Refusing promotion to avoid pressure
In China, a trend is being hotly discussed on social networks: Young people actively refuse promotions. Instead of considering the offer to a higher position as a reward after many years of working, they carefully consider the increase in income and accompanying responsibilities.
Many people also share online how to cleverly refuse promotion, often starting with a thank you, then explaining that they are not ready or want to continue professional development in the current position.
June, a 10-year-old Chinese employee, refused promotion 3 times. The first time happened when she was a management intern at a technology company. Instead of accepting a new position, she chose to travel.
After that, June was promoted to head a training center at an educational company but only 2 weeks later asked to return to her old position due to increasing pressure. In April, she continued to refuse the opportunity for a 3rd promotion after realizing that her salary did not increase significantly.
June believes that management positions often come with great responsibility but financial incentives are not commensurate.
A Chinese social media user wrote: "After becoming a temporary group leader, I only earned 100 CNY (about 330,000 VND) per month. But when something happened, the person held responsible was me.
This trend does not only appear in China. British recruitment company Robert Walters calls this phenomenon globally "conscious unbossing", which can be understood as "proactively not being a boss".
A survey conducted by Robert Walters in 2024 showed that more than half of Gen Z (born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s) do not want to become middle managers, while 72% prioritize self-development over managing others.
However, refusing promotion does not mean giving up ambition. A person may not want to manage personnel but still want to increase income, improve expertise or become an expert in their field.
Job-hopping, freelance to exchange for initiative
The change is also reflected in the way Gen Z chooses jobs. Instead of sticking with a business for a long time just to wait for each step up, many people are willing to change jobs if the salary, environment or learning opportunities are no longer suitable.
Deloitte's 2026 survey of Gen Z and Millennials (born from the early 1980s to mid-1990s) with 22,595 people in 44 countries showed that nearly 30% of Gen Z have full-time or part-time part-time jobs. Financial needs are an important motivation, but more than 1/3 of part-time workers said that part-time jobs also help them develop skills and relationships.
Deloitte also noted that about 20% of Gen Z and 21% of Millennials are willing to accept a peer-to-peer position or even a lower title in exchange for experience that benefits their career in the long run. This shows that the career path of young people is increasingly less straight.
Financial pressure also makes Gen Z's career choices more pragmatic. In the Deloitte 2026 survey, 55% of Gen Z said their financial situation forced them to delay major decisions in life such as getting married, starting a family, taking extra classes or starting a business. Living expenses continue to be the top concern of 38% of Gen Z surveyed.
Therefore, a young person changing jobs, working part-time or choosing flexible jobs does not necessarily mean they lack commitment to their career. In many cases, it is a way to create extra income, accumulate skills and maintain initiative in the face of a volatile labor market.
Choose to balance
A comment shared on Chinese social media wrote: "Rejecting promotion does not mean giving up on development. Development is not always about climbing to a higher position, but it can also be self-development. I want to have a stable, manageable job that gives me more time for my hobbies and family.
This view partly reflects how many young people are redefine success in their careers.
According to a Deloitte survey in 2024, 86% of Gen Z believe that a purposeful and meaningful job is very or relatively important for work satisfaction and mental health. By the 2025 survey, this rate even increased to 89%. Notably, 44% of Gen Z surveyed in 2025 said they had left a job when they felt purposeless.
Balancing work and personal life is also one of the factors that Gen Z and Millennials prioritize when choosing employers.
Deloitte's 2026 survey continues to show that the way young people define "development" is changing. Only 25% of Gen Z want a career path that accelerates with rapid promotions, while 44% prioritize stable development speed.
This is especially noteworthy when placed next to Gen Z's concerns about management roles. Among those surveyed, 50% see stress and exhaustion as a barrier to becoming a leader, another 50% worry about excessive responsibility, while 41% worry that management positions can affect work-life balance.
However, that does not mean Gen Z lacks ambition. A Deloitte 2026 survey shows that only 6% of Gen Z and Millennials see leadership as their main career goals, but up to 76% of Gen Z are still interested in taking on senior leadership roles at some point in their careers.
Becky Frankiewicz - Chairman and Strategy Director of ManpowerGroup said that Gen Z and Millennials do not completely give up their leadership aspirations. They still want to take on leadership roles, but are not willing to trade other priorities in life to achieve that. For them, their career needs to be consistent with the overall life, instead of forcing personal life to revolve around work.
A job worth pursuing, in this view, is not only evaluated by salary, title or promotion speed, but also by whether it brings a sense of meaning, development opportunities and enough space for personal life or not?
