The hard-working Gen Zers who prefer life in the office

Telegraph

13 hours ago

'Gen Lay-Z'. 'The WFH generation'. 'Nobody wants to work any more'.
Depending on who you ask, Gen Z are the ultimate office refuseniks. Their early careers unfolded from bedrooms and kitchen tables, shaped by lockdowns and Zoom fatigue.
The watercooler chat? Dead. Al desko lunches? Forgotten. Post-work drinks with the team? Fat chance.
They were firmly hooked on back-to-back video calls, Slack pings and a digital nomad-esque life with Wi-Fi as the only real anchor. For love nor money nor free lunches, Britain's under-30s could not be tempted by face-to-face working. Or so bosses thought.
Contrary to this narrative, plenty of Gen Z workers have been consistently coming into the office, even when most of their colleagues chose to stay at home.
Tamara Salloum moved to London from Beirut three years ago to work at PR firm, ING Media. Although the company has recently mandated workers to go in three days a week in person, she's been a steadfast office devotee since her start date.
'I need that clear line between home and work,' she explains. 'In the office, I can brainstorm ideas, learn from seniors, collaborate across teams and clients and socialise. Then, when I'm home, it's just for decompressing and tuning out.'
Although 28-year-old Salloum had worked in the sector before her move to the UK, she knew being in five days a week would help her adjust more quickly to the new culture and communication styles.
There are more tangible pluses, too – she works across two monitors, from a proper chair and, as summer hots up, she's enjoying the building's air con. Financially, it makes more sense than working from home, as ING Media provides breakfast, snacks and coffees. Salloun spends around £6 a day on travel.
An increasing number of Gen Z workers like Salloum are choosing to be in for most of the week, far more than older peers. A March survey of 12,000 workers in 44 countries by property group, JLL, found that workers aged 24 and under are more likely than any other generation to be in the office, and come in an average three days, compared to between 2.5 and 2.7 days among other generations.
While commercial real estate companies like JLL have skin in the game in the return to office tussle, several other large surveys show similar shifts.
In mid 2024, the urban policy research unit and charity, Centre for Cities, surveyed office attendance in six global cities, finding that in London, the youngest workers (aged 18-24) spent the most time working in the office each week on average.
That's despite having the lowest mandated time in the office – 3.1 days on average, compared to four in Sydney, 3.6 in Singapore, 3.4 in New York and 3.3 in Toronto. This younger cohort of Londoners was also the most likely age group to say they work best in the office, at 43pc.
There are signs the trend will extend to those who have yet to enter Britain's workforce, or are just starting out.
Bright Network, which connects graduates and young professionals with recruiters in global companies, surveyed 15,000 UK students and found that six in 10 (59pc) of graduates want to go into the office five days a week. Of those who want to be in five days a week (31pc), there's been an increase of 6pc since last year.
So, amid clamours of return to office mandates – with companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Boots and THG ordering staff back to the office for five days a week – why are some Gen Zers heading back of their own accord? And what does the younger cohort's boomerang move mean for the rest of the workforce?
'Slack channels can't replicate hanging out with people'
Against the backdrop of the 'working from home revolution' in the UK, it's easy to overlook a quieter crisis: the young people who missed out on fundamental, identity-shaping experiences during the pandemic – chances to make friends, build networks and find their footing in adult life.
While older generations often relied on pre-existing communities, forged through university, long-term employment, hobbies or local ties, many younger adults had no such foundations in place.
Can you miss what you never had? Perhaps – and the data suggests as much. A report by the think tank, Onward, shows that one in five Britons aged 18-24 have one or no close friends, a proportion that's tripled over the last decade.
Supporting this trend, earlier figures show that those aged between 16 and 29 are at least twice as likely to report feeling lonely often, or always, than those over 70 (9.7pc versus 3.7pc).
Courtney Boateng, entrepreneur and co-founder of To My Sisters, a community and podcast empowering women in academia and the workplace, believes Gen Z's appetite for the office is centred around 'community and the sense of belonging that comes with that'.
Young people – herself included – see this as a way to accelerate faster in a career, not in a superficial or transactional way, but out of genuine connection.
'That's what people are seeking in so many areas of their life, and Gen Z wants that from the office,' says Boateng.
Salloum, who has made close friends with her colleagues at ING Media, would agree. Many of her work buddies are of a similar age and like going to the Shoreditch site almost as much as her.
'We go on coffee runs and lunch together, and sit on the office terrace when the weather is good,' she says. There's a social committee which organises game nights, team quizzes and during Ramadan, a team iftar. She says she'd get FOMO if she stayed home.
'I'm lucky that I really like my colleagues, so I never worry it will be awkward or that we won't have things to talk about,' says Lewis White, 27, a research officer at the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. 'For me, there's no amount of Slack channels that can replicate the feeling of hanging out with people, and chatting while you work.'
A psychology graduate, White began his career as a healthcare assistant at a men's psychiatric intensive care unit, and after three and a half years, began looking in the third sector. He was pleased to find a role that aligned so well with his interest in mental health, and after a six-month internship at the charity, White moved into a full-time position.
