Lessons for leaders: generation Z and working parents want the same things from work

Historically, even if the topic of working parents has made it to the boardroom, it’s often been tossed aside as an issue too niche for real investment or handed off to the only woman in the room.

This mindset stems from a generational hangover. Many senior leaders built their careers in an era when it was common for one partner to stay at home, manage the household and care for the children – freeing the other to focus almost entirely on their career.

But the world that allowed this traditional model to flourish no longer exists. Most families today neither want, nor can afford, that arrangement. This generation of new mothers and fathers is challenging the status quo and breaking down outdated gender norms and societal expectations that have long forced dads to sacrifice parenting and mums to sacrifice their careers. 

But this change in need, and expectation, is not isolated to working parents – it’s part of a broader movement, redefining how people want to work, live and find balance. More specifically, a growing body of research is pointing to the striking similarities between what working parents and generation Z (the cohort born between 1995 and 2012) need to thrive and what both are looking for from employers.

At WOMBA (Work, Me and the Baby), in partnership with Hult International Business School, we recently completed a four-year, multi-phase research project exploring the realities for working parents as they transition to parenthood. The last phase – a survey of more than 700 working mums and dads returning to work after maternity, shared or extended paternity leave – has added another important layer of insight to the story. 

While they may be separated by age and life stage, our findings revealed that working parents and gen Z share remarkably similar expectations of their employers. For leaders, this shouldn’t just be viewed as a note of interest – it’s a clear signal about what the future of a thriving workforce, and organisational competitiveness, will depend on. 

Financial stability is the foundation for thriving

The financial strain facing working parents is immense. The cost of childcare still remains astronomical for many families – although recent government measures have eased some of the burden. Add to that the UK’s poor statutory paternity provision – ranking 40th out of 43 OECD countries – plus rising fees for wraparound care and school holiday clubs and it’s little wonder many parents are forced to choose between their careers and their children. 

It may be little surprise then, that when we asked working parents what they needed to thrive in work, both mums and dads ranked financial stability (87%) as the single most important factor. 

A similar picture is emerging for gen Z. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, the cost of living has topped gen Z’s list of concerns for the fourth consecutive year – worryingly, this is up ten percentage points since 2022. Nearly half (48%) also say they do not feel financially secure.

This isn’t about entitlement. Financial security is the foundation on which all other aspects of wellbeing and workplace performance are built.

Flexibility is a universal demand, not a ‘perk’

For working parents, flexibility is what makes the daily juggle possible – school runs, gaps in childcare and looming deadlines included. And it’s not just about when they work, but where. In our survey, mothers cited flexible working hours (85%) as their second most important factor for thriving. Fathers, too, are increasingly seeking flexibility in hours (79%) so they can play a more active role in parenting while balancing a career, challenging outdated notions of what it means to be a “provider”.

Gen Z, meanwhile, is rejecting the idea that flexibility is a privilege. Instead, they see it as a principle and they tend to value autonomy over attendance – a mindset that directly clashes with the five-day, in-office mandates many corporations have recently re-introduced. In the same Deloitte report, gen Z pinpointed flexible working hours as the single biggest factor in achieving a better work-life balance.

What’s clear is that this demand for autonomy is spanning generations, but the principle remains the same – people perform better when they have control over their time. It’s the organisations that treat flexibility as a favour, rather than a fundamental, who are missing the point – and missing out on valuable talent. 

Fulfilment is a primary professional driver

Becoming a parent is one of life’s biggest challenges and our research programme laid that bare. Many mothers told us they struggle to balance their dual identities as professionals and parents, often concealing parts of themselves at work for fear of being judged by colleagues or managers as “less than”. As one mum in phase one of our study put it: “There’s a perception that I’ve gone from being someone who really cared and was good at work to someone who doesn’t care. And that’s really not true. I love my job.” 

It follows, then, that for the working parents we surveyed, trust, the ability to balance work with parental identity and the freedom to bring their whole selves to work ranked among the top factors in thriving professionally. 

Gen Z takes these expectations even further. They’re vocal about wanting employers to be inclusive, to align with their personal values, and to prioritise mental health. A survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that 74% of gen-Z employees want their workplace to prioritise good mental health. Plus, they want their work to matter — and they’ll walk away if it doesn’t. According to the Deloitte study, 44% of gen-Z employees have left roles that lacked purpose, while around 40% have turned down projects or employers that didn’t align with their ethics or values.

Disregard employee needs at your peril 

It’s tempting for leaders to see gen Z’s demands as youthful idealism or entitlement and working parents as uncommitted and a logistical headache. But there’s a real risk to disregarding what your employees are telling you. These working groups make up a significant portion of the workforce – parents around one-third and gen Z 27% globally – and they’re willing to vote with their feet if the fit isn’t right. 

14% of working parents told us they do not plan to be with their current organisation over the next two years. Among those who had left the organisation where they took parental leave, 71% of fathers and over half of mothers said it was to pursue a better opportunity elsewhere. 

For gen Z, nearly one-third plan to switch employers within the next two years driven, not by a lack of loyalty, but as a way to obtain a better work/life balance (28%), flexibility (25%) and a greater sense of purpose (14%).

The risks go beyond retention. Employers unable to meet these expectations also face reputational damage – 12% of parents told us they would not recommend their workplace as a good environment for other working parents. 

Organisations that rise to these expectations will not only attract top young talent, but will also retain experienced professionals navigating parenthood. And those that don’t? Well, they risk losing both. 

Helen Sachdev is co-founder and director at WOMBA (Work, Me and the Baby), an organisational and executive coaching practice. 

Historically, even if the topic of working parents has made it to the boardroom, it’s often been tossed aside as an issue too niche for real investment or handed off to the only woman in the room.

This mindset stems from a generational hangover. Many senior leaders built their careers in an era when it was common for one partner to stay at home, manage the household and care for the children – freeing the other to focus almost entirely on their career.

But the world that allowed this traditional model to flourish no longer exists. Most families today neither want, nor can afford, that arrangement. This generation of new mothers and fathers is challenging the status quo and breaking down outdated gender norms and societal expectations that have long forced dads to sacrifice parenting and mums to sacrifice their careers.