Gen Z & Trust

What early-career professionals are asking for doesn't seem that hard.

By Sarah Schwab · 2 November 2026

Whilst it's still early days, I'm starting to see some interesting, quite consistent, messages coming from our Gen Z Voices podcast. This is a platform where we invite early-career professionals to share their perspectives on the world of work.

We ask all guests the same five questions, and I'll be sharing a few of the insights here in the coming days.

Consistency is the currency of trust

Every Gen Z guest, so far without exception, has defined trust through repeated behaviour over time. Words matching actions. Behave the same with me in private settings as in public settings. It doesn't seem so hard, but from what they tell me, it seems that even in their short careers so far, this is not a given.

There seems to be a generational pattern on this: more experienced, tenured professionals often assume trust is positional, earned through tenure and performance, while Gen Z treats it as behavioural, earned through consistency.

Sarah Schwab is a leadership development expert, edtech founder and keynote speaker. She helps leaders and the world's business schools develop people across cultures, generations and the AI age, and hosts the Gen Z Voices podcast on early-career perspectives at work.

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