Gen Z Redefining Workplace: Report on India's Workforce Shift

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) A new generation of workforce the Gen Z -- those under the age of 35 -- is rewriting the rules of career growth, as they are stepping away from conventional education pathways, questioning linear career growth, and disengaging from rigid corporate cultures, a senior executive of a digital recruitment platform said.

India is home to the world's largest youth workforce. And within that, Gen Z is rapidly emerging as a force of its own, they are expected to comprise 27 per cent of India's workforce by 2025.

"We are witnessing a profound generational shift in the workplace, one that challenges not just how we recruit, but why we exist as employers. India is at the heart of this change," said Devashish Sharma, Founding Member and CEO Taggd, a digital recruitment platform.

Gen Z is giving more importance to purpose than perks, and a non-linear growth in career over guarantees.

"They want to work for companies that stand for what's important. Whether it's sustainability, ethics, diversity or equality," Sharma said, adding that 80 per cent of Gen Z professionals choose mentorship and advancement over a bigger paycheck.

For Gen Z, flexibility is a non-negotiable standard. The 9-to-5 model doesn't resonate for them. Gen Z values independence in how they work. They prefer flexible schedules, asynchronous collaboration, and environments that reward outcomes over hours.

"In order to cater to this culture, the companies are responding with hybrid structures, result-driven roles, and internal gig economies," Sharma said.

Since the Gen Z workforce is resetting the manner in which past generations have worked, organisations need to evolve in order to remain relevant. "To achieve this, top-down management must give way to participative leadership, policy-heavy cultures must be replaced with people-first ecosystems, and, most importantly, trust must be gained via action," he said.

According to Taggd India Decoding Jobs Report 2025, there is a 35 per cent rise in skill-based hiring, as companies prioritise adaptability, problem-solving, and role-specific competencies over degrees. This change is indispensable for building a workforce ready for cross-functional roles that define the hybrid work era.

The methods of hiring must evolve to cater to the needs of ever-evolving industries. Taggd IDJ Report 2025 predicts that hiring will skyrocket, for instance, 20 per cent in IT and 25 per cent in manufacturing.

The insights of the report were distilled from conversations with over 200 industry leaders and insights from the very people shaping the future of work.

The year 2025 is all about designing a workforce that is fluid, future-fit, and fiercely human. The companies must embrace flexibility wholeheartedly because the future belongs to organisations bold enough to reimagine work not as a place, but as a promise, Sharma said.