-2000s, the law simply restores reasonable expectations. Being unreachable after work was once standard -you were home, at the gym, or socializing, not available for “quick” tasks.

To today’s workforce, that kind of clear separation feels almost nostalgic. Now, it’s common to be casually asked for input outside hours or to see a vague message like “Thoughts?” on a Sunday evening. The real game-changer is that Generation Z is now in the workplace. This group - those in their mid-teens to late twenties - already makes up the largest generation globally and will soon dominate the electorate.

As someone who mentors Gen Z colleagues and clients, I often find myself reassuring them. They’re entering work environments where being constantly accessible is normalized. Half the workforce is now freelance or self-employed. And Gen Z has no memory of working without smartphones or constant connectivity. Social media is great - but they’re navigating boundary-setting from scratch.

Older bosses often complain that young people “don’t want to work” or are “quiet quitting,” but Gen Z has also been told there’s no such thing as job security anymore. So they’re encouraged to hustle, take gigs, and juggle multiple roles. At the same time, they’re figuring out how to handle employers’ vague expectations, guilt tactics, and boundary-pushing - without anything as simple as a voicemail saying, “Call back tomorrow.”

Then came the pandemic. Remote work and video calls became the norm, turning homes into makeshift offices filled with urgent pings and unexpected meetings. Sure, Gen Z avoids the daily commute, but they’re also expected to be constantly available to their often older managers.

If you think Gen Z complains too much, maybe it’s because they’re being micromanaged nonstop. Any company that equates productivity with time spent in a chair has deeper issues. If you're upset that you can’t reach someone on holiday, your operations likely lack structure.

The new right to disconnect is the first real workplace reform designed for Gen Z. It’s a savvy political move - like the minimum wage pledge by Blair and Brown in 1997.

Back then, critics said a £3.60 minimum wage would destroy the economy. It didn’t - and today even the Conservatives support the living wage.

Labour’s reforms will help Gen Z build the boundaries previous generations never had to question. Let’s stop criticizing them and let them enjoy their well-earned breaks.

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Source: independent‍