It’s a familiar refrain echoed by hiring managers, think pieces, and older generations. But are we lazy? Or have we simply uncovered the emptiness at the heart of modern work?   

Research from Monitoring the Future reveals willingness among 18-year-olds to “do their best at work even if it means overtime” fell sharply between 2020 and 2022. Critics attribute this to laziness, yet what’s really happening is a re-evaluation of work itself.   

Basically, life should be more than spending hours of your day doing meaningless tasks for minimum wage. There. I said it. 

This is by no means a groundbreaking discovery. In 1970, Buckminster Fuller said that “…the youth of today are absolutely right in recognising this nonsense of earning a living.” 

Gen Z have decided to take a step back and ask: what are we really working for?  

I threw myself into a McDonald’s uniform from the minimum working age. I craved the prospect of not having to run every purchase by my frugal mother. With my own wage, I could buy anything I wanted, when I wanted. At 14 years old, this meant heading to the school canteen every day (I'm still angry at myself for all the money I wasted back then). But to me, that was financial freedom. A job satisfied the craving for independence that I sought after.  

Thus began my slow descent into the capitalistic trap of the hospitality industry. 

After wasting five years of my life feeling insignificant, being told to smile, overworked, berated, and guilt-tripped into sacrificing my youth in cramped, toxic workplaces, I finally left the hospitality industry.  

“But why did you stay so long in the first place?” 

Because I was convinced this was how you achieved your goals: a hard work ethic. No matter how burnt out you get, swallow it down, tie on the apron and clock in.  

And working helped me achieve my savings goals. I was able to buy a car at sixteen and move out of my home, fresh out of high school.  

But the workload was grossly disproportionate to the spare change I had grown accustomed to accepting. Every week, I opened my payslip and felt my body physically sag as I thought, Did I really put myself through all that for this? 

Entering the adult workforce, I quickly discovered people are earning much more for working a lot less.  

So, now I’ve got myself what David Graeber calls the “Bullshit Job"; every clerical, administrative, managerial job where you're sitting fiddling with papers and typing on a laptop, constantly asking yourself How can I make myself look busy?   

Clearly, it's a stark change from the work I was used to doing. Yet, somehow, my seemingly trivial receptionist job still leaves me feeling drained, despite accomplishing very little. How is that possible?  

Capitalism conflicts with our innate human desire for purpose and meaningful challenges. More young people are beginning to realise that life shouldn't be defined by unfulfilling jobs. We value productivity, purpose, and autonomy over simply appearing busy. 

Redefining Work Ethic 

If I haven’t made a convincing enough argument, then I apologise. However, Gen Z accounts for 27% of the labour force, and by 2035, we will be the largest generation in the workforce. There will be no choice but to listen to our demands.  

For the sake of our humanity, something needs to change. 

So, how can we fulfil our desire to do meaningful tasks, without being stuck responding to emails or serving customers for the rest of our lives? Redefining what a work ethic is. 

An Intelligent survey found that 55% of hiring managers think Gen Z lacks a strong work ethic, and 20% say they’re often late. However, an NSHSS Career Interest Survey found that 65% of Gen Z are eager to master new skills.  

Perhaps we should stop measuring work ethic by the number of hours we spend at work and instead consider the value we bring when engaged in problem-solving tasks that require critical thinking. 

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Amelia Akonnah is a second-year student studying a dual degree in Media and Social Sciences at UNSW, majoring in Politics and International Relations and Journalism, with a passion for writing and film.

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