UNBOSSING

Originally, unbossing referred to flattening organizational hierarchies to foster more collaborative and autonomous work environments. However, in early 2025, it began to take on a new meaning, and "conscious unbossing" became a way of referring to an intentional choice by many young workers to opt out of management positions. According to posts and chats on social media, especially among Gen Z professionals, the decision to unboss is driven by the perception that management roles come with high stress and minimal rewards. Young potential managers don't equate corporate job titles with self worth, and are opting for more autonomy, a greater sense of purpose, and a better work-life balance. For many young workers, unbossing isn't about corporate structure, it's about survival. They're choosing mental health, flexibility, and purpose over the stress of managing people in broken systems.

To many older workers, conscious unbossing is typical of Gen Z, the cohort that is often thought of as "flakey" because they change jobs frequently, reject traditional structures and seem to resist long-term commitments (like management roles). However, framed differently, it could be argued that Gen Z have seen burnout in older generations and are trying to avoid it; that they are optimizing for growth, balance, and purpose; that they want impact and meaning, not status; and they are building "portfolio careers." (Many members of Gen Z are already working a side-hustle.) So, while it may look to traditionalists that Gen Z is walking away from the career ladder, maybe they’re just building a different one.

Unbossing is a neologism, a newly coined word or phrase that has recently come into use or has been created to describe a new concept, idea, or phenomenon. Neologisms can be created in any language and can take different forms, such as: