Gen Z wants the office experience — but are employers ready to invest?

As employers continue to push for a return to the office, they may be finding fans of the idea from a surprising group of employees. 

A study from Joblist found that Gen Z is the most interested in returning to a physical workplace, as 57% would prefer this arrangement, compared to 34% of millennials and 37% of baby boomers. Gen Z is the least likely to prefer a remote or hybrid arrangement, with just 21% expressing interest in this option, compared to 33% of millennials and 31% of baby boomers. 

Gen Z may feel like they're missing out on the traditional benefits of office work, like networking and the face time needed for career progression, says Tim Rowley, chief operating officer and chief technology officer at PeopleCaddie, a digital talent platform. But the transition may come with some growing pains. 

"For Gen Z, remote work and high flexibility is all they know," Rowley says. "Having to relearn, or learn for the first time, how to best engage and interact with coworkers in an office environment is something that's both challenging but also incredibly important." 

Read more: 'Empower, not control': How EY gets employees excited about hybrid work 

Rowley says employers will need to play a more active role than they may have in the past to help younger employees establish a network and get on-the-job training. If they want employees to invest their time and energy into returning to work, employers need to reciprocate. 

"Organizations are going to have to be a lot more purposeful about making sure that their younger employees have not only mentors, but also sponsorship," he says. "Being in an office where you can get readily available feedback and frequent feedback can help them learn more quickly and be more qualified to advance." 

Gen Z says that their top reason for wanting an in-person work experience was for the office community, followed by mentoring opportunities, according to data from Axios. Companies that already had this culture pre-COVID will be better positioned to provide it today, while receiving more buy-in from employees who may otherwise be on the fence. 

Read more: Boomers, meet Gen Z: How reverse mentoring is building the workforce of the future 

However, there is still an overall disconnect between employers and employees on the best work arrangement going forward: while 50% of employers have plans to require employees to come back to the office full-time within the next year, according to a survey from Microsoft, 52% of employees would prefer remote-only or hybrid work arrangements. Finding the best balance will require some self-awareness from management, Rowley says. 

"The premier employers, the ones that have no challenges attracting and retaining the talent that they need, are the employers who are going to be the most demanding in terms of requiring people to work from the office," he says. "Smaller employers or less desirable employers are often a bit delusional and will be in for an awakening if you can't offer the subsequent opportunities of [in-person] work." 

If employers can't provide the benefits that come with an office environment, Gen Z and other employees are still willing to find organizations that will, or will then search for a work arrangement that best fits their needs, Rowley says. He predicts hybrid work will be the preferred compromise. 

"Ultimately, I think hybrid is largely here to stay, and that people will settle on four days a week in the office," he says. "There is still a value to the workplace-generated network."