Gen Z in the Workplace Debate

September 5, 2023
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Gen Z in the Workplace Debate

Be it Resolved, Gen Z is unemployable.

Bare-Minimum Mondays. Quiet Quitting. Lazy Girl Job. Ask a Boomer or Gen Xer about their younger employee, and they might point to these viral tik tok slogans as how they see their new coworkers. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the latest cohort to enter the workforce. They are criticized for wanting it all – work-life balance, high pay, great benefits – and wanting it right away. They expect their work assignments to align with their ideological goals, they aren’t afraid to call out senior coworkers for creating a toxic workplace, they complain constantly about burnout, and if their demands aren’t met, they are happy to quit (sometimes very publicly). Exasperated employers argue that seniority and pay is earned through years of hard work, long hours, and loyalty to the company. In their view, Gen Z are entitled, lazy, and in for a rude awakening.

Zoomers, on the other hand, paint a different story. They are entering the workforce in a period of crushing student loan debt, growing wealth inequality, and wage stagnation. The traditional labor market that benefited boomers does not work for them. Unlike their parents, they want to enjoy a home life instead of bragging about 80-hour work weeks. And they want to feel passionate and engaged about how they spend the majority of their waking hours. To Gen Z, it is the older generation that have been living – nay, existing – in an unhealthy and unequal capitalist market place, and it’s high time things change, lest companies will be left without young workers and the ability to adapt and flourish in a rapidly changing economy.

“There’s got to be a level of respect for those who are actually are paying the wages and trying to create an enjoyable workplace for everyone.”

-CRAIG SNEESBY

“What I know to be true and what all of my fellow Gen Z know to be true is that this is the most talented generation yet.”

-JAKE BJORSETH

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