Key Points:

• 75% of frontline employees across all generations feel burned out
• 72% of Gen Zers say workplace interactions have worsened their mental health
• More than half of all frontline employees would take more vacation time over a pay increase
• Workplace flexibility is frontline employees’ #2 factor in choosing an employer

First impressions of frontline work aren’t impressing Gen Z, and with this cohort slated to become a third of the world’s working population by 2030¹, not improving the employee experience could have a dramatic ripple effect on the labor market today and into the future. A new global study by UKG of nearly 13,000 frontline² employees and managers in 11 countries spanning all generations and industries shows the frontline workforce feels overworked, underappreciated, and tempted to quit for a better employee experience — with Gen Z (ages 18 to 27) reporting the worst impacts.

The research from UKG and Workplace Intelligence also shines a light on what Gen Z craves to create a more favorable frontline work experience: flexibility.

Frontline roles, by definition, often require employees to be physically present in a specific place or at a specific time to do their jobs. As the study finds, Gen Z employees desire more input into when they work, where they work, and how long they work. This may contribute to Gen Z frontline employees feeling more burned out (83%), compared with 75% of all frontline employees, and over one-third of Gen Z (36%) saying they’d quit because their job negatively affects their physical/mental wellbeing. Furthermore, 58% of Gen Z employees would rather have more vacation time than receive a pay increase, and 1 in 3 (29%) say they’d forgo a promotion for an extra week of paid time off each year.

Feelings from the Frontline Across All Generations, Industries

While Gen Z is overwhelmingly feeling more negative about frontline work, there are challenges reported by all generations. The UKG study uncovers that:

• 61% of Gen Z isn’t satisfied with their overall employee experience, vs. 55% across the frontline;
• More than 7 in 10 Gen Zers (72%) say interactions with people at work have worsened their mental health, vs. 62% among all frontline employees;
• 71% of Gen Z — and 59% of frontline employees in all generations — say they may quit because of negative interactions with their managers, co-workers, or customers;
• In organizations where frontline and corporate employees co-exist, nearly half of all frontline employees (49%) say there are two separate cultures: one for the frontline and one for everyone else; and
• About 1 in 5 frontline employees globally (19%) say they’re never recognized by their manager.

“Our global study finds that not all workplace cultures are supportive of Gen Z and the frontline workforce,” said Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence. “While it’s not all bad — for example, two-thirds of frontline employees globally (66%) consider their workplace great overall — there’s still critical work to do to get Gen Z more excited about frontline careers. One thing is for certain across all generations: if you don’t fix the frontline experience, you risk losing valuable talent.”

The Frontline Wants Greater Flexibility

Because many frontline employees can’t work from home as often as their laptop-toting counterparts, having greater control over their work schedule is a top desire. As the UKG study reveals, work-life balance/flexibility and work schedules (tied at 55%) are two of the most important factors frontline employees consider when choosing an employer, only behind pay/compensation (71%). Moreover, over a quarter of frontline employees globally (27%) say they’d resign due to a lack of workplace flexibility.

“Peoples’ work preferences have rapidly evolved over the past five years,” said Schawbel. “When you couple that with the digital, on-demand lifestyle that Gen Z has known their whole lives, it’s easy to see why the often-rigid nature of working in a physical location like a factory, hospital, school, warehouse, or retail shop would leave younger workers craving more choice. It’s exciting to see more organizations adopting innovative practices like employee self-scheduling, and that modern workforce management technology is rapidly pushing what’s possible for frontline flexibility even farther.”

A little over half of organizations with frontline employees (54%) offer flexible hours/self-scheduling. Other flexible scheduling practices are catching on, too, including shift trading with co-workers (41%), part-time work with no loss of benefits (28%), compressed workweeks (27%), and job sharing (18%). However, there’s still room for growth: more than 1 in 10 frontline leaders (14%) say their organization doesn’t offer any of these flexible work arrangements.

“Contrary to popular opinion, our study finds that the frontline wants to work — they just want more choice into when and how much,” said Teresa Smith, director of human insights and HCM strategic advisory at UKG. “In fact, despite feelings of burnout, 84% of frontline workers are either satisfied with the amount of overtime they work or wish they could work even more. Flexible work, including thinking about OT as a strategic tool to help organizations meet shifting business needs and help their employees at the same time, is key to attracting and retaining workers, regardless of age, across all industries.”

Everyone Deserves a Great Place to Work

In a somewhat-surprising stat in an era of job hopping and attrition, 20% of frontline employees globally say they have been with the same employer for more than 10 years — showing many organizations have already created a compelling employee experience. Furthermore:

• 81% of frontline employees feel psychologically safe at work, meaning they can express their opinions and ideas, take risks, or make mistakes without fear of retaliation.
• 66% of Gen Z and 61% of frontline employees say that, when they provide feedback about their work experience, the feedback usually influences change at their organization.
• Two-thirds of all frontline employees (67%) say they’re treated with respect at work.

“The frontline workforce comprises nearly 80% of the world’s working population, yet the benefits and perks we typically hear about are for the laptop-toting 20%,” said Smith. “We embarked on this global study — our largest ever — to help flip that narrative and uncover what the frontline wants from their employee experience. Small changes made today around flexibility and manager support, specifically for Gen Z, can have major positive ripple effects across the workforce for decades.”