Younger workers favour expertise over leadership roles

“I think for this generation, there’s more prestige in being really good at what you do versus being in charge of people,” said Nora Jenkins Townson, the founder of HR consultancy Bright + Early. “I think we’ve grown up with a lot of the stories of the bad boss or really directional or authoritative leadership styles, and I think that younger generations are more critical of that.” Gen Z favours non-management roles for balanceFigures from a Robert Half survey conducted in March 2025 found that while some g ...