If you've followed my homeless in the workplace story, you know that experience is the why behind what I do.
In short: You never know what others might be going through in the workplace.
The hidden. The unseen. The silent.
That experience shaped me and left me with a hope that by the time my kids entered the workforce, humanity wouldn't be a taboo conversation.
Today, my 22-year-old called me to share news of his new job, and I realized that the shift is here.
And companies that don't make the shift are about to be made by it.
The Conversation
With all of his excitement, he shared how much he was making. What he was doing. How excited he was to do the work he was doing.
I was curious about the culture, so I asked him:
"What feels different about this place than the other places you've worked? What's most important to you?"
He thought about it for a second.
Then he said:
"Being paid well. Having the flexibility to enjoy my life outside of work. Being treated well. And having the opportunity to grow into a manager, or have the space to moonlight and build my own business one day."
I sat with that for a minute.
Then I asked him: "What about if you ended up at a company that treated you badly? Would you give them two weeks?"
He didn't hesitate.
He said, "No. If you treat me badly, you don't deserve the rest of my work."
My generation would have stayed too long. Smiled through it. Trained our replacement. Tried to leave professionally while quietly unraveling.
Gen Z is not auditioning for your better self. Meaning they are not staying and performing in hopes that the company will eventually become the version of itself it pretends to be on the careers page.
This generation doesn't care how many miles someone walked in the snow to get to school.
They want the cliff notes of wisdom and the well wishes that they will succeed in their own light, without having to make the trek backward.
He went on to tell me about his unemployment journey and turning down jobs.
Leaving a job after a week, even though the company itself was, in his words, "pretty cool."
Cool wasn't enough.
I asked him what made this job different.
He told me about his manager. Someone who told him, "Everyone must fly their own plane that is also on fire."
A nugget of wisdom.
Being on your own path while also navigating all the things in the background, and knowing that everyone you meet is doing the same.
Then my son shared that he wants to build his own business one day.
He expressed that he knows it might fail.
He said, "I know that the business I make can go down at any time, and I'm okay with that. I already had the conversation with myself about regret, and I am more afraid of being stuck than of failing.
Gen Z's fear is different from that of Millennials or Baby Boomers. They don't want to be stuck. That is still sitting with me.
The Ask Has Been Silently Made Before
This ask isn't new.
My mom's generation wanted it and didn't have the words for it.
My generation wanted it and stayed too long, hoping someone would offer it.
Gen Z is the first generation saying it out loud, on day one, without flinching.
And here's what makes it different this time.
In a world where people CAN make more money on their own than they can at a job, this generation is boldly going where companies can't.
They don't need you the way the previous generations needed you.
The leverage shifted.
And companies that built their playbooks on "be grateful you have a job" and "this is how it's always been done" are about to find out that gratitude and "the way" aren't recruiting or retention strategies anymore.
The Old Way Has a Price Tag
Reputations and billions of dollars can be lost at the swipe of a TikTok.
One former employee with a phone and a story can undo a decade of brand building in 90 seconds.
The old way of treating people doesn't just feel out of step. It's expensive.
High turnover. Burnout. Disengagement.
Customers who can feel the unhappiness in the service.
Talented people walking out without loyalty to systems that never protected them in the first place.
Companies can no longer rely on what got them here.
The next generation is making a different ask.
An ask that has been silently made before.
And this time, it's being said with a voice that doesn't need permission.
What Companies Can Do
Understand that humanity is the new currency. Relationships and community are hot commodities.
Today, more than ever, opportunities are endless, magical, and more people are stepping into their light, their dharma, their magic, their knowingness.
It's time the workplace builds the bridge to connect what is seen, said, and silent.
My son doesn't speak for his entire generation. But he does offer some interesting things to think about for mine.
His boldness, faith, and fearlessness to bet on himself is touching.
So while most companies are investing in AI, being kind is free.
And humanity is key.
Charisse Fontes is the founder of Culture Circle and an Executive + People Ops Advisor to founders and leadership teams.
more about Culture Circle →first published on linkedin, may 2026_
culturecircle.co · free to share · want help putting this to work? hello@culturecircle.co