What do Gen Z employees expect from employers, and why do they leave so quickly? Practical steps for managers to understand and retain young employees.
A young engineer who took months to recruit hands in a resignation letter in her third month. An operator who has just started on the production line says in his first week, "This place isn't for me," and stops turning up. Many employers explain this picture as "the new generation is impatient". Yet understanding Gen Z employees, the group born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s who are now joining working life rapidly, requires far more than an assessment based on age alone. In this article, for business owners, managers and HR professionals, I look at what young employees expect from the workplace, the psychological and social reasons behind these expectations, and practical steps for retaining them.
Who Is Gen Z? Starting with a Caution
Gen Z is generally used for people born between 1997 and 2012, although the exact range varies by source. This generation grew up in a world where the internet and smartphones already existed. In Turkey, Gen Z has also experienced during its youth economic fluctuations, high inflation, an exam-heavy education system, remote schooling during the pandemic and, for many, the 6 February 2023 earthquakes.
An important caution is needed from the start, however: generational generalisations are scientifically contested. Stereotypes such as "Gen Z is lazy", "Gen Z is disloyal" or "Gen Z is too sensitive" are both wrong and harmful. The differences between two young people of the same age can be far greater than the average differences between two generations. A university-graduate software developer in a big city and a young person from Anatolia who graduated from a vocational high school and has started working in a factory may hold very different expectations, even though they belong to the same generation. For this reason, the trends in this article should be read not as a "generational profile" but as possibilities to keep in mind when talking with young employees.
It is also worth remembering that some attitudes seen in young employees are really linked to a stage of life. Every generation at the start of its career has experimented, changed jobs and looked for a place that suits it. The difference is that today this is more visible and happens faster.
What Do Gen Z Employees Expect from Employers?
Observations in the field and conversations with young employees show that certain expectations stand out:
Meaning and purpose
Many young employees want to know what their work serves. Questions such as "Where is this part going?" and "What is this report for?" are not disobedience; they are a need to make sense of things. In Google's own internal research on its teams, too, "meaning" and "impact" were among the five dynamics that set effective teams apart (Google re:Work).
Frequent and concrete feedback
Rather than waiting for the annual review meeting, they may want to hear how things are going regularly and at short intervals. Silence is often perceived not as "it's going well" but as "nobody cares".
Development and learning
For young employees, the workplace is also a place of learning. Expectations of gaining new skills, receiving training and seeing a path forward are high. An employee who cannot find an answer to the question "Where will I be here in five years?" may look for the answer at another workplace.
Respect and fair treatment
Being belittled because of their young age, being shouted at, or having their ideas dismissed with "you're still very young" are among the complaints young employees raise most often. Age should not be seen as a precondition for being respected.
Openness about mental health
Younger generations tend to talk more openly about mental health than earlier ones. For them, anxiety, burnout or the need for psychological support may not be subjects of shame. Some managers may read this openness as "sensitivity"; yet raising problems early is an advantage for the organisation.
Flexibility and boundaries
Where possible, flexible working, not being reachable outside working hours and work-life balance are important expectations. Although flexibility is more limited in factories and in the field, matters such as predictability in shift planning, fair handling of leave requests and overtime being voluntary remain decisive.
Economic security
In Turkey, high inflation and housing costs directly affect young employees' pay expectations and their worries about job security. Although meaning and development are important, a fair salary that covers the cost of living is the foundation of retention. How pay fairness is perceived is at least as important as the pay itself.
Why Do Young Employees Leave So Quickly?
Behind young employees leaving early there is usually not one reason but a combination of several factors:
- The gap between expectation and reality: If there is a big difference between what was described in the job advert or interview and what is experienced in the first weeks, trust is quickly shaken.
- A weak onboarding process: A first week in which nobody welcomes the new employee, nobody explains what to do and they are told to "learn by watching" makes the young employee feel worthless and alone. This subject is covered separately in our article on onboarding and the first 90 days.
- The relationship with the manager: A first manager who shouts, belittles or takes no interest at all shapes the young employee's view of the organisation.
- No visible path for development: An employee who does not know where they can progress if they gain certain skills feels they are standing still.
- Exclusion within the team: Failing to communicate with experienced colleagues and being treated as an "apprentice" weakens belonging. For this dynamic, see our article on conflict between generations.
- Workload and boundaries: Constant overtime, unpredictable shift changes and messages outside working hours are an important reason for leaving, especially for young employees who value work-life balance.
The general picture in Turkey is also striking. According to Gallup's 2026 report, only 8% of employees in Turkey are genuinely engaged with their work, while 66% say they experience stress daily (Gallup, 2026; 2025 data). These figures are not specific to young people, but they are a reminder that young employees are stepping into such a working environment.
The secret of retaining a young employee is not trying to change them, but building an environment where, in their first months, they feel seen, feel they are learning and feel safe.
Seeing the Strengths of Young Employees
Conversations about young employees often run through problems; yet the relationship changes when organisations can also see the strengths these employees bring. Some strengths commonly observed in the field are these:
- Quick adaptation to digital tools: Young employees can be an important resource for learning a new piece of software, a reporting system or a digital work instruction and showing others how to use it.
- Questioning: The question "Why is this done this way?" can be the start of noticing inefficient practices that have become habit.
