The Gen Z workplace paradox; ambitious, anxious and searching for growth
Randstad’s 2025 workplace research describes a generation entering careers with strong ambition and confidence in its ability to learn, but facing fewer traditional entry points, rapidly changing skill expectations and growing anxiety about the future.
The first rung has not disappeared completely, but it is changing shape
When I first read Randstad’s Gen Z Workplace Blueprint, the most striking point was not that younger workers are somehow less committed. It was that they are beginning their careers in a labour market that often expects experience, digital confidence and workplace readiness before an employer has provided the opportunity to build them.
Randstad drew on a survey of 11,250 workers in 15 markets and an analysis of more than 126 million job postings. Its findings should not be treated as a description of every Gen Z professional, but they offer a useful lens for employers, educators and young people trying to understand a rapidly changing transition into work.
Four figures that explain the pressure
Together, these findings show why the conversation needs to move beyond stereotypes about loyalty or resilience.
Fewer entry-level postings
Global postings for roles requiring zero to two years of experience fell by an average of 29 percentage points from January 2024.
Shorter early-career job stints
Gen Z’s average job tenure during the first five years of a career was 1.1 years in the report.
Learning through AI
Three quarters of Gen Z respondents used AI to learn new skills, the highest level among the generations surveyed.
Concerned about career impact
Almost half worried about AI’s effect on their jobs, showing that high adoption and genuine anxiety can exist together.
Confidence to learn does not guarantee confidence to compete
The report presents Gen Z as digitally active and highly ambitious, while also showing a significant gap between learning confidence and labour-market confidence.
"My reading is that this is not a motivation crisis. It is a pathway, feedback and opportunity problem."
James Hourihan, TEO AcademyThey believe they can learn
Seventy-nine per cent of Gen Z respondents said they could learn new skills quickly. That willingness is a major workplace asset, especially when technology and job requirements are changing rapidly.
Yet skills remain a barrier
Forty-six per cent reported having been rejected for a role because they did not have the right skills. Employers may be asking early-career applicants to arrive with capabilities that previous generations developed inside the workplace.
Mobility can be purposeful
One in three planned to change jobs within a year, while 41% said they always consider long-term goals when making job decisions. Shorter tenure can therefore be connected to progression rather than a lack of ambition.
Confidence is not evenly distributed
Forty-one per cent said they did not feel confident about finding another job. People can be capable, adaptable and outwardly ambitious while still feeling uncertain about how to present their value.
Young professionals need clearer routes in, and employers need better reasons for them to stay
Retention begins before the resignation
Ambition becomes stronger when it is communicated
Communication is the skill that helps every other skill become visible
AI fluency and technical knowledge matter. Yet professionals also need to explain decisions, ask good questions, contribute in meetings, build trust and show how their work creates value.
Articulate your contribution
Move from listing tasks to explaining the problem, your action and the result. This strengthens interviews, reviews, CV examples and everyday professional credibility.
Communicate across differences
Global and multigenerational workplaces require active listening, clear structure, respectful challenge and the confidence to check understanding.
Explain ideas with impact
Knowledge has limited influence when it stays inside your head. Presentations, meetings and professional writing help turn expertise into decisions and action.
Read Randstad’s full workplace research
This article is an interpretation of the report, not a replacement for it. Read Randstad’s methodology, complete findings and recommendations before using the figures in organisational planning or academic work.
Questions about Gen Z, skills and the workplace
Is Gen Z really job-hopping because they are disloyal?
Randstad’s findings suggest a more complex picture. Respondents reported shorter average tenure, but also a stronger focus on long-term goals, growth, purpose and visible progression. Mobility may be a response to blocked development rather than simple disloyalty.
Why are entry-level jobs becoming harder to find?
In Randstad’s analysed dataset, postings for roles requiring zero to two years of experience had declined substantially from January 2024. Automation, AI and changing employer expectations are reshaping some of the tasks traditionally used to train people at the beginning of a career.
Which skills can help Gen Z professionals progress?
Technical and AI skills matter, but so do clear speaking, professional writing, collaboration, critical thinking, meeting confidence and the ability to explain value. Human communication helps people apply and demonstrate their knowledge.
How can employers improve Gen Z retention?
Make progression visible, provide equitable learning opportunities, create meaningful early-career responsibilities and give useful feedback. Retention becomes more likely when development is experienced in practice rather than promised in general terms.
Turn ambition into confident professional communication
TEO Academy connects adult learners with specialist tutors for Business English, interviews, meetings, presentations, workplace writing and international careers.
