With the entry of Gen Z into the labour market, there is a heated debate about employee loyalty, commitment to the company and the effectiveness of old methods of employee retention. Retention frameworks in traditional corporations have focused on tenure, opportunity for promotion, compensation, fringe benefits and performance appraisals. In contrast, today’s conversations around Gen Z’s workplace preferences focus on flexibility, continuous education, mental health, meaningful work, transparent leadership, recognition, and career development. The study explored the extent to which traditional retention models align with expectations typically ascribed to Generation Z and the organisational implications of any misalignments. This paper is a narrative review of peer-reviewed studies, global workforce assessments, and contemporary human resource management reports. The study acknowledges the limitations of generational interpretations and highlights that trends in the workplace are affected by factors such as age, career stage, economic circumstances, occupation, and personal situations. Results show that traditional retention strategies such as tenure, promotions and standard incentives are not enough when employees experience a lack of potential for progression, low flexibility in their work, poor relationships with their managers and lack of recognition. The data do not suggest that Generation Z is avoiding stability or longterm organisational memberships. Financial security, career development, meaningful work and wellbeing are all interrelated.

Shriya Vilas Balpande, Nitin Ganorkar, "Generation Z Expectations vs. Traditional Corporate Retention Strategies: Rethinking Employee Loyalty and Engagement or, in Another Vein, a Well-Paid Specialist at a Technology Firm Might Emphasise Loyalty to the Enterprise" International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, V9(5): Page(2145-2154) September - October 2026. ISSN: 2581-7175. www.ijsred.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.