'I think I just hate working': Gen Z prompts sympathy after crashing out about working 8 to 5 job

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 1, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

Kim Kardashian raised eyebrows only a few short years ago when she declared that "nobody wants to work". For all she may have been hypocritical, many would argue that she wasn't wrong. This isn't just the out-of-touch boomers complaining that the younger generations refuse to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but also a large proportion of the workforce who are willing to admit that this thing they commit to doing for forty plus hours a week just isn't working for them. 

Phenomena like quiet quitting and the Great Resignation proved that many employees were sick and tired of how they made a living, and while the employment market might look different to how it did at the beginning of the decade, there are still plenty out there who would like nothing more than to close their work computer and never turn it on ever again. There is a lot of workplace discontent, especially among those who are younger.

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  • an open plan office with people working in it
    via Arlington Research

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • This is the reason for one woman's social media outburst in which she announces that she just quit her job as she didn't feel capable of working from 8 until 5 for the rest of her life. While some were quick to disparage her as lazy and entitled, many more had their sympathies with her frustration. It is not a lifestyle that everybody can adapt to, and with good reason.

  • I Meme Therefore I A... @ImMeme0 A millennial is bawling and having a mental breakdown because she doesn't want to work a 8-to-5 job.
    via ImMeme0
  • via ImMeme0
  • Batman777 @Josh No19 Replying to @ImMemeO Fixed it: "Millenial that sees no opportunity to create a family, own a home or retire is looking at being a slave for another 60yrs before dong and crying about." Crowd: "Hahaha, that is funny." 100
    via JoshNo19
  • Survivor of Psy-ops ❤ @jules3rdtry Replying to @ImMemeO She's all of us. We just keep it buried deep inside, like a normal person.
    via jules3rdtry
  • Peter Hague @peterrhague Replying to @ImMemeO Excuse me but I have a Dolly Parton song which makes it quite clear previous generations had it easier.
    via peterrhague
  • Courtney @crystalandqueue Replying to @ImMemeO Millennials are now middle aged or close to it. This chic is a zoomer. We are not the same
    via crystalandqueue
  • taylor@thetalesoftayls Replying to @ImMemeO she's probably gen z & new to her career & she's right, most jobs are horrible
    via thetalesoftayls
  • Aaron Bastani @Aaron Bastani Having very little meaningful connection with anyone, and working to barely make rent each month (let alone buy somewhere) will make anyone miserable. John Gray put it to me like this: at least peasants under European feudalism had the promise of the afterlife.
    via AaronBastani
  • Dean Abbott @Dean Abbott 8-5 employment is an aberration from historical patterns. It is an outgrowth of the industrial mindset and all the anti-humanness that entails This girls isn't lazy, she's just honest. The default structure of modern life is often misery-inducing, especially when you give up so much of your life and still can't pay the bills.
    via DeanAbbott
  • TW ThinkingWest ❤ @thinkingwest Most of these breakdowns aren't because 8-5 jobs are terrible per se, it's because young people know that, via these jobs, they will never attain close to the lifestyle of their parents. How demoralizing is it to grow up in lifestyle, do everything your parents told you to do to succeed, and when you enter the workforce you realize you will never attain that lifestyle again?
    via thinkingwest
  • @bumbadum14 bumbadum I hate boomers so much man RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES STRUGGLE TO FIND JOBS Unemployment: Three-month moving average among recent graduates vs. national average 15% 10% 5% 0% 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 RECENT GRADUATES NATIONAL
    via bumbadum14
  • chaos robot @deestiv First of all for the one millionth time, she is NOT a millennial. Elder millennials are in their 40s, this is a zoomer. Second of all, if you've dipped a toe into the job market recently, you'll know she lowkey has a point.
    via deestiv
  • Aaron M. Renn @aaron_renn In truth, most jobs are inane or sæk. That's why men singing about work often describe it as a burden they can't avoid. If you have an intrinsically rewarding job or profession, consider yourself very fortunate.
    via aaron_renn
  • Jason Helmes @anymanfitness Hot take: I feel her pain, she's right. I usually do 4-5 hours of focused work per day. After that, my brain is mush (and I get to work out from 9-11 am every day). Humans are not designed to do focused work for a 9+ hour stretch. It's inhumane.
    via anymanfitness
  • Teridax @Teridax It's all boomer brained morons hating on her, "I had to suffer and so should you" is that entire generation's motto 40 hour work week is a scam, and if you want proof then look at your job and just how much menial unnecessary bulls is added to your schedule to justify itself
    via Teridax
  • Nicholas @nickycantaloupe The only bizarre thing about this is filming it and posting it online. Have your breakdown, it's normal and fine to struggle with meaning like this, but don't make me see it thanks
    via nickycantaloupe
  • GuruAnaerobic → @GuruAnaerobic I agree with her, I hated employment. However, rather than crying about it - she should find out what else to do. She has more opportunity than in the history of humanity to create her preferred lifestyle. Her school (and probably her family) didn't teach her that. She has left school/ university life, unprepared for the reality of life outside school. Note: If you are happy being employed, that's fine - but many people aren't. It doesn't have to be the reality any
    via GuruAnaerobic
  • Harry @HighPlain Outlaw She is everyone in a soulless corporate job. No one gives a f about deliverables and Q1 project deadlines. It's all fake. It's just pressing buttons so other people can press buttons. It's not worth caring about.
    via HighPlainOutlaw
  • Honest Sabe @honestsabe A lot of people laughing but this was me at my first professional job after college. It was so miserable. I don't feel that way at my job now. I think the greatest difference is being a project-driven person that despises repetitive tasks.
    via honestsabe
  • Stotes @SamiSuzie I think I hate work until I'm at work and realize I love what I do... but then I'm so tired at night I don't want to go back. That's the cycle.
    via SamiSuzie

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