Blog | Can The Gen Z Please Shut Up, For Once?

Gen Z is doomed. They have no work ethic, they are too lazy, too demanding and way too entitled and they would never have survived the challenging work environment we went through. As the ultimate authority on work culture, even Kim Kardashian says, ‘nobody wants to work anymore'.

And maybe, that's a good thing? I suffered, so must the next generation, is not a very noble idea.

In a video about workplace toxicity that went viral a couple of months ago, creator Satakhshi asks, “Insaan do waqt ki roti kamaane ke liye jaata hai, agar woh do waqt ki roti sukoon se nahi kha sakta, toh kya point hai?”

The comment section of this video was flooded with other Gen Z individuals dropping great philosophical gems like ‘overworking isn't a flex', while older generations waxed eloquent about how a worker was replaceable, so she must work till she bleeds to earn the paycheck.

But coming back to the question: seriously, what's the point of all this ‘hustle'? 

Well, the point is to grind and hustle, my child. Grind and hustle all the way to the grave. 

Too Many Expectations

As a younger millennial, I am flummoxed, flummoxed I say, by these unrealistic expectations my next generation, the inheritors of my planet, have.  Work-life balance? Reasonable work hours? Next thing you know they will be asking to be paid for internships. Or worse, a non-toxic work environment. 

I spoke to a young woman this morning who very unceremoniously left her three-month internship in 30 days.  Why? A toxic manager. The intern was given tasks that required at least three full-time employees. She did all the work, though her patience was running thin. The ‘toxic boss' - her words, not mine, I would never indulge in such blasphemy regarding work - would send her messages long enough to take three scrolls on an iPhone 14. She would then delete those messages, choosing to call instead, and then send <3 emojis. 

A true, good old fashioned, gaslighter. 

But instead of understanding that the boss's toxicity was a way to promote work output and productivity, the ungrateful and entitled Gen Z intern quit her job because of ‘mental health' and some other crap about respect and a safe work environment.

The ‘Mental Health Menace'

Who among us has not cried in an office bathroom? Who among us or our previous generation hasn't felt that our worth was tied to the productivity we delivered for the place that paid our salaries? 

But these pesky Gen Zs, they cannot speak three consecutive sentences without mentioning mental health. Another intern I spoke with this morning told me a story that was traumatising to her, but which seemed pretty normal to a millennial like myself. The boss would count the hours and reward those who stayed extra in ways that seemed ‘rewarding' to the receiver but had no real value in the real world. It didn't matter whether it was a paid employee or an unpaid intern, the extra long hours were a badge of honour to be worn with pride and accompanied with dead and dark-rimmed eyes.

The millennials like us have dutifully played the pity olympics. “I barely slept last night, and woke up at 6 to get here on time”, “I have been working for 18 days straight, haven't taken a weekend off”, or worse, “I will stay of course, my family is visiting for the first time in three years but I will happily stay two hours overtime”. 

Us millennials, we revel in the joys of labour. The excessive workload, the long work hours, the sleepless nights, and the joys of working from a sick bed while on medical leave. It is the fuel that fires our corporate life. Our elders taught us well, that there is no success without suffering, and that mental health is a myth. Our once in a six-month hangout session with friends is incomplete without engaging in a competitive banter about who suffers the most, and that person wins an imaginary prize in their own mind. “Oh you worked with a fever? I worked till they actually took me inside the operation theatre”, “Ah, you had to stay one hour extra? That's nothing, my boss sang my praises to the entire office when I stayed in the office for 16 hours straight”. When asked if the praises translated to appraisals or overtime, the person will claim they don't do it for the money but for their passion and dedication. 

But coming back to the intern, her thoughts were a bit alien to me. In her world, this Olympics of suffering serves little purpose. She said she quit her job - well, her internship - because ‘it was getting too toxic for her mental health'. Perplexed, I asked, why is your generation so obsessed  with deeming all workplace inconveniences as ‘toxic'? Her answer perplexed me further, “We are struggling in our personal lives already. Our romantic lives, social groups, because of social media pressure are all f**** up. So, we need to balance that out by choosing mental health in the workplace context.”

Well, speechless, I moved on.

A Social Pandemic

However, this disease seems to be spreading. It is not just Gen Z who are shirking work; some from my generation have also started exaggerating their alleged suffering at their workplaces. 

Take this person, for instance, who calls their employer ‘Satan', and who ended up in the hospital due to alleged mental harassment. Now, is it unfair for an employer to expect you to work yourself to death? They are giving you employment, so what if you had to be hospitalised due to their toxicity? So what if you still to this day are traumatised? Our hustle culture will not stop for the weak.

At least some workplaces are trying to ensure that we don't forget our roots. Like this organisation, which put an employee on PIP (performance improvement programme, which is basically ‘soft firing') because they refused to work on weekends. How dare that employee defy their lords? The problematic employee was even shocked to learn they had to continue working while on leave. Isn't that just how the cookie crumbles? 

Workplace toxicity has existed as long as work culture has - so what? Is this it then? Will the disease of ‘boundaries', perhaps like the Covid Virus, find a way to infect the coming generations as well? 

(The author is Assistant Producer, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author