University Professor Admits Gen Z Workers Have Good Reason For Being So ‘Lazy’ At Work
Professor Suzy Welch defended Gen Z against the "lazy" stereotypes that are always directed at them.
Chay_Tee | Shutterstock Gen Z is considered many things. From being the most outspoken generation and utilizing things like social media to amplify their voices, Gen Z is shifting the tides in real time. But at the same time, it's not without criticism, especially in the workforce, as Gen Z has been continuously labeled "lazy" and "unmotivated" in the corporate space.
However, in a TikTok video, a university professor named Suzy Welch claimed that Gen Z workers should be given a bit more grace when it comes to the stereotypes they face in the workplace, and that much of their attitude isn't truly their fault in the first place.
Professor admits Gen Z workers have good reason for being so 'lazy' at work.
"Gen Z have no reason to believe that they're ever going to have economic security," Welch declared at the beginning of her video. "I don't know about you, but I'm old enough that when I was in college, I thought, for sure, I'm gonna have more money than my parents."
Welch explained that she knew getting her college degree and working hard would secure her an impressive, lucrative financial future in which she wouldn't need to worry about paying bills or rent, and eventually buying a home. That was just her assumption, but for Gen Z, that's not the case at all.
Many Gen Z adults are not even sure if they're going to be alive in the next 20 years due to climate change and global warming. In their minds, why bend over backwards at a 9-to-5 job when the economy is pretty much in shambles anyway? There's absolutely no way they'll be able to reach any type of financial security unless they miraculously win the lottery or come from generational wealth.
"It's just very hard, and so I think that it comes out looking in a way that we don't understand," Welch continued. "The sort of place of vulnerability and sadness that it's coming from."
Most of Gen Z don't even feel like they're 'real adults.'
According to a survey conducted by Talker Research and Life Happens, participants were studied pertaining to their highs and lows, especially when it came to finances. An estimated 2,000 Americans, split evenly by generation (500 Gen Z, 500 millennials, 500 Gen X, and 500 baby boomers), revealed that being an "adult" doesn’t automatically start the day you turn 18.
A majority believe that the definition of "adulting" is simply paying your own bills (56%). Others said that being financially independent (45%) and taking on responsibilities in their personal life over having fun (38%) are signs of entering the adult era. However, 11% of Gen Z admitted to not feeling like an adult at all.
Dmitriy Ganin | Pexels
Seven percent of Gen Z respondents said they don't believe they’ll ever be financially stable. They were even asked what some of the top things are that they want older generations to know and understand about them. Some of their responses varied from "the economy is at a point where having financial security feels impossible, and like it’s not worth attaining" to "buying a house is not as financially achievable at this time."
The reality is quite sobering for many Gen Z adults. Many of them are in their adult years during a time of complete instability. But, despite the bleakness of everything around them, Gen Z isn't completely hopeless either. They're learning to adapt and finding ways to feel just a smidge of joy.
That might end up being their strength, though. The fact that they are refusing to settle and go quietly, and that they're making noise about the reality of what it means to be in America right now.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
