COMP NEWS – Gen Z is shunning the notion of working long and hard hours after watching “the legacy of broken promises” corporate America made to their predecessors.
Gen Z is choosing to “work to live” rather than “live to work,” like previous generations, because they’re reaping fewer rewards for their hard work, an expert on the future of work told Business Insider.
Ravin Jesuthasan, the global leader for transformation services at the consulting giant Mercer and a future-of-work expert, spoke with BI at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week and touched on the topic of Gen Z in the workplace.
Gen Z “has some very different attitudes to work” from older generations, Jesuthasan said, because it’s one of the first generations whose members won’t have wealth greater than that of their parents or grandparents. Additionally, they have already experienced huge disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gen Z has faced criticism from older generations who frequently perceive them as lazy and unmotivated. However, Gen Z have defended themselves, pointing out older generation’s recurring economic failures and responsibility for stagnating wages.
Gen Zers have often received flak for their perceived flippant attitude to work. In one survey last year, 74% of managers said the generation was the most challenging to work with.
Meanwhile, celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg have dismissed their economic struggles. She said they couldn’t afford to buy a house because they’re lazy and “only want to work four hours” a day.
However, Gen Zers are facing setbacks because of high levels of inflation and rising prices. They’re even shopping less and eating at home more to save money, a Bank of America survey found in an August survey.
The members of the young generation have hit back at some of these accusations, saying that they’re not prioritizing work because wages have stagnated, they’re unfulfilled by the mundane 9-to-5 life, and they’re burned out.
To read more about Gen Z’s skepticism, click here.
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