For years, headlines have warned of robots taking jobs, automation erasing careers, and synthetic intelligence (AI) creating an unsure future for youthful generations. However should you ask Era Z interns getting into the workforce in 2025, the story appears very completely different.
Based on a brand new survey of greater than 1,100 KPMG interns throughout the U.S., Gen Z doesn’t see AI as a looming risk. As an alternative, they see it as a strong software they really feel assured utilizing to spice up their efficiency. Whereas half of respondents anticipate roughly 20% of their jobs to be automated as soon as they begin full-time roles, 92% consider they will adapt. What they need from their employers isn’t safety from expertise—it’s mentorship, stability, and a more healthy steadiness between work and life.
“Gen Z is making AI work for them,” stated Derek Thomas, Nationwide Companion-in-Cost of College Expertise Acquisition at KPMG U.S. “Whereas different generations are nonetheless debating whether or not to make use of it, Gen Z is exploring new and inventive methods to make the most of AI for elevated effectivity of their each day lives and improve their efficiency at work.”
In an interview with Fortune, Thomas stated he’s seen how, with the combination of AI into early-career workflows, “a few of these mundane issues that they have been doing earlier than can now be automated and the issues that simply didn’t take plenty of thought, extra routine-type processes are actually being completed by way of expertise.” New hires, typically Gen Z, are getting to a degree the place they will go a take care of larger and deeper points, and utilizing extra important considering, than the earlier expectation. They’re “diving into the analytical facet, the extra higher-risk, sophisticated facet of issues, earlier of their profession than I most likely would have once I was arising.”
Digitally experimental, however cautious
The survey, carried out in July 2025, exhibits Gen Z’s consolation with AI stands out sharply in comparison with older friends within the office. 60% of interns described themselves as extra experimental with AI instruments than different generations, making use of them not solely to highschool and work tasks, but in addition to non-public duties. Almost 9 in 10 already use generative AI no less than a few times per week.
Nonetheless, confidence doesn’t imply blind belief. When requested about dangers, interns pointed first to over-reliance: the concern of shedding creativity and demanding considering within the course of. Misinformation and algorithmic bias adopted intently as considerations. This mix of enthusiasm and warning units the technology aside: They wish to grasp new expertise, however not give up to it.
That stress extends to training as effectively. Simply 8% stated their universities strongly inspired the usage of AI instruments, whereas greater than half reported that colleges permitted AI below structured tips. For Gen Z, the message is evident: AI is efficacious, however boundaries and steadiness matter. KPMG’s Large 4 rival, EY, had comparable conclusions in its personal sweeping survey of Gen Z. They’re the “pragmatic technology,” Marcie Merriman and Zak Dychtwald wrote, approaching “life’s conventional milestones” with a type of “reasoned skepticism” that comes from seeing plenty of myths busted of their childhood.
Thomas stated that’s an attention-grabbing view, and in his expertise, he’s seen Gen Z eager to see proof earlier than they decide to a sure strategy. “As an example, coming into the workplace, exhibiting them that profit.” He stated he’s seen an perspective amongst Gen Zers like, “Okay, you’re telling me it’s going to be good for me, however is it actually?” The extra that leaders can present them what the advantages will likely be, the extra confidence they’ll have they’re not simply doing one thing for the sake of doing it. That is actually a giant change for Gen Xers and older millennials, who have been anticipated to point out up on the workplace every single day from 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. onward, no excuses.
A 9-to-5 riot
Maybe essentially the most putting distinction between Gen Z and former cohorts isn’t their relationship with expertise—it’s their imaginative and prescient for the office itself. Conventional 9-to-5 schedules, a cornerstone of company life for many years, usually are not a part of their ultimate future. Almost half of the interns surveyed stated eliminating inflexible workday constructions was their prime desired change.
What they need greater than something? Steadiness. Work-life steadiness ranked as the highest precedence when contemplating full-time jobs, surpassing wage. Interns voiced nervousness about when, or if, it was acceptable to step away from their desks, revealing how office norms nonetheless dictate refined pressures. Many additionally need employers to scale back obligatory video necessities throughout digital conferences and to put extra emphasis on well-being than earlier generations skilled.
Thomas stated within the survey Gen Z needs “nice careers with actual steadiness … Right here’s the irony: essentially the most digitally linked technology in historical past is aware of that actual profession magic occurs face-to-face. They need mentors, not simply managers — and they’re studying by experiencing and observing in-person interactions.”
