Gen Z Won’t Work Overtime — And It Might Be the Future of Work

When Nick Ash was in his twenties and just getting started in the law industry, staying late and showing up to events after hours felt completely common and normal. He’d happily put in the extra time, hang around the office long past closing, and leap joyfully at any chance to socialise with colleagues. So now, as the managing director of W&P Legal in Lincolnshire, he finds himself confounded—and honestly a little frustrated—by how some of his younger team members want nothing to do with anything outside their normal working hours.

Recently, when the firm hosted a big anniversary party, filled with free delicious food, drinks, and live music, his younger staff barely reacted. It just didn’t impress them at all.

“We really struggled to get the younger staff involved,” says Ash, who has eight twenty-somethings on his 17-person team.

“Our Christmas party – also free for staff – is struggling for numbers. Team-building events have been abandoned because nobody wants to suggest anything or be involved.”

He is insistent that it’s not a work ethic issue; everyone gets the job done. But he worries that by sticking strictly to their contracted hours, his Gen Z staff are holding themselves back and missing out on the chance to connect and develop meaningful relationships with their colleagues.

“They just don’t seem to realise that your job is a big part of your life,” he stated. “It sometimes feels like they see work as something to get through rather than something to get involved in. 

“I am a dinosaur – born in 1964 – and come from a time when a drink after work, or at lunch, was the norm. I made friends and learnt things I would never have picked up in the workplace.” If you never go to these types of work events, he says, you lose out on all the informal learning and networking that happens there. “Things like picking up new skills, understanding the business, or just hearing about opportunities. Just knowing more about your colleagues in a social setting can give real insight into how they think and work. That alone can make life at work more tolerable and more efficient.”

And when it comes to putting in some extra hours? Forget it—unless they’re getting paid or offered time off in return. “5.30pm on the dot and they are gone,” Ash said.

It’s something marketing director James (not his real name) says he’s never encountered in more than 40 years in the industry.

“Everyone is out of the door at five on the dot. There seems to be little loyalty and teamwork,” says James, who works for a health company in the East of England and manages a team of almost entirely just twentysomethings.

“In general, Gen Z don’t want to work overtime or do anything outside work hours. It’s a very different attitude from just a few years ago. Everyone these days seems to be entitled.

“Gen Z seems more concerned with individualism and being independent rather than being interdependent and team-focused. Their ‘rights’ and how they ‘identify’ are more important. But this job for me has never been just nine to five.”

A new generation sticking strictly to the rules at work

It’s not just Ash and James experiencing this. A survey by Owl Labs of 2,000 full-time UK workers found that Gen Z are the most likely to “work to rule”, sticking strictly to their job descriptions and contracted hours, more so than any other generation ever has.

Data from graduate jobs platform Bright Network shows that 58% of Gen Z don’t anticipate regularly working beyond their contracted hours.

It’s affecting many sectors. Headteachers and parents report that teachers are increasingly unwilling to help out at, or even attend, Christmas and summer fairs.

A headteacher at a London primary school says he’s noticed a growing “job description culture” among younger teachers. While he appreciates that evening events can be inconvenient, he believes “discretionary effort is on the wane” among them.

“I have seen a decline in patience and resilience in younger colleagues. Career progression is now expected by many in the education sector, as opposed to earned.”

Creative professionals report that their younger team members don’t read newspapers or books in their free time—something they themselves always did to spark ideas and stay informed about different things in their field. It helped to keep them in the loop and aware.

“The benefits of going to out-of-hours events are not held as highly by Gen Z as other generations,” says Andrew Hulbert, vice chair of facilities management company Pareto and chair of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. Hulbert oversees roughly 12 Gen Z team members across multiple ventures.

“When I was their age, I did not even think about boundaries; I just worked. The old school thought of ‘attending events gets more sales’ hasn’t always trickled down to the Gen Zers. I think it’s the responsibility of the older generations to bring the younger ones on a journey.”

But does this really mean Gen Z lack commitment and engagement at work?

Effort versus results

A manager at a charity says he used to grumble that his younger staff were too focused on sticking to their hours and job descriptions, but he’s now noticing signs of change.

“I suspect a lot of it was Covid-connected. The feelings of hopelessness and the mental health crisis during that time, and the trends for quiet quitting, led to people self-limiting their personal development. My team has been doing really well this year and seems more proactive and sociable.”

Some suggest that Gen Z’s approach promotes a healthier work-life balance, helping reduce presenteeism and burnout. Hannah Penn, joint managing director of advertising agency Pablo, remembers one of her first bosses as a junior executive telling her she should be the last to leave the office as proof of her commitment.

“Gen Z are less inclined to work beyond their contracted hours for no reason. They aren’t sat clock-watching like I was at 7pm because their boss hasn’t yet left,” says Penn, who oversees about 35 Gen Z employees within her 100-person agency.

“They’re advocating for themselves and their time more confidently than my generation did. What I see is a cohort who are better at demanding some of the fundamentals in business. They want to know what they are working towards and how they contribute to the overall goals of a business, and they want to feel actively valued and invested in.”

James acknowledges that, having started their careers during an extended cost-of-living crisis and with the looming threat of AI, Gen Z understandably don’t hold the same expectations of a lifelong job.

He recalls, “An ex-colleague of mine has just been made redundant after completing 25 years’ service. He said to me, ‘All that extra effort and commitment was in the end worth nothing.’ I think Gen Z understands that,” he says.

Workplace Boundaries Moving Forward

Leadership coach Rachel Cashman says managers who struggle with Gen Z employees unwilling to put in extra hours should reflect on their own approach. “Many managers and leaders I work with are, frankly, out at sea,” Cashman observes.

“It’s not that Gen Z lacks commitment; it’s that they’re redefining what sustainable, healthy high performance looks like. And that is uncomfortable because it challenges deeply ingrained managerial norms about visibility, productivity, and loyalty.”

Indeed, insisting on “how things have always been done” is no longer sustainable, argues Gen Z engagement expert Shoshanna Davis.

“Boundaries aren’t a lack of work ethic; they’re the future of work,” she continued.

“The workplace has fundamentally changed. Overtime shouldn’t be the default; it should be transparent and compensated fairly and never used as a measure of commitment. Most young people are happy to put in extra effort at key moments, but they aren’t willing to sacrifice well-being for performative presenteeism.”

Her advice to employers is straightforward: be clear about expectations in job postings and during the hiring process, fairly compensate for any extra time, and don’t equate staying late with loyalty. “Modern performance is about impact, not hours,” she adds.

Pareto’s Hulbert is discovering plenty to admire in his Gen Z employees, admitting that, in many respects, “they’ve got it right.”

He said, “They are not afraid to say no when something crosses into their personal time, and they see balance as part of doing their best work, not a sign of weakness.

“I think their mindset comes from growing up in a world where burnout and mental health are openly discussed. They are rewriting an outdated culture that said longer hours meant more ambition.”

But he still maintains that there’s value in seizing extra opportunities to learn and advance.

“Success still takes relentless effort, and those who go the extra mile will always stand out. It is about finding the balance, working smart but also being willing to outwork your competitors when it really counts,” he finished with.