Is this generation’s controversial attitude about the workplace inspiring or troubling?
As we’ve emerged from the fog of quarantine, we’ve found ourselves adjusting to the new normal. Suddenly, fresh phenomena like the rise of A.I. or the alarming loneliness epidemic have been filling our newsfeeds — and stressing us out. But among this noise, you may have noticed something new in your office: Young employees who treat your workplace like a revolving door. They’ve taken roles that didn’t exist three years ago or were formerly filled by your peers, and they leave before you can develop any sort of rapport.
As of last summer, 21 million young adults (ages 16 to 24, to be precise) were employed across the U.S. That means that Gen Z is officially having a significant impact on workplace culture — and their rigid boundaries have resulted in splashy new terms like “quiet quitting” (refusing to do anything outside of your job description) or “act your wage” (restricting your workload to the bare minimum until you get paid more). And seasoned employees are left puzzled by Gen Z’s ability to transition out of a position abruptly.
If you entered the workforce during a time when steadfast loyalty and conspicuously relaxed boundaries were key to getting ahead, this new attitude may seem a little juvenile (to put it kindly). To get to the bottom of the issue, we spoke to two experts who sounded off on why Gen Z is more comfortable leaving jobs.
The pandemic of it all
You likely have visceral, in-person memories of your first job out of high school or college: You can recall the textures of the ice cream you scooped during your part-time summer job or the grating sound of the fax machine you used in your entry-level office gig. Gen Z, in contrast, entered the workforce from the comfort of a sofa, in front of a laptop.
We can’t talk about Gen Z in the workplace without mentioning that their formative years were majorly disrupted by a little something called Covid-19 (you may have heard of it). During the pandemic, one survey found that Gen Z felt more stressed by quarantine than any other age group — which makes sense considering that lockdown disrupted their career and educational goals (not to mention major milestones like prom or graduation). In contrast, millennials had largely already been introduced to the workplace and boomers were office stalwarts.
Meagan Loyst is the founder and CEO of Gen Z VCs, a collective of young adult investors, founders, and students. She says that a remote introduction to the workforce ensured that young workers would challenge the traditional workplace: “Many of our introductions into the corporate workforce were virtual. We had no other opportunity. The way we were introduced to the workforce showed that you can have it all. You can be at a solid job, get a good salary, and also do great work from your home on your time.”
These young workers now have high standards that they see no reason to part with. If an employer wants to force employees back to the office, they might seek out a more progressive company that doesn’t rely on seemingly outdated traditions.
Loyst thinks you probably relate to Gen Z’s indifference to the traditional workplace: “The pandemic changed the way everyone thought about life — prioritizing happiness, time with family, and flexibility. This isn’t something that was uniquely Gen Z either. You saw parents suddenly say, ‘OK, why am I spending four hours of my day commuting to a job that I could easily be doing from home?’”
Their unprecedented relationship with technology is equally inspiring and worrying
It would be wonderful if this article could end here and we could say, “It was just the pandemic after all.” But unfortunately, some disturbing trends predate Covid.
Recently, Katie spoke with Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., author of Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America’s Future. They discussed generational trends, but Katie also picked Dr. Twenge’s brain about Gen Z in the workplace.
Dr. Twenge has a darker view of things than Loyst. According to Dr. Twenge, we must consider whether increased despondency in young adults leads them to quit projects easily: “There’s this very strong tendency [for young people] to say, ‘Things are unfair. Why work hard?’”
According to Dr. Twenge, young adults and teens are grappling with seriously concerning mental health trends: “The mental health crisis is the biggest problem facing Gen Z. It’s not just adolescents anymore — it’s also young adults who are much more likely to be clinically depressed now than 10 years ago. We have twice as many young adults who are depressed.”
Instead of tracing an uptick in mental illness back to the pandemic, Dr. Twenge argues that they started a decade ago, when the majority of then-teens got their hands on a smartphone: “These changes started to show up in these big surveys around 2011 or 2012. Teen depression doubled between 2011 and 2019…the end of 2012 was the first time that the majority of Americans owned a smartphone.”
While social media can fuel mental illness, you may be wondering how that issue might have an effect on your workplace. Well, mental illnesses like depression do have significant symptoms like loss of interest in normal activities and lack of energy, and those deeply troubling feelings may lead some to miss work or quit. According to the World Health Organization, around 12 billion working days are lost annually (on a global scale) because of depression and anxiety. That’s around $1 trillion USD lost in productivity each year. Plus, a 2022 study reported that about one in four adults have quit a job due to mental health — often, these adults feel that their mental health was unsupported by their employers, so they choose to leave.
But before you throw out your smartphone for fear of increasing mental distress, Loyst reminds us that technology can be invigorating and inspiring, since social media challenges our perception of what it means to work in America. For instance, young adults can watch their peers pursuing out-of-the-box employment opportunities: “You see all the travel influencers working from remote locations. They’re talking about work-life balance while they’re on a beach in Mexico. If you see that enough times you’ll think, ‘Why am I working an office job when I could be living an entirely different lifestyle on my own terms?’”
Gen Z isn’t lazy — no matter how often they quit
These mental health issues are undeniably serious, but — as a whole — Gen Z is not incapacitated or unable to engage in the workforce. According to a recent survey, half of Gen Z respondents currently work two or more jobs.
As Loyst points out, many young people might be participating in the traditional workforce to fund their own passion projects, side hustles, and other endeavors: “Gen Z is the most entrepreneurial generation. It’s never been easier to start a business and it’s also romanticized online. When you think about TikTok and the things that you’re seeing on that platform, it’s a lot of small businesses, many of which are teens and young people.”
And in the corporate world, young adults may also be drawing firm boundaries because they’re trying to fight the pressure to constantly be connected and available. In that case, young people might be fighting off the pressure to be online and reachable at all times in favor of cultivating more experiences.
As Dr. Twenge says, “You have to take a step back and realize that there are downsides to saying, ‘No, I don’t want to work overtime.’ But that also means you can spend more time with your family. You can get a good night’s sleep. And maybe you’ll be a better employee during the hours you work if you’ve had that time to be with the people you love or if you’ve had time for self-care.”
From Loyst’s perspective, young people are often trying to solve or stand up to toxicity while also carving out their own path: “Gen Z is known broadly for disrupting the status quo and asking questions about tradition, what has been historic, what can be changed, and what should be changed.”
At the moment, this generation is still entering the workforce and (more importantly) growing up. If you want to know if the young people in your life are struggling, it might be best to forgo the statistics and go directly to the source (ask them). Young people have passionate opinions (that will probably never change), and the upside is that you can always engage them on a social or political level — overall, Dr. Twenge says that they want to make a difference.
“There’s some really good news: Gen Z is more likely — even than boomers — to say that they want to help others. That’s a really big opportunity.”
