Gen Z is prioritizing living over working because they've seen 'the legacy of broken promises' in corporate America, a future-of-work expert says

Truth be told, damn near everyone I meet that treats their job as a means of trying to enjoy life. Like sometimes I've heard stories of older people being told they'll be fired if they leave work (on time and not do forced overtime) to make it to their kid's recital or sports ball tourney and some of them bite the bullet of keeping their job vs risking financial instability for their family. But generally speaking the people that "live to work" tend to be people that have a hard time socializing outside of work and use work as a means of meeting their emotional needs or complete cranks that drank the corporate coolaid or ate a whole dumptrucks worth republican bullshit propaganda to the point that ideology overtakes reality.

Gen Z is choosing to "work to live'' rather than "live to work," like previous generations, because they're reaping fewer rewards for their hard work, an expert on the future of work told Business Insider.

"Expert"

Ravin Jesuthasan, the global leader for transformation services at the consulting giant Mercer and a future-of-work expert, spoke with BI at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week and touched on the topic of Gen Z in the workplace.

A future-of-work work expert who's never worked a day in his life

Gen Z "has some very different attitudes to work" from older generations, Jesuthasan said, because it's one of the first generations whose members won't have wealth greater than that of their parents or grandparents. Additionally, they have already experienced huge disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

If being able to make the most basic of observations can make you an expert that can give speeches at the Davos meeting of vampires, we'd all be fucking grandmasters here on hexbear.

Jesuthasan said: "I think they have more of an attitude of work to live as opposed to live to work that many of us grew up with. This is particularly true in the West. They have seen the legacy of all these broken promises. In the old days and in many parts of the West, they would promise you if you worked for 30 years, you have this defined benefit pension, you have retiree medical care, etc. None of that exists today.

See last statement.

"And so they've seen that get taken away from their parents or grandparents, and now there's a sense of, 'I'm only as good as the skills I have. I'm only as good as the value I'm delivering today, and so these are the terms under which I want to work, and you either meet them or not.'"

Dipshits giving a convoluted version of Moissaye J. Olgin's "Why Communism" section 1, who's first sentence is literally "YOU ARE A WORKER"

Gen Zers watched as millennials struggled through economic hardships, including multiple recessions and a pandemic, which put a dent in their income and dreams of homeownership. The increased cost of living, skyrocketing house prices, and student debt have locked millennials out of the housing market and made it difficult for them to accumulate wealth.

More statements of the obvious.

As a result, numerous Gen Zers are "quiet quitting" and taking a step back at work because they're painfully aware that their hard work could essentially amount to nothing.

STOP MAKING FAKE WORDS

"Many of us built, whether it's bought homes or whatever, based on this promise of stability," Jesuthasan said. "There was this expectation that the tail was bigger. And we took on liabilities and obligations early on because of that tail. I think this generation has seen that tail dissipate."

Fucker saying the vampires and ghouls knew the gravy train was gonna run dry, they just thought it wouldn't have happened so damn fast, as they ladle more wealth sauce down their gullets

Companies will have to start meeting people on their individual terms rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, Jesuthasan said.

You can choose pizza party or mandatory team building exercises. No asking for raises however.

This includes being able to "pick and choose" from a "portfolio of rewards," he added. Gen Zers have often received flak for their perceived flippant attitude to work. In one survey last year, 74% of managers said the generation was the most challenging to work with.

Fuck petty tyrant bosses.

Meanwhile, celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg have dismissed their economic struggles. She said they couldn't afford to buy a house because they're lazy and "only want to work four hours" a day.

CHOKE ON YOUR TONGUE AND DIE

However, Gen Zers are facing setbacks because of high levels of inflation and rising prices. They're even shopping less and eating at home more to save money, a Bank of America survey found in an August survey.

Great depression mindset grindset ftw

The members of the young generation have hit back at some of these accusations, saying that they're not prioritizing work because wages have stagnated, they're unfulfilled by the mundane 9-to-5 life, and they're burned out.

Capitalist exploitation fucking sucks.

  • FuckyWucky [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    Show

    all the tech sector workers being laid off clearly indicates people dont want to work anymore.

    • buckykat [none/use name]
      ·
      8 months ago

      1349: "Because a great part of the people, and especially of workmen and servants, late died of the pestilence, many seeing the necessity of masters, and great scarcity of servants, will not serve unless they may receive excessive wages, and some rather willing to beg in idleness, than by labor to get their living"

    • edge [he/him]
      ·
      8 months ago

      The reason that keeps getting repeated is that nobody ever wanted to work. Work is just a means to keep yourself alive and (ideally) happy. The less of it you can do while maintaining your quality of life, the better, and that's what technological advancement was supposed to enable.

