69% of Gen Zers say they’re already being polite to ChatGPT for a kinder boss

Gen Z’s most high-stakes career flex right now is not building a portfolio or landing a role. It is practicing good manners with an AI chatbot, “just in case” it becomes the boss they actually want.

Fortune reports that 69% of respondents in a 2025 study from essay writing service EduBirdie said they are already being polite to ChatGPT. That same reporting points to a wider sentiment: one in 10 Gen Z workers say they are pining for a robot boss, and 70% of 2,000 young Americans surveyed are already hedging their bets “one ‘please’ at a time.” The implication is immediate for leaders: if your team thinks the fastest route to fairness and safety is an algorithm, you have a trust problem, not a hiring problem.

What makes this data especially revealing is the “why” behind the preference. Fortune notes that many Gen Zers do not simply see AI as a cheaper replacement. They think an AI manager could be nicer, fairer, and more neutral. In other words, they believe a virtual boss could behave more consistently than a human one, and less emotionally, too. Some respondents even predict they could “manipulate AI management easily,” which reads as a tell about how complex or arbitrary human management can feel. Even more stark, some reported that an AI boss “won't hit on me” and would be “less scary.” Those lines are obviously loaded, but they track the core issue Fortune highlights: Gen Z is responding to workplace experiences they characterize as unfair, confusing, and toxic.

This is also where the broader labor-market context matters. AI job-loss fears are part of the conversation everywhere, but Fortune’s reporting flips the lens. Gen Z is not just worrying about layoffs. They are also thinking about control at the team level, day-to-day. When you hear “less scary” in a workplace discussion, you are not hearing a fantasy about robots, you are hearing a complaint about power dynamics that people experience in person. And because work anxiety often attaches to a specific person, not the job itself, the manager becomes the bottleneck.

EduBirdie’s chief human resources officer, Avery Morgan, told Fortune that Gen Z’s desire to replace their human boss with AI is a “red flag for their managers.” Morgan frames it as an indicator that leaders may be burned-out, disengaged, or failing to meet basic human needs. She emphasizes that workers wanting an AI boss is not a fascination with AI’s raw capability; it is a reaction to unmet expectations. Fortune connects this to the pressures of return to office mandates and the workplaces that can amplify friction when employees are forced back into closer proximity with bosses, coworkers, and routines.

At the same time, there is a second track of incentive for managers that Fortune brings in: bosses may feel their own urgency around AI skills. A separate 2025 survey highlighted in the reporting says the vast majority of bosses predict they’ll lose their jobs within a year if they do not master AI skills. That tension is important. Organizations are training leaders to be “AI-ready” while employees are implicitly asking leaders to be “human-ready.” Fortune includes Morgan’s pushback on the idea that AI can cover that gap: she does not believe AI can replace professional managers who bring emotional intelligence, empathy, ethical judgment, and creative problem-solving. The irony, in her view, is that the most distinctly human parts of management are precisely what employees say they miss when they prefer machines.

So what should executives do with this? Morgan’s advice, as Fortune reports, is not to out-AI the AI boss fantasy. It is to create an environment where employees feel safe enough to give feedback that may be uncomfortable. She suggests inviting direct feedback in a way that feels secure, including anonymous surveys where appropriate. Her “you don’t need to be everyone’s best friend” message is essentially a blueprint for leadership behaviors that reduce anxiety: be approachable, transparent, consistent, and ethical. Respect personal boundaries. Keep conversations professional. Be fair. Own mistakes and apologize.

And for Gen Z employees who feel stuck with a toxic or unprofessional manager, Morgan recommends escalation steps. Fortune notes that she suggests going to HR or a senior leader, factually documenting bad behavior, and saving emails or messages, including dates and details. Morgan also warns that toxicity can hide behind “fake smiles” and “we’re like family” claims, and she advises not letting that keep people trapped. If there is no support in place, she says, leaving is the answer. For senior leaders, that is the strategic stakes beneath the numbers: if employees decide the manager is the problem, the retention risk is personal, not structural.

The endgame for boards, CEOs, and HR leaders is clear in the way Fortune frames it. Gen Z is sending an early signal that “management” is becoming an experience category, not a job description. If employees increasingly see AI as a proxy for fairness, neutrality, and safety, managers will need to close the human gap before they lose both trust and talent. Even in a world that is actively automating tasks, this report suggests the most durable advantage is still how leaders behave when no model can read the room.