'She Mends Her Broken Footwear': Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu Shares Emotional Story Of Gen Z Employee

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu recently met a young employee and shared her emotional story, which was different from the popular stereotypes surrounding Gen Z. Often labelled as entitled or lacking a strong work ethic, Gen Z frequently faces criticism in corporate discussions. However, Vembu's interaction with the young woman team member offered a fresh and inspiring perspective.

"I come across a large number of people of various age groups, and I don't find categorising generations based on age all that meaningful," he wrote in the post.

"A 19-year-old employee told me last week that she works hard to earn money so that her parents can repay their loans and support her younger siblings. That is her foremost priority in life."

"She buys only low-cost clothes, she mends her broken footwear and so on because she wants to save every rupee. I told her I would visit her parents and tell them how proud they should be of their daughter."

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See the post here:

I come across a large number of people of various age groups, and I don't find categorizing generations based on age all that meaningful.

A 19 year old employee told me last week that she works hard to earn money so that her parents can repay their loans and support her younger…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) August 3, 2026

The post went viral with nearly 70,000 views, as he also stated that some employees took his advice and kept the wedding simple to avoid unnecessary expenses. "Recently, two marriages happened among our employees (ages around 25), and both told me they took my advice to keep the wedding simple and not spend too much money. These attitudes are timeless. I find them equally in Gen Z."

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Social media reactions

"That's exactly the government you are cheering, which placed their parents in the high-interest rate loan, so the next generation is also put under pressure not to taste freedom of democracy," one user wrote in the comment section.

"When you realise the present and March a head, you have to find a solution and work hard to achieve it in a manner which the society accepts. For this, you need character, self-discipline, attitude and be ready to work hard. People want to achieve over night choos wrong path loose."

"You are doing a very sensible job; may God bless you with health and determination to continue with this," said a third user.