  • viva_la_juche [they/them, any]
    ·
    8 months ago

    “Futuro-Of-Work expert” is the most ‘I got nepotismed into a cushy overpaid fake job where I barely do anything’ sounding job title I’ve ever heard in my life

    • GrouchyGrouse [he/him]
      ·
      8 months ago

      It's pretty telling that none of these "experts" are forced to do an internship where they have to work a year or two at some retail or blue collar labor job. They're just some bean counting nepo baby who buys a standing desk so they think they know what it's like to be a 45 year old black woman who stands 8 hours a day cashiering at Wal mart.

  • Infamousblt [any]
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    edit-2
    8 months ago

    I decided many years ago that I would never ever live to work again after missing my own first wedding anniversary weekend because of a last minute business trip. Had to drive to Canada to fix some stupid machine. I couldn't even fix it I just had to go watch a guy fix it. It was ridiculous beyond measure and I decided right then and there that if work ever forced me to miss out on my life I would rather starve to death than work that job.

    I have since been ridiculously fortunate in my jobs and their flexibility and haven't had to starve but even when boomers say stupid shit like "that guy is homeless because he doesn't want to work" I always ask them why they think he's wrong. Even if that's why anyone was unhoused that's a based as fuck reason to be unhoused. Fuck work, fuck business, fuck capitalism. Let us be real human beings

    • Yiazmat@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      8 months ago

      some years ago I got hit by a car and spent about 6 months recovering from it. thankfully the insurance payout was enough that I was able to pay rent and feed myself without working during that time so I basically had 6 months to do whatever I wanted as long as it didn't require using my legs too much. During that time I did stuff like read a dozen or so books (prior to that I had read maybe one book since graduating high school), taught myself how to use linux, got my old guitar out of storage and started playing again, learned to cook actual meals, finished some films and video games I never thought I'd have time for, started gardening and growing my own weed (along with catnip for the neighborhood cats), organized my place and got rid of a bunch of stuff I don't need, etc.

      It felt like I was getting a taste of what living under FALGSC would be like, just doing things for my own self-improvement or because I was interested in them, without needing some kind of monetary incentive. Aside from the pain of rehabbing my legs, those 6 months kicked so much ass and made me even more motivated to work towards a future where everyone can do that, because it feels great to look back and reflect on how much you've grown as a person.

  • D61 [any]
    ·
    8 months ago

    Me: spending years looking for permanent full time work getting zero callbacks/interviews for uncomplicated jobs like "stocking shelves in grocery store".

    Businesses: Nobody wants to work!

    • SkingradGuard [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      Same experience as me, every single job, from "high level" work to just normal jobs, I get ZERO replies. And on times I do get interviews to the "high level" jobs you get shit like "you'll leave after 6 months because you're overqualified and will want to find something better." It's exhausting sadness

  • Ocommie63 [she/her]@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    8 months ago

    Fuck the pretentious prices of shit who wrote this article, it amazes me how completely stuck up their own prolapsed anuses these people are. And it amazes me even more that people actually take these motherfuckers seriously

  • GrouchyGrouse [he/him]
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    edit-2
    8 months ago

    Corporate oligarchy broke whatever semblance of a "social contract" that previously existed and they wonder why people aren't hollowing themselves out to hold up their end of a broken bargain. Gee. Fuckin rocket science. We won't be able to retire when our bodies have been punished by a lifetime of labor. Young people are wise to this and are pragmatically choosing to concentrate on themselves when they are young enough to do extra curricular activities. More power to them.

  • Sinistar
    ·
    8 months ago

    sometimes I've heard stories of older people being told they'll be fired if they leave work (on time and not do forced overtime) to make it to their kid's recital or sports ball tourney

    Not for nothing but I've spent literally my entire life watching family movies where the people who do that are absolutely miserable and the moral of the story is that you should prioritize your loved ones over your job. I think the people who grew up in previous generations and who wrote those stories were trying to tell us something.

    • GarbageShoot [he/him]
      ·
      8 months ago

      Yeah, "Man on his deathbed wishing he spent time with his family rather than just work more" is a very common trope in popular media (though not "overused," because that would mean it is being used too much)

  • barrbaric [he/him]
    ·
    8 months ago

    My boss: "I think I'm going to put off retirement for a few more years, I just love working here so much!"

    Me and my coworkers: "Give me your money and I'll retire right now motherfucker"

  • operacion_ogro [he/him]
    ·
    8 months ago

    seen-this-one oh hey it's these dusty old articles about millennials that have been repurposed for a new generation

  • invo_rt [he/him]
    ·
    8 months ago

    I can't speak to Gen Z because I'm not, but anything to break up the corporate grist mill is a good thing. I'm a striver, climber type naturally, but the best thing I was ever told by my in-laws (who are both retired corporate upper management) is to not work so hard and enjoy things more. They're both retired and wealthy, but regret not enjoying their lives. Take that for what its worth.

  • Alaskaball [comrade/them]
    hexagon
    M
    ·
    8 months ago

    Corpo rizzlers want gen Z to stick their labor power gyat out but gen Z so sigma they ain't letting them get their fanum tax.