Flexa: 12% fewer Gen Z employees want flexible working – so what’s their top priority now?

Although flexible working has become a firm favorite for many employees, new research from job platform, Flexa Careers, has found that the younger generation are prioritizing job security over the choice to work from home.

The research, which pooled over over 2 million job seekers during the first quarter of 2025, suggested that today’s labor market, increasing taxes and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs coupled with the lowest levels of job vacancies in four years, has added pressure for young candidates.

In an exclusive conversation with Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO & Co-Founder of future of work experts Flexa, UNLEASH explores more.

Why has there been a decline in flexible working interest?

According to Flexa’s data, 12% fewer Gen Z (individuals aged 16 to 28) employees listed flexible working locations as a top criteria when searching for new roles in March 2025, compared to January 2025. 

This was the only age demographic that saw a decline in interest in flexible working. 

The younger generation is almost the age group least likely to want remote-first roles, with less than a quarter (24%) prioritizing them in March, compared to over a third (35%) of Gen X (individuals aged 45 to 60). 

Johnson-Jones explains: “The balance of power sits firmly with employers in the current labor market. This is reflected in the sheer number of job seekers as well as the scope of roles that individuals are looking for.

“Younger workers tend to be hailed as the biggest advocates for working from home. But Flexa data shows that Gen Z is currently least likely to want to work remotely full time, and is becoming less likely to prioritize location-based flexibility when seeking jobs.”

The latest Flexa data shows that, surprisingly, Gen Z candidates are beginning to prioritize ‘location flexibility’ when looking for new jobs.

“That means we are seeing less demand for fully remote roles from this cohort, in comparison with older generations in the workforce.” (remember to close quote marks)

Johnson-Jones continues to explain that these results “go against” the narrative that Gen Z is driving the ‘work from home’ and ‘work from anywhere’ culture shift. 

This, she adds, could be due to a number of reasons, for example, younger workers are increasingly valuing the professional development benefits of in-person office environments. 

The results also highlight the realities of a competitive job market, where younger workers are willing to trade off some level of location flexibility in exchange for a secure job.

This impact and pressure on the labor market was also found to align with a rise in demand for mental health support.

The survey found a 4% increase in employees wanting mental health support from their organizations from January (33%) to March (37%). This increase was present amongst all age groups, excluding Boomers – 22% of whom wanted mental health support.

“It’s clear that job seekers are both aware of the competition for roles and feeling the pressure, with demand for mental health support continuing to rise. Workers have made it clear where they can and can’t compromise,” Johnson-Jones highlights.

“Now it’s over to employers to offer the support that teams most need to ride out turbulent times and come out on top together.”

But as an overwhelming amount of data suggests that flexible working is a key ‘trend’ and incentive for employees to stay at a business – what should HR leaders do?

Johnson-Jones suggests that HR teams should seek to understand the ‘why’ behind these findings, including the possibility that Gen Z’s prioritization of flexibility could be driven more by necessity than choice. 

HR shouldn’t assume that younger workers no longer value flexible options, nor that older generations will prefer in-office working by default,” she concludes.

“HR leaders and managers play a critical role in creating workplace cultures where younger workers feel stable, seen and supported. Paying attention to what they truly want, rather than what public discourse is purporting, is key.”