When I talk with business leaders about Gen Z, the same frustration often bubbles up: “They won’t stay.” It’s said with a kind of bewildered shrug, as if the younger generation has suddenly rewritten the rules out of thin air. I heard it again last week during a radio segment I did about generational dynamics at work. The host asked why Gen Z feels so comfortable moving on so quickly.

Here’s what I’ve learned after a decade teaching them, coaching them, and watching them navigate the workplace: Gen Z doesn’t think they’re doing anything unusual. And frankly, once you look at the data, it’s hard to argue with them.

A new Youngstown State University study of 1,000 full-time U.S. professionals found that nearly half of Gen Z workers are already planning to leave their jobs—not for higher pay, but for better growth. That is the highest rate of all generations surveyed.

It’s not impulsiveness. It’s not disloyalty. It’s something far more reasonable. It’s “growth hunting.”

There’s a familiar script about young workers: They’re too quick to leave, too impatient, too everything. That narrative has been around for so long that many leaders use it as the default explanation without thinking.

But when nearly one out of two early-career workers say they can’t picture a future where they are, that points to something systemic—not........

© Fast Company