Thomas summed up the perspective he sees from Gen Z staff: “Can I’ve flexibility to get the work completed, so long as I’m exhibiting the outcomes that it is advisable to see?” He stated there’s give-and-take to this, as flexibility doesn’t imply coming in at 5:00 am when no one is within the workplace. As soon as that negotiation is labored out, he added, “It’s been surprisingly simpler to get the youthful of us into the workplace extra typically and eager to be there extra arms on than among the of us who’ve been round for just a little bit longer, so I’ve been pleasantly stunned to see they actually do thirst for that in-person interplay.”
Wellness advantages are central to that equation. Monetary wellness topped the record of desired help applications, adopted by versatile wellness perks and family-oriented advantages. For a technology that got here of age throughout financial volatility, monetary well being and long-term safety weigh closely.
Mentorship over machines
One other notable revelation from the survey: regardless of being digital natives, Gen Z exhibits a robust desire for in-person studying over something tech-enabled. Interns stated face-to-face mentoring, peer-to-peer information sharing, and hands-on tasks have been the simplest methods to study.
Mockingly, short-form movies and AI-powered adaptive studying—codecs designed to enchantment to fast-paced learners—ranked among the many least most well-liked.
The survey additionally underscores the significance of workplace tradition of their improvement. Respondents discovered in-person interactions most useful for navigating office norms, whether or not by observing managers in conferences or sharing casual conversations over lunch. These interactions not solely constructed confidence but in addition cast private connections: A majority reported making 5 or extra real friendships with fellow interns this summer season. Gallup has discovered help for this in current polling, with Gen Z rising because the technology least enamored of distant work.
Stability in an unsure market
Although Gen Z is usually stereotyped as stressed or job-hopping, the survey tells one other story. Almost 60% stated they anticipate to spend most of their careers at only one or two firms, climbing the ladder by constructing experience moderately than consistently switching employers. One other 35% anticipate staying in a single area whereas altering roles over time, whereas 27% say they are going to prioritize function over conventional profession paths.
Regardless of the trajectory, stability looms giant. These preferences replicate the financial pressures Gen Z has grown up with: international recessions, inflationary shocks, and waves of layoffs throughout industries. Safety and progress alternatives outrank the attract of fixed reinvention.
“Gen Z needs to go deep, not huge,” Thomas stated. “They’re in search of employers who spend money on their progress, supply purpose-driven work and supply the steadiness to construct significant careers over time.”
Combating labels and shaping tradition
Cultural id stays a key driver for this technology. When requested about constructing inclusive workplaces, respecting completely different views ranked highest on the record, adopted by accommodating various working kinds. Their largest problem in digital office settings, although, was deciding how a lot persona to disclose on-line—a telling sign for a technology typically scrutinized for oversharing on social media.
One of many clearest messages from the survey is that Gen Z needs to redefine the stereotypes hooked up to them. Almost half of respondents stated the notion of their technology as “lazy or unmotivated” was the label they most needed to eradicate.
That stereotype is more and more at odds with survey knowledge and the behaviors employers are already observing. Gen Z is technologically savvy, proactive about wellness, intentional about careers, and targeted on studying from actual human interactions. They could not purchase into the inflexible constructions of previous a long time, however they’re motivated by constructing purposeful, steady, and balanced lives.
Thomas shared that he needed to overcome that sort of bias himself, earlier than he acknowledged that what he thought was a reluctance to work arduous was actually Gen Zers being rather more snug setting boundaries with him than he would have been at that age. “I didn’t develop up realizing that I might set up boundaries, that it was okay to take a seat there and check out to determine how one can have that steadiness,” he stated, providing reward for what he experiences as a “actually modern group of people.”
The Gen Z proposition
For employers, this analysis is greater than a generational snapshot. Firms that deal with AI purely as a cost-cutting substitute threat alienating a technology that sees it as an enhancement. Organizations that cling to inflexible work schedules or underinvest in mentorship might miss the prospect to retain among the most adaptable expertise getting into the workforce.
Gen Z isn’t asking for much less work. They’re asking for work that’s smarter, extra versatile, and extra sustainable—work that permits them to develop as professionals with out sacrificing their wellbeing.
“This technology needs careers that gasoline their ambitions with out burning them out,” Thomas concluded. “Gen Z brings their entire self to work and expects their employers to help each a part of that equation. It’s about constructing a satisfying life, not only a profitable profession.”
On the finish of the day, Thomas informed Fortune, work remains to be work and nothing succeeds like success. One factor he tells new hires is that the higher they carry out, the extra they’ll get their longed-for flexibility. “We do specific upon them the significance of having the ability to display that [they] can get the work completed, and that [they] may be relied upon.” That feels like one thing downright old school: a robust work ethic.