Why Are Millennials So Mad At Gen Z’s 'Unreasonable' Expectations At Work?
Are we annoyed at Gen Z because they have the guts to challenge work practices that lead to high levels of anxiety?
Natee Meepian's Images | Canva The internet feed is overflowing with short videos depicting something along these lines:
Take one: a Gen X individual — born between 1965 and 1979. She is in formal attire and visibly very sick at work, telling her boss that she will work through the illness but might be unable to work overtime.
Take two: a Millennial — born between 1980 and 1994. She is wearing a sweatshirt or some other comfortable clothing at home. She is visibly sick, but not as much as the person in the previous take.
While on her laptop, she sends her boss an e-mail to let her know she will work slowly that day and might have to sign off early. I admit I squarely fall into this one and am a millennial.
Take three: a Gen Zer —born between 1995 and 2009. She has a slight cough but is otherwise healthy. She uses Slack to tell colleagues she will be out of the office that day. On another take, she is nowhere to be seen near her laptop.
These videos evoke a sense of annoyance toward this perceived “unwillingness to work” or “detachment” from work. When I first saw these videos, I thought: That’s so true. Gen Zers do not care for their work. But then I had to stop myself and wonder:
Are these videos enhancing harmful stereotypes that will lead to discrimination of Gen Z in the workplace? After all, Millennials were the annoying new kid in town not long ago.
fauxels | Pexels
Are we annoyed by these perceived attitudes because we’ve worked our assess off and wish we had the guts Gen Z has to demand real work-life balance? Gen Xers and Baby Boomers were annoyed at Millennials, too.
Just as every new migrant group to the U.S. faced discrimination in the 1800s as they came, so does each generation when entering and disturbing the culture of the workforce. (And yes! My background in immigration is bound to seep through my writing since it’s a big part of my life as an immigrant and immigration attorney.)
I remember being the new generation in town, and people did not like how it disrupted their notions of how things were done. At the beginning of my career, I was told by more senior colleagues and their superiors: “Because you are a Millennial, you tend to challenge X, Y, and Z and question the decisions of your superiors and processes that have been in place and working for years.”
At first, I felt comfortable stating my point of view and proposing more efficient processes aligned with technological advances. This included questioning people who had much more authority than me and were — at times — utterly wrong about what they were saying.
But it was never about being right. I soon understood that regardless of my expertise in a specific subject, if someone more senior than me said something, it was the “right” way or thing, irrespective of how wrong they were. I was tamed.
While researching this article, I saw the following labels used to describe Millennials in the workplace:
- Selfish
- Disengaged
- Entitled
- Lack of loyalty to a company
- Don’t want to work
If these seem familiar, it’s because they are.
Just as in the US in the 1800s, the more recent wave of migrants were labeled as “lazy,” “poor,” and “criminals,” the same labels used to diminish Millennials are now used to stereotype Gen Z — the new wave of workers joining the workforce.
Pavel Danilyuk | Pexels
Labels seem to be passed on to groups that disrupt the “normal flow” of business, behaviors that challenge our notions of how people should behave based on our coded cultural or generational expectations. In the meantime, companies that work with the changing times and demands of workers thrive.
Google and Apple, among them — are naturally innovative employers who are never restrained by ‘how things used to be done.’ These companies are not specifically targeting millennials, but their culture, management style, and approach to recruitment and retention naturally appeal to the millennial generation. And because of that, they can take their pick of the best younger talent around.
The “I went through it, so you have to endure it too” mentality hurts us all. After obtaining lawful permanent residence and becoming citizens, some clients become mad at the prospect of a law that will make it easier for other migrants to come to the US or gain lawful status. Their reasons are: I waited X number of years and spent tens of thousands of dollars in fees to get my green card; why should they catch a break if I did not?
My response: Why should others struggle only because you struggled? Since you understand the pain of going through the system, you know the big difference a piece of legislation can make for individuals like you.
Similarly, are we annoyed at Gen Z because they have the means and guts to challenge work practices that lead to high levels of anxiety accompanied by lousy health?
Yan Krukau | Pexels
Are we mad at them because they want something we have not had? Because we’ve had to work our asses off already while they get the break?
For example, I worked at a private law firm that made me feel like a tool instead of a person. We had to be at the office from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., stick to a strict workflow schedule, and work two Saturdays out of the month for no additional pay.
Admitting the culture was rigid for the times, my boss often said: You should be thankful; it used to be way worse when I started working.
He justified a toxic culture by claiming it was better than his experience. But this is only one example of the many times I have heard this excuse to stop progress.
Oh. And in case you were intrigued, I quit after less than a year, heading to a nonprofit that paid me more, was more flexible, and did not make me work on Saturdays.
Gen Zers are on to something — they're going beyond my expectations and for good reasons. Companies expect us to live to work instead of working to live. Gen Zers see this, and as they enter the workforce, they say, “Enough.”
We are expected to work the majority of days of our adult life. We call Gen Zers “disengaged” because they leave the office at 5 p.m. and are unwilling to work overtime and take their earned sick days. Gen Zers are not disengaged at work; our societal expectations have been to prioritize work over everything, including family and health.
We label Gen-Z’s behavior as “lacking loyalty” because they look for jobs that will pay them considerably more and have better benefits. Many do it after asking for a raise.
While we call them out for lacking loyalty, when companies refuse to give raises or meet their demands, it’s business as usual. When companies go through tough financial times and have to lay over people, we don’t call them selfish. Why are we demanding a level of loyalty from workers that companies are unwilling to give?
While Millennials have higher expectations of the workplace and demand more work-life balance than our predecessors, we might have “drank the juice” along with Gen X and older generations. We were raised to believe we should be thankful for having a 9–5 job that pays us for the basics, to be thankful for spending most of our lives producing for the company’s sake.
But Gen Z is coming in strong by challenging the status quo with all their might, and asking bigger and better questions.
Why do we have to work most of our waking hours? Why do employers think they own us? Why is it all about producing at the expense of our physical and mental health?
This new generation can awaken us from an overwork cycle by asking these questions and making demands, reshaping how we work and live. What if we join them instead of being mad at them?
I landed at an organization that was turned on its head by Gen Zers. Instead of resisting, its leaders listened. The results?
- Having exceptional mental healthcare
- Heading towards significantly better benefits
- A four-day workweek
- Cultural emphasis on work-life balance
By having a more balanced life outside of work, we show up fully at work and are happier. And yes, we all know what a mental health care day is, and we are encouraged to take it — no questions asked. Shouldn’t this be the norm instead of the exception?
Andrea Carcamo is an immigration attorney, writer, and entrepreneur who seeks to improve the world one word at a time. She is also a mother, wife, full-time employee, and first-generation immigrant in the U.S., trying to figure life out in public. Although she mostly writes on Medium, she has authored many resources for immigrants and has been published in law review articles.