Worker Cries About Being ‘So Tired’ After Working 40 Hours A Week & Only Making $2K A Month
Why are so many young workers struggling to stay afloat?
Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com Gen Z workers, like one overwhelmed woman on TikTok, have gotten vulnerable with their financial situations online. Their desperation is captured in tearful posts and advocacy for better working conditions amidst instability in many aspects of their lives.
In a now-deleted video on TikTok, one Gen Z worker admitted she was exhausted after working her 40-hour job, yet still wasn’t finding comfort or financial stability in her bi-weekly paychecks. Trying to get by, she said she had little to no time left for herself, and her mental health was suffering.
A young worker tearfully confessed she’s ‘so tired’ after working 40 hours a week and can still barely afford to pay rent.
“How do people manage to enjoy life while working full-time?” she wrote over the video. “40 hours a week makes me two thousand dollars a month… and my rent is already sixteen hundred.”
“So, I work 40 hours a week to afford a 2-bedroom apartment… and the extra $300 a month doesn’t even cover my phone bill,” she added. Not only does she feel like she's trapped in a toxic cycle of always working just to pay bills, but she’s also losing her identity and sacrificing her well-being in the process.
Gen Zers were urged to go to college, build career goals, and save their money. However, despite doing all that, they’re still struggling.
Despite her vulnerability, critics ridiculed her, arguing that ‘everyone is struggling.'
“Please,” one person mocked in the comments, “That’s called adulting. Welcome to it.”
Similar sentiments flooded the comments section, with many arguing that they’re also struggling with money, professional life, and work-life balance. At what point does everyone take a step back and consider that this isn’t normal instead of trying to normalize it for younger workers?
Stagnant wages are a universal problem affecting professionals at all stages of their careers. Whether they’re seeking leadership promotions for a once-sought-after six-figure salary or just trying to get an entry-level job, living paycheck-to-paycheck is becoming the norm.
However, there is a difference that makes Gen Z’s experience more alarming. Many of them never had (and likely never will) the opportunity to purchase a car, a home, or have children in a financially stable position. While it’s true older generations are still struggling with money, many of them had more earning potential at a young age.
Many younger workers are frustrated with the toxic 40-hour-a-week work culture.
These young adults are struggling to find their footing in adulthood. In a shame game of comparison, they find themselves not rethinking their childhood career goals and the dream of financial independence.
Martin Lauge Villadsen / Shutterstock.com
They're overworked, under-compensated, and desperate. A 2024 survey by WalletHub found that 25% of Gen Z individuals are struggling to maintain financial stability. They lack basic saving and investing knowledge and are untrusting when it comes to building wealth in general.
It’s not just overwhelming student loans, low-paying entry-level jobs, and a staggeringly disappointing job market; it’s also rising rent costs.
Compared to an average monthly rent cost of $850 in the early 2000s, single post-graduates and Gen Z workers are now faced with a whopping average cost of $1,800 — for exactly the same 1-bedroom spaces.
So, no. Gen Z workers aren’t “lazy.” They’re not complaining for nothing or looking for handouts. They’re simply not making enough money to survive while dealing with discourse suggesting it’s their fault.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.