Often overworked and underpaid, frontline employees are feeling pushed to the brink. A majority (75%) of them report feeling burnt out, according to a UKG survey of almost 13,000 frontline workers. That rises to 83% of Gen Zers in said sector. 

Frontline workers, or employees working directly with a customer, make up 80% of the workforce, according to estimations from Microsoft’s report released in 2023. Dealing with the average consumer is not necessarily a walk in the park. And many employees are getting paid low wages for a high-stress environment. 

Gen Zers are the least content, after all, at 61% reporting to be not satisfied with their overall employee experience, compared to 55% of all workers feeling similarly. And they’re ready to act on their burnout, as over a third say they’d quit because their job negatively impacts their physical or mental health.

“Our global study finds that not all workplace cultures are supportive of Gen Z and the frontline workforce,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence (which collaborated with UKG on said study), wrote in the associated press release. “One thing is for certain across all generations: if you don’t fix the frontline experience, you risk losing valuable talent,” he added.

Frontline workers are fed up  

Keeping the customer satisfied has proven to not always be that satisfying. 

During the early pandemic, the strife of dealing with increasingly difficult and just plain hostile consumers took center stage. It got to the point where a restaurant in Cape Cod made headlines after closing for a day because of how people were treating their employees. Restaurants were also short-staffed, which customers were seemingly not understanding of.

Still, issues persist. A third of all frontline employees feel like they’re not treated with respect at work—and Gen Z is especially tired of the status quo.

It’s not just the kids that are not alright; most front-line workers are feeling stressed out. But it’s the most junior in the workforce that’s perhaps most ready to walk out the door.

Gen Z employees say interactions with people at work have worsened their mental health to a greater extent than other generations (at 72% and 62%, respectively). While 59% of frontline workers say they’d quit because of “negative interactions with their managers, co-workers, or customers,” that number shoots up to 71% of Gen Zers. 

What Gen Z workers really want

It’s likely not all that shocking. Young adults would like what other generations favor too: a sense of autonomy over how and where they work and, of course, good pay. 

Employees, mostly within the white-collar field, were privy to greater flexibility during the early pandemic. It’s a benefit that appealed to many, and proved to be one that not many wanted to let go of as return to office mandates set in. Frontline employers that work for companies also have corporate workers have noticed a tale of two cities, perhaps stoking their desire for greater flexibility. Almost half (49%) report that there’s two separate cultures at play: “one for the frontline and one for everyone else.”

While compensation is the most important factor in choosing a job (at 71%), work-life balance or flexibility and work schedule comes second. All in all, 27% of frontline workers surveyed say they’d resign because of a lack of workplace flexibility. 

The latter benefit is especially important for Gen Zers. More than half (58%) said they’d rather have more vacation time than a pay increase. Meanwhile, 29% reported they’d say no to a promotion in favor of just one extra week of annual PTO. 

“Peoples’ work preferences have rapidly evolved over the past five years,” wrote Schawbel. “When you couple that with the digital, on-demand lifestyle that Gen Z has known their whole lives, it’s easy to see why the often-rigid nature of working in a physical location like a factory, hospital, school, warehouse, or retail shop would leave younger workers craving more choice.”