Brittany Harris-Nelson describes her career journey as “a frog moving across lily pads” – and the 32-year-old is not alone. Over the past decade, she has had 10 different jobs at six different universities, starting while still a student and moving through three full-time roles before reaching her current position as assistant director of student engagement at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
“Each step brought me closer to where I ultimately wanted to be, even if the path wasn't always linear,” she says. Her salary did not increase much with each move, but she gained better benefits such as extra paid leave and larger pension contributions.
“Gen Z workers average 1.1 years per job; UK job-hoppers earn 31% more.”
Industry professionals have identified this phenomenon as “lily padding” – a trend among Gen Z workers who hop from job to job to improve skills and chances of promotion, rather than staying put at one company. The data backs up the shift: according to a 2024 global survey of 11,250 workers by recruitment agency Randstad, the average tenure of a Gen Z employee in the first five years of their career is just 1.1 years, compared with 1.8 years for millennials and almost three years for older generations.
In the UK, the strategy appears to pay off. A 2025 report by financial company Wealthify found that workers who changed jobs four or more times over the previous decade earned an average of £39,276 – a 31% premium over the £30,088 earned by those who moved less often.
Harris-Nelson says her role switches were deliberate: “Each role helped me build skills and perspectives that I didn't yet have, and together those experiences prepared me for the work I do today.” She now works in a mid-level administrative position she long coveted.
The trend reflects a broader generational shift in attitudes toward career progression, with younger workers increasingly willing to move on to move up.