Gen Z is just entering the workplace — and they’re already overworked (or overworked, depending on who you ask).
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According to a poll by Axios and Generation Lab, 82 percent of Gen Z members said doing the bare minimum to keep their job was “pretty or extremely appealing.”
15 percent of respondents said they already do.
The pandemic has transformed people’s relationships with work, particularly among the youngest members, contributing to backlashes against “Hustle Culture” and movements like the Great Resignation.
The term means doing exactly what you have to do on the job and no more. Arianna Huffington bucked the trend, saying it was the wrong answer to burnout. Others say it’s just a way to avoid it.
In the survey, respondents also gave work a lower priority than wellness, hobbies, family and friends, depending on the outlet.
Related: Google’s ‘quiet hiring’ tactic is great for employers, but dangerous for employees who ‘quietly quit’
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report shows that only 21% of people are overall engaged at work.
Still, the term ‘silently quitting’ has recently taken online and social media by storm, inspiring a multitude of thought-provoking and TikToks.
Related: 3 ways to avoid silently quitting your Gen Z employees
“Anti-work sketch comedy on TikTok has become something of the shanty of the Zoom era … a collaborative art form by and for an increasingly self-aware workforce,” wrote the Los Angeles Times.
@saraisthreads #greenscreen Poor Debrah. #fyp #work #working #corporate #corporatelife #corporatetiktok #corporateamerica #corporatehumor #office #officelife #manager #managersbelike #career ♬ Original sound – Sarai Marie
Axios survey results also showed that the desire to do the bare minimum is not limited to one demographic.
85% of women and 79% of men surveyed said the approach to work is ideal, as did 82% of white respondents, 86% of black respondents and 79% of asian respondents.
Anecdotally, it seems Gen Z sticks by their bosses too. A 19-year-old Domino employee said she resigned via Post-It after her manager repeatedly scheduled her to work alone on weekends and went viral on TikTok.
The survey surveyed a representative sample of 828 people aged 18 to 29 in the United States.
