LinkedIn is now just another social media platform: Gen Z contradicts their ‘work/life balance’ ethos by turning the professional networking platform into a new place to overshare

Gen Z’s Views on Job Culture and LinkedIn

Gen Z has not been shy about their opinions on the experiences of the older generations in their careers. TikTok user DeAndre Brown has raked in millions of views on the video platform from his skits about the younger generation’s approach to work, many of the videos exclaiming that he will not go above and beyond for companies who view him as disposable. The common theme in most of his short skits is prioritizing one’s self-worth. Thousands of other fellow Gen Zers agree with Brown’s commentary, stating that they are hired by a system that relies on the extra labor of desperate individuals looking to make ends meet. After all, big corporations and toxic work environments depend on folks who believe they don’t deserve competitive compensation or a liveable wage (and I would argue that recently, this has been working).

Gen Z does not view themselves as a machine or automaton—they prioritize social comfort, stability, and a life outside of the office. Many Gen Zers have outwardly rebuked LinkedIn, claiming it is a performative platform that forces individuals to create a personal brand of themselves and, essentially, sell themselves to companies as products. In many cases, they’re not wrong. One scroll through LinkedIn will show you how folks post several paragraphs about their family dog and how that somehow relates to the current state of B2B marketing. This is what Gen Z continuously rejects, yet the current state of the job market has been forcefully changing Gen Zers’ mentalities regarding toxic work culture.

The Current Job Market and Gen Z’s Entrance Into the Workforce

If you’ve been living under a rock, you might not have noticed that the job market post-pandemic has been a cause for concern for veteran and rookie job seekers alike. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly labor review, Victor Huang and En Ping Cheng state, "The annual average job openings level for 2023 was 9.4 million compared with 11.2 million the previous year.” The job market is in a concerning decline, so it’s more than safe to assume that the hiring process has become more strategic and competitive.

Gen Z’s initial approach to work, as stated previously, likely would have been successful if not for the competition becoming increasingly more impressive. The newer generation is now competing with not just their overqualified peers, but also millennials, Gen Xers, and boomers who have 10+ years of industry experience under their belts for entry-level jobs. This battle for a paycheck is nothing new, but one scroll through any job posting will reveal that companies have come to require several years of experience just for job-seekers to score an interview. The competition is no longer only based on merit and how much workplace mistreatment you can endure, but also on how well you market yourself as a product. This is where LinkedIn comes into play.

Professionals anticipate that Gen Z will be one of the most dominant generations active on LinkedIn in the coming years. Marketing professional Dianne Glavaš published an article on the popular networking platform, where she cites a Forbes statistic that states, “Gen Zers’ use of LinkedIn is estimated to increase by 13% monthly.” We know why this is happening, but in what ways are Gen Z career rookies taking to the platform? Well, Glavaš explains that different social media platforms are dedicated to showcasing the highlights of our lives—which Gen Z is no stranger to. In the same vein, she offers a statement that is kin to a war cry: “LinkedIn is a highlight reel on steroids.” Essentially, she instructs the generation to toss all humility out of their (parent’s houses’) windows and run with the bragging rights of it all. Gen Z can’t help but participate in the cringeworthy popularity contest. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t also make fun of it.

LinkedIn Lunatics

A popular subreddit, r/LinkedInLunatics, aims to showcase the nonsensical nature of LinkedIn posts that are so ridiculous one almost mistakes them for parody. Inside the echo chamber of the platform, you’ll see posts ranging from sharing divorce stories, trips to Disney Land, and anniversary posts, all of which trace back to how great working for a corporate overlord is. Some posts have nothing to do with anything, like this one:

_{@wallstreetoasis on Instagram}

For the sake of privacy, we do not intend to “out” real LinkedIn-fluencers. Instead, we’ll showcase one bright light in a dark tunnel: Ken Cheng, a notable parody account on the platform whose sole purpose is to ridicule users who overshare, mumble nonsense, then overshare again. In a Reddit post, u/ForDaRecord shares a screenshot with the r/LinkedInLunatics community, featuring Ken Cheng.

                                                            _{u/ForDaRecord on Reddit}

This post is a cultural critique of a common “story” written by higher-ups and hiring managers who love to babble on the platform. They instill hope in those who humiliate themselves and wear themselves thin, normalizing the unhealthy intensity that is required to score a low-paying, high-stress position. Ken Cheng is a popular name in the LinkedIn Lunatics world and is easy to laugh at if you’re already employed, but his parody account also suggests that we might be in too deep with no way of clawing our way out—and Gen Z will reap what previous generations have sowed.

Gen Z Can Rebuke Whatever They Want, But They Need to Also Play the Game

What we’re seeing in this decade is a rewrite of a cultural movement Gen Z attempted to push forward, also pioneered by millennials in the previous decade. Gen Zers so desperately yearn for a collective rejection of toxic work culture but are realizing that if they don’t endure what other generations have endured, the workforce will chew them up and spit them out. It makes sense. The inability to live without a job forces folks to work and that has never changed. However, this fact paired with the inability to find work in a short(ish) period of time has forced Gen Zers to play the game, so to speak.

What is this game, you may ask? Broadcast a retelling of the day your dog passed away and how that influenced you to start a career in publishing. Or, about how your trip to Disney Land left you wondering about Walt Disney’s legacy as a world-renowned entrepreneur and you can only hope you can display these skills in your next role (#OpenToWork). Jobs may come and go, but social media is forever.