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Sun, Nov 09, 2025 | Jumada al-Awwal 18, 1447 | Fajr 05:12 | DXB 
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Why Gen-Z is ditching the corporate climb for 'career minimalism'
The youngest workforce is redefining success, trading titles and burnout for work-life boundaries, side hustles, and purpose-driven flexibility
Twenty-five-year-old Sukayna Kazmi works as a campaign manager at an influencer marketing company while also taking on freelance gigs and leading other passion projects like the women’s support group FemFam Dubai and the Dubai Jobs and Internships Community to help people find jobs. To generations that came before Kazmi, this might sound like a lot, as juggling full-time jobs and side hustles was practically unheard of. But today, it has become so common that there is even a term for it – ‘career minimalism’.
Contrary to popular belief, ‘career minimalism’ doesn’t mean coasting through work or being lazy. As career coaches and others have pointed out, it reflects the youngest workforce’s shifting career goals and pursuit of happiness outside of work. “I don’t want to just tick boxes or chase titles,” says Kazmi. “I look for roles and projects that allow me to grow, tell impactful stories or build something of value. Instead of attaching my identity to a job title, I focus on the skills I’m gaining and the experiences that truly matter.”
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The term entered the public lexicon earlier this year after a Glassdoor Community survey revealed that 68 per cent of Gen-Z workers (the poll surveyed over 1,000 US professionals) seemed to ‘reject the traditional corporate ladder’ and ‘wouldn’t pursue management if it weren’t for the paycheck or title’. Instead, it said, they prefer to choose financial stability and security over status, establish boundaries for a sustainable work:life balance and have side hustles that are personally gratifying and give them a sense of purpose and identity.
“For me, career minimalism is about aligning work with meaning,” says Kazmi. “I’ve noticed millennials often equate stability with success — climbing the corporate ladder or securing long-term roles. Gen-Z, on the other hand, values flexibility, mental health and purpose much more.” She adds that her peers don’t hesitate to leave well-paying jobs that don’t feel fulfilling. “They’d rather freelance, build side hustles or explore creative projects that give them autonomy and a sense of meaning.”
Redefining career commitment
It is perhaps unfair to generalise an entire generation – after all, individuals have their own unique needs and desires – but millennials have, generally speaking, grown up watching their parents spend their entire careers working at one company or two. There used to be an old-school sense of pride and honour in retiring from the same organisation they had joined at the start of their careers. It’s no surprise, then that many millennials hold similar beliefs about work ethics and career stability.
Marisa Kamall, career coach and founder of GAIA, a women’s leadership community based in Dubai, points out that millennials were often raised to work hard and long hours without complaining and, sometimes, suffered as a result. Gen-Z, on the contrary, grew up witnessing the toll burnout could have on workers, and how global pandemics and crises could leave the world wobbly. “People aren’t interested in working for one company for decades anymore, doing the same thing and slowly working their way up the ranks,” she explains. While interacting with young leaders, Kamall says they often talk about boundaries, and not dedicating 80 hours a week to a job that doesn’t align with their values. “Gen-Z are clearer on what they will and won’t tolerate than my generation was at their age.”
As a result, organisations have begun to reassess their work culture and HR policies in an effort to recruit and retain young talent. Dr Anurag Byala, CEO of global digital e-commerce firm Techies Infotech, for instance, explains that companies like theirs offer hybrid work options, encourage vacation time and prioritise mental health. As someone who hires interns throughout the year, Byala says he has observed behaviours and attitudes that align with career minimalism among Gen-Z interns. “The most telling indicator is retention rates,” he explains. “Roughly three out of 10 interns choose not to accept our full-time employment offers, even when extended. When we gather feedback to understand their decision-making, the most common response is that the role doesn’t align with their expectations. Sometimes, we get feedback like ‘it’s not fun working here’ or ‘the culture is too serious about work’ – which admittedly makes me wonder what their benchmark for ‘fun’ actually is.” However, career minimalism also challenges the toxic productivity culture where success is measured by overtime hours rather than actual output, he adds.
Experts are divided over the potential lifespan of the ‘trend’. While Kamall believes that career minimalism isn’t going anywhere as “it’s very much in tune with how Gen-Z lives and thinks”, Ben Hardy, clinical professor of organisational behaviour and academic director (EMBA Dubai, EMBA London) at London Business School, is sceptical about ‘career minimalism’ being a legitimate concept at all. “Most of the references lead back to Glassdoor… At this stage, I haven’t seen enough evidence to point to it as a genuine trend,” he says via email.
Hardy hasn’t found Gen-Z to be “terribly different” and says that historically, people have always taken up jobs for financial reasons rather than out of passion, and predicts that the ‘trend’ will probably fizzle out soon. “But complaints about the young by older generations, on the other hand, are very unlikely to fizzle out,” he says. “I suspect some other idea of how the young are feckless and work-shy will be developed.”
But if it doesn’t fizzle out, it could alter the way workplaces function. It may make it easier for individuals to switch jobs as their side hustles might unlock networks and lucrative opportunities elsewhere, but this could also mean they don’t stay long enough to develop expertise in one area. “You may also not get the positive experiences that being ‘forced’ to do something may lead to,” says Hardy. “Many interesting career directions have started because someone was asked to do something they didn’t want to do, only for them to discover they enjoy and are good at it. And the downsides for organisations are the costs of replacement and training.”
Career minimalism: a luxury?
Ankita Dhiman, fashion marketing and PR executive at MULU, is 27 years old. Her social circle is mostly Gen-Z, while she interacts with millennials at work and home. “I would say that Gen-Z wants to make sure that they enjoy what they do,” she says, adding that they generally reject monotony and routine. “I need every day to be exciting, where something new happens which I can contribute to.” Career minimalism doesn’t mean working less, she points out, but just having clear boundaries. “Sometimes, it is necessary to put in late hours or work over the weekends when there is extra work, but it should not happen regularly. All my friends and classmates try to maintain that balance.” Dhiman herself spends her free time painting, attending dance workshops, creating content on social media, and reading up on styling trends.
Hardy points out that people who work to support their side hustles and other passions might be happier and their skills might come in handy at work, but also that “having enough financial headroom to be able to pursue other things is a bit of a luxury”. Byala agrees. “It’s considerably easier to pursue career minimalism when you don’t have immediate financial responsibilities. Those who need to support themselves or their families often don’t have the luxury of turning down stable employment.”
Gen-Z is heavily influenced by what they see online and consume content on the perfect work:life balance — which doesn’t always reflect reality, he adds. “The challenge for both employers and young professionals,” says Byala, “is finding common ground: workplaces that are engaging and meaningful, while also recognising that building a career requires patience, effort, and sometimes doing work that isn’t immediately thrilling.”
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