{"id":31000,"date":"2025-10-09T09:58:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T07:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=31000"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:21:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:21:56","slug":"why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Gen Z Are Turning Down Promotions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B2 – Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Gen Z workers are changing how they think about success at work and some are saying no to promotions. Rather than always aiming for bigger job titles or more duties, they\u2019re choosing to focus on their mental health, free time, and doing work that feels meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s read the article and learn more about why and how this generation is redefining success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/gen-z-work-promotions-2034241<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Explain the meaning of the phrase “a defining part of something<\/strong>“. “Emma sees her job strictly as a source of income rather than a defining part of her identity<\/strong>.<\/em>” Use it in your own sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Define the verb “forgo<\/strong>“. “For 25-year-old Emma*, the decision to forgo <\/strong>promotions is a deliberate and deeply personal one.<\/em>” Use it in a sentence and give two synonyms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. What is the meaning of “expendable<\/strong>“? “Emma’s concerns echo a wider sentiment among Gen Z workers who feel little loyalty toward employers who, in their view, see them as expendable<\/strong>.”<\/em> Use it in your own sentence. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Why do you think Gen Z might value flexibility more than status?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. How is Gen Z\u2019s view of work different from older generations?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. What does \u201csuccess\u201d mean to you in a job?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Would you accept a promotion if it meant more stress or less free time? Why or why not?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Can you think of a time when someone chose peace of mind over a higher position?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      B2 – Upper Intermediate Many Gen Z workers are changing how they think about success at work and some are saying no to promotions. Rather than always aiming for bigger job titles or more duties, they\u2019re choosing to focus on their mental health, free time, and doing work that feels meaningful. Let\u2019s read the article […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,289,293,156,480],"class_list":["post-31000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-reading","tag-text","tag-work","tag-work-and-workplace"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Gen Z Are Turning Down Promotions | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Gen Z Are Turning Down Promotions | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 – Upper Intermediate Many Gen Z workers are changing how they think about success at work and some are saying no to promotions. Rather than always aiming for bigger job titles or more duties, they\u2019re choosing to focus on their mental health, free time, and doing work that feels meaningful. Let\u2019s read the article […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-09T07:58:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T13:21:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phoneenglish\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phoneenglishes\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":124,\"caption\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"phone english blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/\",\"name\":\"Why Gen Z Are Turning Down Promotions | phone english blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-09T07:58:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T13:21:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/76165f65d4ee87fd79bb66a66b047cd7\"},\"headline\":\"Why Gen Z Are Turning Down Promotions\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-09T07:58:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T13:21:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#webpage\"},\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"B2 - Upper intermediate\",\"First Certificate FCE\",\"Reading\",\"Text\",\"work\",\"Work and Workplace\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Homework\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/10\/why-gen-z-are-turning-down-promotions\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/76165f65d4ee87fd79bb66a66b047cd7\",\"name\":\"Sarah\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31000"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31008,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31000\/revisions\/31008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}