11 Ways Boomers And Gen X Inaccurately Judge Gen Z’s Work Ethic
Gen Z isn't just lazy and entitled like boomers and Gen Z like to think.
LightField Studios / Shutterstock It can be easier for people in older generations to dismiss the generations following them than it is to acknowledge how much the world is changing. It’s part of human nature to reject things we don’t understand, but that impulse limits how we see each other. Meeting each other where we’re at is the only way to understand how connected we really are.
Most stereotypes are based in fear, and the ways boomers and Gen X inaccurately judge Gen Z’s work ethic are no different. While older people may have a long list of complaints about their Gen Z colleagues, they’re not saying the quiet part out loud. Hidden within their thoughts about everything Gen Z does wrong is fear that they’re no longer relevant. But like the generations before them, Gen Z are change makers. Their hope is that they will carry us all forward, into an era where everyone is cared for, no matter what generation they're from.
Here are 11 ways boomers and Gen X inaccurately judge Gen Z’s work ethic
1. They think job-hopping means Gen Z isn’t dedicated
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Boomers and Gen X entered a workforce that was way more stable than the one Gen Z inherited. Gen Z grew up in the shadow of the Great Recession and its economic ripple effect. They know that having a job doesn't mean they have job security. Boomers stayed at one company for their entire career because they had pensions, benefits and retirement plans. For Gen Z, job-hopping is the only way to advance.
Boomers and Gen X think job-hopping is a sign Gen Z has no work ethic, but they're missing the point. Job-hopping reflects how inconsistent the economy is, not how inconsistent Gen Z is. Even so, Gen Z wears the job-hopper label without shame, because they know their truth: They’re not flaky, they’re strategic.
According to a survey from ResumeLab, 83% of Gen Z workers self-identify as job-hoppers. They see no need to stay in an entry-level job that doesn’t pay a living wage. Job-hopping is Gen Z’s fast track for expanding their skill set and getting promoted.
Gen Z wants work environments that meet their standards. They refuse to settle for less than their worth. Boomers and Gen X think job-hopping means Gen Z isn’t committed, but really, it shows how resourceful they are.
2. They think asking for flexibility is a sign Gen Z doesn’t want to work
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Older generations inaccurately judging younger generations isn’t a new trend — it’s a tradition. When boomers were young, the Silent Generation called them dirty hippies. When boomers grew older, they called Gen X slackers and millennials selfish, and now, it’s Gen Z’s turn to be inaccurately judged for expecting flexibility in the workplace.
Boomers and Gen X complain that Gen Z doesn’t want to work, but the truth is, Gen Z absolutely wants to work, they just want to do it on their own terms. According to the World Economic Forum, 73% of young workers want flexible work options to be a permanent feature.
Gen Z places a premium on autonomy and quality of life, and they refuse to compromise their values. Being self-employed is the ideal for almost two-thirds of Gen Z. Almost half of Gen Z said they would quit their job if it didn’t allow for work-life balance. They want their jobs to fit their needs, not the other way around.
3. They don’t get how valuable social media is
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Gen Z gets criticized for being chronically online, but their digital fluency is an asset, even though older generations disagree. Boomers and Gen X judge Gen Z’s work ethic but they don’t understand how valuable social media is on a professional level.
The way people work is changing and Gen Z is primed to keep pace. They know how to pull information from every platform and elevate their experience. Gen Z sees social media as a tool to tear down gatekeeping for good. They don’t just use TikTok for skincare recs, they learn how to level up on the job.
The World Economic Forum pointed out that this is the first time in history that five generations are working alongside each other. It’s not surprising that there’s friction, but judging Gen Z’s work ethic isn’t actually useful for anyone. Boomers, Gen X and millennials have a lot to offer Gen Z as mentors, but the exchange doesn't end there. Gen Z can guide older generations into the imminent future.
4. They mistake boundaries for a bad attitude
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Boomers and Gen X judge Gen Z for having a bad attitude at work, but Gen Z is just setting boundaries in a way their generations couldn’t manage to do. Older employees hold onto the harmful idea that just because they pushed past their limits and made work their life, Gen Z should, too.
As PBS News Hour reported, Gen Z outnumbers boomers in the workforce for the first time ever, and they’re bringing their boundaries with them. Gabriel Kasul, a Gen Z retail sales associate, explained why setting boundaries at work is such a crucial practice. “We're being asked to take on jobs of three to four different people, meet those expectations, and then exceed expectations, all while being paid the bare minimum,” he said. “We don't see that as a substantial way of living.”
“Older generations will constantly say that we are lazy, we don't wanna work, we just want handouts, when in reality, we want things to be fair, we want things to be acceptable,” Kasul said.
As much as they’re judged for rejecting the way older generations approach their jobs, Gen Z knows that change in the workplace is long overdue.
5. They think Gen Z is disrespectful for challenging the status quo
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Gen Z doesn’t sit back and accept the way the workplace is structured. They’ve grown up in an era marked by extreme disruption and they’re not afraid to be disrupters, themselves. Gen Z questions the status quo, which leads boomers and Gen X to label them as disrespectful.
Stanford University research scholar Roberta Katz sees Gen Z as an inquisitive and pragmatic generation. Gen Z asks difficult questions and holds authority figures accountable, and that makes older generations uncomfortable. Gen Z “don’t necessarily see elders as experts,” Katz said. “They want to understand why something is done in a certain way. When an older person says to them, ‘This is how you should do it,’ they want to check that out for themselves.”
