Does Gen-Z Really Not Want to Work?

A few years ago Kim Kardashian went even more viral than usual for a comment she made while discussing her business conglomerates and offering advice to hopeful entrepreneurs. 

She said no one wants to work these days and that getting off your ass is the best advice she can offer. 

Considering her unbelievable wealth and familial history of privilege, this received a tremendous amount of criticism. 

But, there might be tendrils of truth in her statement. 

Gen-Zers everywhere (and folks of other generations) are waking up to the reality that more often than not jobs are mechanisms for money making—essential in a society which undervalues hobbies, relationships, and adventure—so boundaries are critical for maintaining a semblance of balance. 

Kim’s mistake was misinterpreting this balance as disinterest and laziness. 

The Crushing Reality of Mission-Aligned Work

It’s a well known fact that working in the nonprofit space often results in overworked and underappreciated workers. Societally, we undervalue this work (I see you therapists, teachers, firefighters, and client-facing service providers everywhere) to the point of exploitation. 

Is it any wonder that the attrition rates in these industries are exceedingly high? High turnover and burnout aren’t symptoms of not wanting to work. They are symptoms of a failing system. 

Yet, there are people every day doing the work anyways. Let me give you an example. 

I hate to burst your bubble but the majority of the people working in government are under 40. And, they have a tremendous amount of power to make unilateral funding, communication, and strategic decisions. 

In Congress, while the average age of a Senator is 63.9, the average staffer looks like they watched vine for hours, think a pickle back is the greatest invention ever, and use 2000s cartoons as references. They are 31 on average. 

That’s to say, it’s a lot of young folks processing your calls, writing legislation, and running an office that represents around 800,000 people. 

And they do a damn good job. 

They work 80+ hours a week and are on call 24/7 with very little pay and meager benefits. 

Why? Because they believe in the mission. They want to work! 

But, finding mission-aligned work is hard and often is only accessible to those who come from privilege because the low-wages are a barrier to entry. 

So, there’s your proof, people will work their asses off if motivated by faith, country, or the simple belief in a better world. 

The Flipside: A Job is Just a Job

I’m going to say the quiet part out loud. Your job does not define you, it doesn’t deserve a collapse of your mental health, it doesn’t recognize the importance of interpersonal relationships, and it sure as hell isn’t the point of living. 

And, this is the societal shift that Kim accurately called out. 

It’s true that people are demanding respect from their employers in unprecedented ways. In Pennsylvania alone, 81% of voters support paid family leave, for example. 

It’s true that more people than ever self identify that they are not passionate about their job, which is a revert back to the 40’s and 50’s when stability was prioritized over passion. 

And, it’s true that the pandemic accelerated the shift towards valuing a personal life which has led to a huge demand in remote/hybrid jobs with flexible hours. 

So, people want to work because it pays their bills and supports their adventures, but they have more expectations of employers and less interest in crazy-long hours. 

I know I do. 

A Call to Respect the Dignity of All

To call out workers, especially Gen-Z workers, for being lazy requires that you call-in all the ways our systems continue to fail these workers. 

Lack of access to care (which led to a massive decline in female labor force participation during the pandemic, fyi!), low wages that don’t match the historic inflation and price-gouging we’re continuing to see, the destruction of unions, and the astronomical cost of healthcare are only a few of the challenges workers are facing. 

And, we haven’t even talked about how we know we’ll need different kinds of workers in the future as climate change demands more construction workers. 

Clearly, it’s an ongoing and constantly evolving conversation. Workers are changing and work environments are changing. 

And, it’s our “job” as a society to keep those things moving in a direction that respects the dignity of all.