Younger employees prefer expertise over leadership roles

“I think for this generation there is more prestige in being really good at what you do than in being in charge of people,” says Nora Jenkins Townson, the founder of HR consultancy Bright + Early. “I think we grew up with a lot of the bad boss stories or really directional or authoritative leadership styles, and I think younger generations are more critical of that.”

Generation Z prefers non-management roles for balance

Figures from a March 2025 Robert Half survey show that while some Gen Z workers still want promotions to management roles, around half do not. The study, which surveyed 835 Canadian professionals, found that approximately 39% of Gen Z workers were interested in management roles, with the next highest percentage coming from millennials (34%).

According to the survey results, approximately 50% of Generation Z employees would prefer to be promoted to a role where they are not in charge of others. That preference is declining among older generations, with the next highest 44% among Generation X employees.

One of the main reasons many Gen Z workers prefer non-management positions is the focus on work-life balance, says Tara Parry, director of permanent employment services at Robert Half Canada. Of those who preferred to remain in a non-management position in the survey, 51% said they can maintain their work-life balance in their current role.

“When they look at people’s leadership roles, they realize that the tenuous work-life balance can go haywire very quickly when you’re responsible for other people,” she said.

Companies are facing a gap between managers due to changing career goals

With more and more employees choosing different paths, Parry says there is a “huge shortage” of candidates for management, noting that the trend started to be felt at management level a decade ago.

For companies dealing with the shorter supply of managers, she says it could help to identify leadership qualities early in people’s careers and start supporting those individuals with training and development to advance their skills.

“Sometimes people don’t want to raise their hand to lead because they feel like we often don’t train people to be managers or leaders until they’re already in the seat,” says Parry. “If we start training people before they’re even in that role … I think more people would be willing to raise their hands because they feel ready for it, rather than taking a risk on it.”

For those who choose not to take on managerial responsibilities, this may mean specializing to a greater extent. “Specifically for Gen Z, or anyone who doesn’t want to advance in leadership, it just means you’re likely to be more skill-specific and focused on a very niche area that you want to specialize in, and those opportunities absolutely exist,” says Char Stark, people and growth manager at Beacon HR.

Career development is no longer solely tied to leadership

Jenkins Townson said there are also often opportunities for people in non-managerial roles to help junior staff. “Organizations can design career paths for individual employees, coaching and mentoring people in those specific skills, or without being responsible for their career growth or management in general,” she says.

The change in perspective has led some organizations to implement structural changes. In 2023, Shopify Inc. renewed. its staffing and compensation model to split the workforce into two career paths: managers and professionals, with equal pay for both paths. The company said at the time that the model would reward people for their impact, regardless of whether they manage people or not, while breaking the trend of companies incentivizing and rewarding only managers.

With more and more younger workers interested in different forms of career development, Parry says many companies “have done well to create career paths for those without team leadership.” Those roles can sometimes take the form of changing the size or scope of an employee’s client list, or becoming a subject matter expert within an organization, she said.

She said Robert Half allows employees to earn more senior titles, but titles that are not always associated with leading others. Parry said many larger companies have been doing this “for quite some time”.

“I think organizations have become quite aware that in order to keep your workforce happy and feel like they’re growing, there have to be other options because you can’t just refer anyone to management,” she said.

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