- Openness about mental health and boundaries: An employee who says early on that they are struggling makes it easier for the problem to be addressed before it grows.
- Openness to diversity and different perspectives: They may be more used to working with people from different backgrounds.
The way to benefit from these strengths is to place the young employee not only as a "learner" but also as a "contributor". For example, giving a young employee the task of introducing a new digital system to the team strengthens their sense of belonging and opens up a natural space for collaboration with experienced colleagues. Without forgetting that not every young employee will have these qualities, it is the manager's job to get to know the person and discover their strengths.
Young Employees and the Legislation
Article 10 of Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 requires that, when risk assessments are carried out, the situation of groups needing special policy consideration, such as young employees, be taken into account. Young and inexperienced employees may be more vulnerable in recognising risks in the work environment and taking measures against them.
Article 17 of the Law, in turn, provides for the employer to deliver occupational health and safety (OHS) training before work begins. It is important for both safety and adjustment that this training is given not as a formality where a signature is collected but in an environment where the young employee can ask questions and listen again to the parts they did not understand. Whether a young employee can say "I didn't understand" depends on psychological safety in the team; for details, you can read our article on psychological safety.
Practical Steps for Retaining Gen Z Employees
1. Give a realistic job preview. Describe the difficulties of the job honestly in the job advert and the interview. Not hiding information such as the shift pattern, the physical load and how often overtime occurs reduces early departures.
2. Plan the first week. Someone to welcome the young employee, a programme for the first day, introductions, an explanation of the big picture of the work and the appointment of a "buddy" (an experienced employee) shape the first impression.
3. Give short and frequent feedback. In the first months, short weekly conversations are enough to discuss what is going well and what can be improved. Feedback that is concrete and respectful can make even criticism motivating.
4. Make the path for development visible. Explain clearly which skills lead to which position, which training is available and how progress is assessed. Even in small businesses, a simple skills-based career map makes a difference.
5. Prepare managers to communicate with young employees. Talk with managers about how shouting, belittling and the "that's how we learned" approach push young employees away. In the World Health Organization's guidelines on mental health at work, the recommendation with the strongest evidence is to provide managers with mental health training (WHO, 2022).
6. Make room for their ideas. Suggestion systems, improvement teams or giving young people a voice in meetings are ways of making use of their wish to contribute. Even if a suggestion is not implemented, it matters that it is taken seriously and answered.
7. Clarify boundaries and flexibility. Set clear rules for contact outside working hours, announce shift plans in advance as far as possible and treat overtime as an exception.
8. Make mental health support accessible. Confidential individual counselling, stress management workshops and managers' ability to notice an employee who is struggling make it easier for young employees to raise their problems early and find support.
9. Be transparent about pay and benefits. Explaining the criteria for setting pay strengthens the perception of fairness. Even in periods when economic conditions are hard, transparent communication preserves trust.
Imagine a packaging factory that has lost a significant share of the young operators it hired over the past year in their first three months. The themes that stand out in exit interviews are being put on a machine from day one with nobody explaining anything, the shift supervisor shouting, and the shift plan being announced only a day in advance. While the factory management considers raising wages, it could in fact make a significant difference with low-cost steps such as an onboarding programme, communication training for shift supervisors and announcing the shift plan a week in advance.
How Do You Get Started in Your Organisation?
Needs analysis: We examine how long the young employees hired in the last year or two have stayed, in which departments and under which managers departures are concentrated, and the reasons that stand out in exit interviews. Confidential interviews and short surveys with currently employed young people show what keeps them and what pushes them away. Managers' observations about young employees are heard as well.
Programme: Based on the results of the analysis, it is possible to plan a redesign of the onboarding programme, communication and feedback training for managers and foremen working with young employees, a mentoring system, and stress management and individual support options for employees. You can see how such programmes can be structured on the corporate services page.
Measurement: Departure rates in the first 90 days and the first year, young employee surveys, participation in the mentoring programme and feedback about managers are monitored at regular intervals. The International Labour Organization also recommends regular monitoring of turnover and employee surveys (ILO, 2026).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Gen Z employees really less loyal?
Young employees have always tended to change jobs more often at the start of their careers; this is partly linked to the stage of life. Commitment is shaped less by generation than by the respect, development, fair pay and good management relationship that the workplace offers.
Why do Gen Z employees ask for frequent feedback?
Growing up in a digital environment where quick feedback is the norm, and the need to reduce uncertainty at the start of a career, can feed this expectation. Short, concrete and regular feedback speeds up the employee's development without costing the manager much time.
How can flexibility be provided for young people working in a factory?
Working hours in a production environment may not be flexible; but steps such as announcing the shift plan in advance, assessing leave requests fairly and quickly, shift-swap options and overtime being voluntary provide predictability.
What can an employer do about young employees' anxiety and stress?
The basic steps are managers noticing signs of struggle and starting a respectful conversation, offering confidential psychological counselling, and reviewing workload and working patterns. If serious difficulty or thoughts of self-harm are noticed, the person should be directed to professional support, and in emergencies 112 (Turkey's emergency services) should be called.
Bu yazı genel bilgilendirme amaçlıdır; tanı veya tedavi yerine geçmez. Yaşadığınız güçlükler için bir ruh sağlığı uzmanına başvurmanız önerilir. Acil bir durumda lütfen 112'yi arayın.
Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
Eğitimler