6 Things Gen Z Sees As A Bad Job That Boomers & Gen X Just Call Hard Work
Zabolotskikh Sergey / Shutterstock Gen X may have once been called slackers by their Silent Generation and baby boomer grandparents and parents, but once they entered the workforce, they hit the ground running.
Now that many of their kids are at the starting point of their own careers, those Gen Z professionals are quick to label several types of employment as bad jobs that both baby boomers and Gen X would really just call hard work.
Gen Z sees these positions as bad jobs, even though boomers and Gen X just call them hard work
1. Military service
Gen X and baby boomers think of military service as hard work, and they also think of it as honorable. Boomers grew up after World War II, and so many of their parents were soldiers. It was a way they provided for their family and looked after their kids. Gen X had those people as grandparents, so they respected the positions too.
Gen Z seems to be less patriotic than past generations, and they tend to be skeptical about signing up for the army. They don't always trust their government to make the best choices for them, and many don't think the idea of fighting for your country is worth the possibility of dying.
2. Manual labor
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Boomers and Gen X viewed manual labor as tough but still a great job to have. Blue-collar jobs, like construction work, were seen as a good thing that contributed to society.
Gen Z sees manual labor as physically demanding work that’s often more tiring than office work. They don't want to wear themselves out by working a blue-collar job just to make money. They want to do work that makes them feel inspired.
Gen Z places a lot of emphasis on having a job that means something to them. They don't usually think of working on someone else's car or house as something that would be emotionally impactful. They would rather their job be meaningful to them rather than important to society.
3. Jobs that prioritize loyalty
Gig work involves the kind of jobs you can find on Craigslist. It could be babysitting or helping a small band move their equipment. Boomers and Gen X didn't love those kinds of jobs. They liked working for a company they could stay with for years.
Company loyalty mattered a lot in past generations because it offered job security and created trust between a boss and their employee. Though loyalty can be hard to prove, Boomers and Gen X didn't mind putting in the time.
Gen Z, though, doesn't like working for companies that expect loyalty. They prefer switching positions based on their needs at the time. You can see this in how many Gen Zers do gig-based jobs. They see it as a good way to make a little extra cash with a flexible schedule. It's a better position for them than working for a company with high expectations, like expecting workers to stay at the job for years of their life.
4. Working at a fast food restaurant
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It’s not that working in the fast food industry was the dream career for everyone in the Boomer and Gen X generations. Still, they didn’t see as much of a problem with it. They respected the work as an entry-level job that builds work ethic.
Dealing with difficult customers helped prepare people for higher-level positions. They also thought that there wasn’t a wrong way to make money. They didn't prioritize being intentional with their work as much as Gen Z does now.
Many people in Gen Z think working in a fast food restaurant is a bad job because they don't want to be in an environment where they're treated with disrespect. They don't want to put up with rude customers, especially at a job that is generally looked down on in their generation. They see working in a fast food restaurant as hard work that doesn’t pay off.
5. Internships with no pay
Internships are how many people start in the professional world. They're a way to prove you have what it takes to work in that field. It can be hard work, especially if a boss tries to push you as hard as they can to see how capable you really are.
They usually don’t pay that much either. Sometimes they don’t pay at all. Boomers and Gen X didn’t mind this as much because they trusted their hard work would help them move up in the professional world. They didn’t see it as getting taken advantage of, unlike Gen Z.
Gen Z sees unpaid internships as exploitative. They think a company is taking advantage of its workers if It makes them work long hours without pay. They see a company that doesn’t pay their interns as a bad company to work for, while Boomers and Gen X are usually just excited about the opportunity.
6. Corporate job with long hours
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Intense corporate jobs are definitely hard work, but a lot of people in the older generations thought you’d be lucky to work in that position. They didn’t mind working long hours that went way past their scheduled clock-out time.
Having a corporate job was respectable because it usually meant you were making a good amount of money. It helped people provide for their families, which was a major priority for those generations when considering which jobs to choose. Gen Z doesn’t want to work in those kinds of jobs because they don’t want their work to take away from their life.
They don’t want to spend their limited free time doing even more work. Because Gen Z prioritizes having a work-life balance so much, they think jobs that require a lot of your time are bad jobs to have.
Lily Bell is a college student studying English and Publications who covers relationships, mental health, and personal narratives surrounding the human experience.