“They don’t believe in hierarchy for hierarchy’s sake,” she continued. “They do believe in hierarchy where it is useful.”
Gen Z doesn’t think respect should be automatically given to older people just because they’re older. They believe respect has to be earned. Gen Z isn’t pushing against norms to be disrespectful, they’re advocating for change.
6. They call Gen Z entitled for seeking balance
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One of the most significant differences between generations is that Gen Z doesn’t define their identity by their job. They definitely don’t live to work, and they get called entitled for expecting some semblance of balance.
According to content creator The Burnout Coach, “There's a big distinction between expectation and entitlement,” and it hinges on open communication.
She shared that many upper-level managers think “new talent coming into the business are just so entitled. They don't put in as much effort. They'll take their full lunch break and more. They’re late to work, late to meetings. [They have] no problem taking sick days regularly.”
“This clashes hugely with how these people have actually grown up through the system of work and how they have shown up,” she said.
Setting expectations at work means asking Gen Z meaningful questions, like “How would you like to be supported through your own journey of working at an organization? How do you know when you're struggling and how will someone else be able to tell?”
“Opening up that conversation and having that dialogue can absolutely lead to bridge the gap between expectation and entitlement,” she concluded.
7. They focus too much on the way Gen Z talks
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Boomers and Gen X focus more on the way Gen Z talks at work than the actual work they’re doing. They assume Gen Z has no work ethic, but really, they’re noticing all the ways Gen Z refuses to buy into corporate culture. They misunderstand a core part of who Gen Z is: unfiltered, sincere, and dynamic.
Gen Z gets judged for being unprofessional because they show up to work in the most authentic way possible. Boomers and Gen X assume that Gen Z doesn't know what they’re doing because they put emojis in emails and speak casually in meetings. But Gen Z knows exactly what they’re doing.
“With new technologies and shifting values, younger people increasingly want their work and personal identities to be one and the same,” explained Christopher Myers, a business professor at Johns Hopkins University.
“They don't want to have a fake work voice and persona. They want to be natural, they want to be themselves,” he shared.
8. They equate living at home with a lack of ambition
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Gen Z gets judged for living at home, but it’s not accurate to measure their ambition by the kind of shelter they have access to. Gen Z got shut out of the American Dream, which has more to do with their economic reality than how hard they work. The disparity between how much money Gen Z makes and how much housing costs fuels Gen Z’s discontent with the system we all live in.
As Kyla Scanlan, a content creator who focuses on economics, explained, “Real wages have increased, so wages adjusted for inflation, but rent has increased much more. And that’s sort of the foundation of how everyone experiences the economy, it’s where you live and how you have to pay for where you live.”
She described Gen Z’s experience being in a “vibecession, [which] is that disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic data and a lot of it is structural affordability, like housing.”
Gen Z doesn’t live at home because they’re lazy, they live at home because they can’t afford anything else.
9. They that complain Gen Z is soft because they’re emotionally intelligent
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Boomers and Gen X bring their tough love mentality into the workplace, but Gen Z has the opposite mode of operation. Gen Z seeks out connection in every area of their life. They want a sense of psychological safety at work, which only exists when compassion is centered.
Boomers and Gen X complain that Gen Z is “too soft” to handle the real world, but they overlook how crucial emotional intelligence is to overall survival. In a conversation about his book, “The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World,” Stanford University research psychologist Jamil Zaki made a case for more empathic workplaces.
He highlighted how empathy and kindness relate, noting that “Empathy is an experience. Kindness is a behavior. Kindness is the things we do for other people.”
Zaki’s work involves training leaders in empathy, and he shared that “one of the first hurdles I need to get over is this stereotype that empathy is too soft and squishy for the work environment. It’s easy to debunk that. There are decades of evidence showing that empathy is a workplace superpower.”
“When people feel connected to their colleagues and to their leaders, they work harder, faster, and more creatively,” he said.
10. They think not working overtime is lazy
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Boomers and Gen X approach work as something to be conquered. They have a “no pain, no gain” attitude about climbing the corporate ladder. They push through stress without taking any self-care measures, but Gen Z wants a different version of life.
Gen Z watched their parents and grandparents take work home. They were first-hand witnesses to the harm overworking can cause. Gen Z wants complete separation between those two parts of their existence. They want to clock in, clock out, and live for themselves.
According to the survey from ResumeLab, 41% of Gen Z said working too much overtime was the top reason to quit their job. 72% said they would quit a toxic job without hesitation and 75% said they would quit their job without having another one lined up.
Gen Z won’t waste their precious energy on things that don’t serve them. They’re not waiting around for their lives to start and they’re not working overtime.
11. They underestimate how productive Gen Z is
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Boomers and Gen X believe Gen Z is unproductive, but Gen Z just does their work in an alternative way. Just because older generations over-committed to a 9-to-5 lifestyle doesn’t mean Gen Z has to do the same thing. Gen Z are passionate and productive, even if it looks different from what boomers and Gen X are used to.
Our world is on a precipice, and Gen Z holds the future. They’re mapping out what comes next and they’re taking everyone with them.
Alexandra Blogier, MFA, is a staff writer who covers psychology, social issues, relationships, self-help topics, and human interest stories.
