Gen Z workers are increasingly walking away from banking jobs in pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities or more flexible working, a new survey of senior bosses has found.

Most financial firms are taking action in a bid to hold onto their younger members of staff.

Nearly half of financial services leaders report an increase in Gen Z employees leaving their organisation over the past year, according to polling by KPMG.

This rises to 54% of those within the banking sector who noticed an upsurge.

Gen Z – typically referring to people born between 1997 and 2012 – are often seeking out more entrepreneurial-style work in their decision to leave finance jobs, the survey found.

The biggest reason cited by the finance bosses was a preference for working in start-ups, at 42%.

While 35% said they were leaving because of a desire for self-employment or freelance careers.

Some 34% said Gen Z workers were choosing to leave because they want more flexibility or remote working, while the same proportion cited cost-of-living concerns as the driver.

The poll, which was to around 150 people at director level or above in financial services companies, found that around a quarter of younger employees are estimated to have left finance businesses in the past year.

Almost all of the business leaders surveyed, at 96%, said they were taking active steps to try and improve Gen Z retention at their firm.

More than half said they were working on introducing flexible working policies such as term-time contracts or flexible hours in a bid to appeal to younger workers.

Others said they were revising their office attendance policies as a result.

Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG, said: “Gen Z employees are clearly signalling a desire for more autonomy, variety and entrepreneurial experiences.

“The challenge for financial services firms now is how to create an entrepreneurial experience for a social media generation in a heavily regulated environment.

“Office presenteeism gets a lot of airtime, but the reality is that most financial services firms have made strides in offering flexibility that goes far beyond remote working, whether that’s staggered hours, flexible contracts or better wellbeing support.

“That’s to be applauded, but alongside that, firms must keep pace with the changing values and expectations of young talent.”