The future of shift-based business will be built on flexibility, fairness, and financial security

The rules of work are being rewritten – not by executives in boardrooms, but by workers themselves. And no group is leading this transformation more than Gen Z, writes Silvija Martincevic.

Making up 30 per cent of the global workforce and growing, Gen Z is ushering in a new era of employment expectations. They are digital natives who value flexibility and stability, demand purpose alongside salary, and are redefining what it means to have a job. Nowhere is this shift more apparent than in the rise of micro-shifts – a new trend in workforce structuring that prioritises shorter, hyper-flexible periods of work without sacrificing protections like superannuation.

These new expectations are colliding with macroeconomic realities: rising living costs, stagnant wages, and the mainstreaming of poly-employment (doing two or more jobs at once). In fact, Deputy data shows that one in five shift workers hold multiple jobs. They’re not just working more – they’re working smarter, stacking shifts that suit their lives instead of reshaping their lives around outdated rosters.

Micro-shifts make this possible. They’re unlocking access to work for people who have long been excluded by rigid scheduling – parents, students, caregivers, semi-retirees – while helping businesses meet demand with pinpoint accuracy. From cafés covering the breakfast rush to hospitals staffing peak care hours, smart, AI-powered scheduling is transforming workplace planning. And it pays off: a recent study found that nearly 40 per cent of workers believe flexible work arrangements boost productivity and motivation.

And there’s a broader truth here: this isn’t just good for workers – it’s smart business. Labour accounts for up to 50 per cent of total operating costs in many shift-based sectors. Micro-shifts help reduce overhead by eliminating paid idle time and widening the talent pool to include motivated workers who simply couldn’t commit to conventional shifts.

This evolution is already happening, notably with Australia’s $20.9 billion night-time economy being powered by flexible shift models. Hybrid retail-logistics roles are also gaining traction – blending in-store customer service with behind-the-scenes fulfilment tasks, creating more flexible scheduling options, and broadening the talent pool. In the healthcare and aged-care sectors, which are forecast to grow by over 115,000 jobs this decade, micro-shifts offer a way to attract and retain essential talent without burnout.

At the heart of this movement are shared values: fairness, flexibility, and financial security. Gen Z is demanding a win-win model, and smart businesses are beginning to embrace it.

But real progress demands more than data and digital tools. It requires leadership from business and government alike. To stay competitive, shift-based businesses must rethink how work is structured. To remain inclusive, we must build employment models that reflect how people actually live. Micro-shifts aren’t a trend – they’re a response to the evolving needs between employer and employee.

The future of work won’t be built on gig-style uncertainty. It will be built on flexibility with safeguards, on productivity without burnout, and on jobs that give people more control, not less.

This is more than an emerging workplace trend. It signals the next era of employment.

Silvija Martincevic is the chief executive at Deputy.