In episode 354, host Mike Petrusky speaks with Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy, a global workforce management platform, where she helps create a culture that expects strong performance but also prioritizes open and respectful communication. Petrusky asks about her years of experience building, growing and scaling global businesses, including Affirm and Groupon, and her current views on Gen Z and the expectations of today’s frontline workers. They then explore flexibility as a strategy for long-term business success, improving employee sentiment, engagement, and retention. Martincevic sees a significant generational shift in work preferences and believes that Gen Z workers prefer micro-shifts of four to six for better work-life balance, making traditional nine-to-five shifts less appealing. They also talk about the future of work and why it requires innovative approaches.
Agenda
- Martinovich’s background in e-commerce and fintech
- Deputy’s mission and workforce management trends, especially for shift workers.
- Gen Z’s preferences of at work, as part of generational shifts
- Workforce’s changing needs and how leaders can innovate to meet them
- AI’s role in the workplace and importance of flexibility
What you need to know: Workplace takeaways
Takeaway 1: Flexibility is becoming a crucial aspect of the future of work, particularly among the younger generation of workers
“Flexibility is the future of work, and employers who embrace this model will see significant gains in employee’s sentiment, engagement, and retention,” Martincevic explains.
Gen Z is driving the trend.
“Gen Z today makes up 51.5% of the hourly workforce. For the first time in 2025, they’re now the majority of the workforce. If you want to innovate in the workplace, you need to ask yourself, ‘What does this newer generation want? What do they want out of work and how do they approach work?’”
An important example is how the traditional 9-to-5 model no longer appeals to this generation. Instead, they prioritize flexibility and want to manage their personal and professional lives more effectively, Martincevic explains.
“We are seeing that they want micro-shifts that effectively help them get flexibility so they can take care of their kids, so they can take care of their parents. And 9 to 5 is just not working anymore,” she says.
Takeaway 2: Understanding and empathizing with frontline workers is essential for building effective workplace solutions
“All of us are in the people business. It doesn’t matter what you sell, right? Whether you’re a facility manager, whether you are a software coder, it doesn’t matter what your job is, we are all in the people business,” Martincevic says.
She shares a unique approach Deputy takes to stay deeply rooted in the realities of the workers they serve. “My first job when I moved to America was as a floor sweeper and a cleaner in a college cafeteria. Every single deputy, when they join the company, we ask them what their first job was. 99% of deputies have worked shift jobs. We all experienced those jobs and know how hard and often thankless they are.”
The company has also been developing tools to enhance worker engagement and recognition. “You know, I think we’re all just human beings. We want to be appreciated and valued. We all feel good when our bosses, when our colleagues acknowledge that we did a good job,” she says. So, Deputy’s platform includes features like a shift pulse, which allows workers to share their daily experiences and provides employers with real-time feedback, fostering a more engaged and recognized workforce.
Takeaway 3: Embracing AI can enhance worker satisfaction and manager effectiveness
Martincevic on AI: “47% of Gen Z workers said that they get better guidance from AI than from their managers. Embrace AI because that is the future of work”
She elaborates on the impact of economic factors on worker sentiment, which she says can be better understood through AI-driven insights. “In September of last year when interest rates started coming down, we saw 400 basis points, so this is a 4% increase in shift workers feeling amazing when they were clocking out. They were saying they felt amazing. Now, we looked to see if anything had changed in their work. There were no other changes other than inflation relief and interest rate cuts.”
Her takeaway: AI can provide valuable data to help businesses understand and respond to external economic conditions affecting their workers’ well-being. By leveraging AI, businesses can not only improve worker satisfaction but also enhance their overall performance. “We have been very focused because our customers are asking us to be focused on technology tools that allow businesses to retain and provide more employee engagement,” she says. It’s an approach that ensures businesses have the right tools to adapt to the evolving needs of their workforce, leading to a more successful and resilient organization.
Workplace management insights
- Shift workers like nurses, retail workers, and baristas make up 80% of the workforce, and their needs and preferences are crucial for workplace innovation.
- Gen Z, now the majority of the hourly workforce, is driving the demand for flexible work arrangements, particularly micro-shifts of four to six hours.
- Recognition and appreciation are key to worker satisfaction and retention, and technology can facilitate this by providing tools for communication and feedback.
- Economic factors, such as interest rates and inflation, directly impact worker sentiment and should be monitored by employers.
- AI is increasingly important in workforce management, with 47% of Gen Z workers preferring guidance from AI over their managers.
Do a deep dive into more workplace insights by exploring all Workplace Innovator podcast episodes.