Staff are required to be in the office at least two days a week, but White usually goes in for roughly three days – a number that might increase when the office relocates from central London to east London, where he can cycle easily from home.
Mentored, not micromanaged
The stereotype that Gen Z is universally work-shy has seeped into the workplace. According to Statista, a quarter of UK business owners and employers describe these younger workers as struggling with professional boundaries, displaying informality and being resistant to criticism – traits often mistaken for laziness, rather than signs of needing better support.
Boateng believes that many Gen Z workers are simply under-equipped and eager for guidance. 'They want to be mentored, not just micromanaged,' she says, noting it's often far easier to achieve this in person.
White, being new to the sector, appreciates the immediacy of in-office communication. 'If I need to run something by someone, I can pull them aside, bring my laptop over, and have a quick chat,' he explains. 'It cuts out the 5-10 minutes of messaging on Slack or setting up a Google Meet.'
As these young people enter the workforce, Kirsten Barnes, chief executive of Bright Network, explains that they definitely see the office as 'the place to learn by osmosis and upskill in both soft and hard skills to propel them into the future'.
Indeed, Bright Network's research found that the chance to learn from others remains the top reason young people want to go into the office (39pc), followed by the opportunity to build their networks (18pc), then teamwork and collaboration (11pc).
Proximity to managers and senior leadership matters, too. 'Gen Zers don't expect to be best pals with the chief executive, but they shouldn't be these mystical figures at the top either,' says Boateng.
She likens her generation to toddlers, always asking why. It can be annoying, she admits, but it stems from a genuine desire to understand the workplace and the complex systems within it.
'Asking the hard questions – and getting the hard answers – builds our understanding of the social environment, and helps us become more invested, mature contributors to a workplace.'
'I'm lucky to have a job'
Recent graduate Neel Shah works as a digital marketer for JDM Distributors and has to go into the office-cum-warehouse every day, although this suits him fine.
'I've never worked from home, but I'd get really lazy if I did,' says Shah, who begins his day with the gym at 5.30am, before heading home to change and then drive from Harrow to Watford for an 8am start.
He handles JDM's email marketing, influencer collaborations, social media marketing and website, so if he's not in the office, he's managing or attending events and meeting with collaborators.
Shah feels well-liked and trusted at work and that he's fulfilling the expectations made of him. Doing a five-day week on-site, he says, has helped him adjust quickly to working life after his degree.
'I feel lucky to have got an internship at JDM and then a job, because tons of my friends are still looking for any kind of permanent work,' he explains. 'I know lots who finished their degrees three or four years ago, but have only been able to find zero-hours contracts since then, which is scary when you're in so much debt from uni.'
Under the thumb of intensifying labour market pressures, the outlook for graduates in Shah's cohort is far from rosy. With the threat of Trump's tariffs, and higher taxes for employers taking effect, job vacancies fell to the lowest level in nearly four years in April. It's understandable then, that rising numbers of younger workers would sacrifice working from home to secure a new role.
According to a new analysis of over two million jobseekers by Flexa, 12pc fewer Gen Z job seekers listed 'location flexibility' as a key criteria for new roles in March, compared to the start of the year.
By contrast, demand for location flexibility increased among all other age groups over the same time period. For the youngest Gen Zers fresh out of further education, the balance of power clearly sits with the employer.
The spectre of RTO mandates
While around 59pc of UK professionals now work in a hybrid capacity, a four percentage point increase since 2024, according to Michael Page's Talent Trends Report 2025, many are anxious about the future of flexible working. Work arrangements consistently top candidate concerns during job interviews facilitated by Michael Page.
These fears, however, may be misplaced. Despite bold declarations from high-profile chief executives calling for bums on seats, the data tells a different story. Research from King's College London shows remote work rates have held steady since 2022.
Drawing on over a million Labour Force Survey records and 50,000 responses to the UK Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the study also found growing resistance to full-time office mandates. In 2025, half of UK employees said they'd consider leaving their job if forced back full-time – up from 40pc in 2022. The share who would quit on the spot has doubled, from 5pc to 10pc.
'Anyone facing a return to office mandate should hold their ground – resistance is more than reasonable,' says Professor Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and lead author of the study. 'In the UK at least, flexibility is the norm – and will continue to be so.'
For young professionals hoping to make themselves indispensable in a tough economy, the office can be a place for connection, mentorship and growth – but not at the cost of flexibility.
White believes the appeal lies in having the option to work from home when needed.
'Several of my close friends still work in healthcare, and it's complicated – they're right to be jealous of my hybrid setup,' he says. 'When I was at the hospital, I felt the same way about anyone in an office job.'
Salloum agrees that having flexibility is key: 'I love being in the office – but I also love having the option to work from home when I need to.'