‘They effectively have negative incentive to work. They’ll only be punished for work’: Reflections on why Gen Z has gone the minimum effort route

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Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Aug 31, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Is it delusional to want work conditions to change in this day and age?

If we received a reward for hard work, most of us would most certainly make the effort, but in most cases, that's definitely not the case.

We will work extra hard for an imaginary deadline, or be the best at our jobs, and we still won't get the promotion or reach a higher salary over time, so what's the point?

I think that is what Gen Z realized and also why everybody calls them 'lazy'. Just like this Redditor puts it, they probably know they won't get rewarded for their extra effort, but they can also be 'punished' for it.

So in the end, if things are going to keep working like that, it's better to just be 'mid' at our jobs, get to the office on time, leave on time, and do only what our contracts say we should.

Of course, some industries and specific companies do reward our best performance, but I think we should keep our eyes open for the ones that don't, because if we do the bare minimum, maybe they'll come up with a solution on their own that includes some type of incentive.

Why would we do more than what we're paid to do, really?

Sometimes it feels like we're being coerced into it, even because we know it can look bad with our bosses if we don't, and jobs are precious and what makes our economies survive most of the time, so it's understandable that many people still choose to do extra stuff without a reward, but isn't it heartbreaking? What could we do to change it?

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  • Gen Z being the first generation to not overwork themselves

    Cheezburger Image 10659764480
    via Vitaly Gariev

    Gen z when it comes to doing anything but working

    Picture does not depict real parties

  • Companies are the reason for Gen Z’s apathy (from a millennial)

    Frankly, Gen Z figured it out way faster than I did. I remember at one company I worked at, we had a hard deadline so they wanted us to work more. I thought I was being smart and
    via dreadsin
  • cynical because I requested that, if we work harder now, then I get extra vacation time (was planning a trip to Brazil) They agreed. Shortly after
    via dreadsin
  • we hit the deadline, they fired the team. I messaged them asking about the comp time and they were. like "that's not on the books "Okay so I worked extra hard for literally no gain? I
    via dreadsin
  • effectively just worked for free So now when a company asks me to work overtime, it's a no. Hard stop. What are they gonna do, fire me? Okay. I got fired working overtime, so who cares?
    via dreadsin
  • D ed if I do, d ed if I don't. Good job companies, your short term play for slightly more profit has decreased all potential future output The jobs I worked the
    via dreadsin
  • hardest at just gave me more work to do then complained when it wasn't done on time. Managers are never happy with you hitting targets or even exceeding them. They will, however, get furious if you
    via dreadsin

  • Working just a little

    ener bakery
    via Eliott Reyna

    Gen Z doing the bare minimum

    Scene shown is a visual representation



     

  • make a single mistake, so it's better just to lower workload to decrease mistake chances When people talk about these software companies being "bloated", it's bad
    via dreadsin
  • management. It's not "too many engineers". The engineers are completely unmotivated because they effectively have negative incentive to work. They'll only be punished for work. Instead, these managers
    via dreadsin
  • respond to office politics, so that's a better way to approach these problems. Do nothing at work so nothing is your fault, schmooze the boss, and take credit for as much as you can
    via dreadsin
  • Now we got a whole generation coming into the workplace that has already internalized these messages and they don't wanna do sh unsurprisingly. Why would you? Working hard gets you nothing
    via dreadsin
  • I just don't get how companies can present themselves as these strategically minded entities when they make these impulsive, short sighted decisions
    via dreadsin

  • Goodbye cruel job!

    Driving your business Famsu
    via Olena Bohovyk

    The desk at 5pm sharp

    Representative only



     

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workplace-stories toxic-workplace work workplace toxic-work-environment
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