Gen Xer praises Gen Z employees for their terrible attitudes at work: 'I wish I could've got away with half the stuff they do these days!'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Apr 17, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

Is Gen Z's apathy going to change the workplace once and for all?

Have you heard of the Gen Z stare? It's the vacant look young people give you after you ask them a question, and kids are doing it everywhere. They don't really care to interact with strangers, family members, or bosses in an enthusiastic or even engaged manner, and that sets them apart from every other generation, for better or for worse. 

Speaking broadly, Gen Z is not necessarily the striver generation that millennials were. They are far more likely to be content staying in the same position for years, putting in no more work than the bare minimum required to keep their job, and even that is pushing it. Some Gen Zers do far less than the bare minimum because they don't see the point of working hard. They genuinely don't think that hard work pays off, and don't want to put effort into anything that doesn't ultimately benefit them. They don't want to make their company a bunch of money if they're getting peanuts in return. They aren't motivated by the satisfaction of a hard day's work. They would rather put their energy into their personal projects than into their professional lives, and while that might not be the most future-forward strategy, it's the one a huge chunk of young professionals are investing in. 

While some older employees hate how little Gen Z seems to care about their work, others are thrilled that they are not willing to bow down to their corporate overlords for a crumb of recognition. 

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  • Stressed young Asian woman wearing headset and sitting on the chair with a pile of papers on the table and looking on the computer screen at night
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A Gen Z employee pouts at her desk, unconcerned with what her boss thinks about her attitude.

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

  • Gen Z's approach to work is revolutionary! They are collapsing modern work practices in real-time.

    I WISH I could've got away with half the stuff they do these days! Combative attitude, terrible knowledge about the goods/services at their job, slow as h I, abundant mistakes, glazed over look, etc
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • It's a very natural approach to working a job you don't like in your 20s while also partying like it's the end of days. I don't blame them at all. They've got a horrendous deal in this economy, their future is bleak and they know it.
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • A group of people dancing at a party
    via Jack

    Gen Zers partying the night away, trying to forget their doomed futures. 

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

  • During the 2010s I had the same attitudes. The amount of ab_e was unreal from both customers and staff to shape up or ship out.
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • Because the strong influence of rent, food and the societal belief that if I work hard I'll have a better life, I molded myself to the market demand for a peppy, young go-getter to serve the public (cringe).
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • I actually enjoy matching the zombie energy. It snaps them out of it and we share a human moment together of 'what the h I is going on' haha.
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • Puzzled woman holding smartphone and document while sitting at the table with a laptop
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A Gen-X employee looks at her Gen-Z colleague with a confused look on her face.

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

  • It's been incredibly cathartic to witness the collapse of modern practices that I let walk all over me in my teen years and 20s.
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • Looking forward to the Gen Alpha interactions in whatever is left of the economy in 2029 and beyond Imao
    via u/Excellent-Ad676
  • NessyNoodles 70 I admire their relationship to work. They aren't doing anything extra....and, truly, why should they??
    via u/NessyNoodles70
  • Ragnarok314159 A GenZ guy I worked with just stopped replying to emails and meeting invites. Finally someone go ahold of him and he got a new job, but didn't quit the current job. "I just wanted to see how long I would keep getting paid"
    via u/Ragnarok314159
  • MilesGates There's a difference between doing your job duties to the letter and not a single thing more, and doing a terrible job and not even completing their basic duties. You should work your wage, but when you can't get some of the basic things done, all you're doing is creating work for your coworkers who didn't do anything wrong to you.
    via u/MilesGates
  • reala 728 the funny part is all these a h_les at the top unknowingly shaped this behavior. all of the cuts and neglect was intentional for sure, but they most definitely expected this to make them work harder. im glad its blowing up in their faces, and i completely stand with gen z off. they didnt deserve any of this.
    via u/reala728
  • mallowycloud yeah i honestly don't know why they thought taking away their only bargaining chip (money) was a good idea. when the poor get poorer people get desperate
    via u/mallowycloud
  • FilledwithTegridy • 16h ago I was training a 20 something to do something that was not in her original job title. "I don't get paid anymore money?.. I don't want to learn this stuff!" We all need to adopt this Energy.
    via u/FilledwithTegridy
  • 106street I'm a younger gen xer, and the issue is it used to be that if you worked full-time, you could probably buy a house eventually, have savings, and a life. Now a couple could work two jobs just to be poor, that's what changed. It's not the youth. It's the system.
    via u/106street
  • kbyyru terrible knowledge about the goods/services at their job the amount of boomers who get salty with me when i tell them i've never tried (insert random snack/drink my job sells) is shocking. like no, they aren't just letting us pick anything we want off the shelves and eat it for free!
    via u/kbyyru
  • Inquisitivedesign45 Honestly I think a lot of what people call "Gen Z work ethic problems" is just younger workers being less willing to fake enthusiasm for bad pay, r de customers, and de d end jobs than previous generations were. Older generations were pressured hard to smile through abe because they were sold the idea that if they just worked hard enough it would eventually pay off. A lot of younger workers look at the current economy, housing market, wages, and burnout culture and simply do
    via u/Inquisitivedesign45
  • That said, some of it is also just being young. Every generation has had a phase of underpaid twenty somethings half checked out at jobs they hate while trying to survive and have a life outside work. The funny part is people act like this is some unprecedented moral collapse when history is basically one long loop of older adults saying the younger generation is lazy and doomed.
    via u/Inquisitivedesign45
  • Really what you are describing sounds less like personal failure and more like collective disillusionment. When people stop believing the system rewards effort, they stop performing enthusiasm for it.
    via u/Inquisitivedesign45
  • oh_skycake Meanwhile I got laid off from my first post college job... in accounting.. because every time they asked me "how are you?" I would answer "fine" The "office girl" the boss loved instead answered "fantastic!" I did not answer fantastic and got one warning. When I answered fine the next time, fired. Elder millennial, for reference.
    via u/oh_skycake
  • Sassafrass841 sometimes when I'm at Trader Joe's, i just want to whisper "please stop working so hard"
    via u/Sassafrass841
  • ayashiii As a millennial I hope they burn it all down and we should be encouraging it, we will have the majority of the workforce in 2028, I say let them give the remaining boomers apoplexy. Don't judge them, we must NEVER allow what happened to us to happen to them do you understand?
    via u/ayashiii
  • DrownMelnSalsaPlease I catfished my current boss into promoting me to full time for the raise to ~18$. It's a union job and they cant touch me unless i'm legit found to be loafing around. And they have to give me 40 hrs. I do my job at a consistent and steady pace now. He's so ped, but idc cause he's such a giant canoe. Always sh talking people. Snapping at people. Spends a lot of time just standing and talking. Etc.
    via u/DrownMelnSalsaPlease

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generation z employee retail work attitude negative millennials baby boomers economy professional
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