Ever wonder how we went from the laid-back long lunches of baby boomers to Generation Z’s refusal to answer emails after hours? Somewhere in between, millennials became the poster children for a workaholic culture.
Let’s dig into the layers of this seemingly unhealthy work ethic that defines the millennial workforce.
So, how did Millennials become such chronic over-workers?
Working with Generation Z can be “really annoying,” according to Jodie Foster. They think that using proper language and grammar in emails is “limiting,” she told The Guardian in an interview, and they make up their own work hours, saying things like “Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m going to come in at 10:30 am.”
In keeping with the subject, The Times published an article examining the notion of whether those born in the late 1990s and early 2010s are inherently “self-righteous slackers” at work. The post includes the following anecdote: “A 33-year-old friend of mine who works as a communications manager tells me how surprised she is to learn that none of the four people under her management who are under 25 have ever thought about checking their work emails on their phones. At lunchtime, instead of eating a salad while slaving away at their computers, they take a full hour’s rest. They terminate their workday promptly at 6 p.m. every day.
However, the subject has spurred debate about whether or not millennials—those born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s—are actually the ones who have it all wrong. Why, after all, shouldn’t workers complete their tasks when they are supposed to? Why don’t they wait until office hours to respond to emails? When going “above and beyond” is rarely recognized or even acknowledged, why should they do it all the time?
What @TypeForVictory, a Twitter/X user, said probably best was this:
Seniors 55 and older: no emailing, two-hour drunken meals, pub by 6 p.m.
35-year-olds: Work late, eat lunch at their desks, and answer emails and calls nonstop.
Age 25: Take an hour for lunch, send emails while at work, and get home by six o’clock.
“Millennials, I think we screwed up somewhere.”
Data debunks workaholic myth: Millennials’ work ethic trends show a surprising turnaround
There is evidence to back up this theory, so it’s not just anecdotal. 18-year-olds were asked how likely they would be to work extra in a continuous mass research of youth in the US called Monitoring the Future. Since 1975, the study has polled 50,000 eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders (equivalent to Year 9, Year 11, and sixth formers in the UK). Jean Twenge, author of Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents – and What They Mean for the Future, compiled and analysed the data from the various cohorts and discovered a consistent decline in the proportion of young people willing to work past their contracted hours until roughly 2009–2010, when there was a notable increase.
On the other hand, the percentage has dramatically decreased in the last few years, falling from 54% to 36% between 2020 and 2022. These patterns were also seen in other questions, like whether or not employment played a major role in their lives and if they wouldn’t need to work for financial support. According to Twenge, there is some validity to the notion that millennials were more focused on their careers when they were younger than those who came before and after them.
Unemployment data sparks demand for work boundaries and fair value
According to World Bank data, the UK’s unemployment rate increased by about 2% between 2008 and 2009, the biggest jump in any 12-month period in the previous 30 years. It went from 5.62 to 7.54%. Over the next two years, the rate increased, peaking at slightly over 8% in 2011. On the other hand, Gen Z did not graduate into this environment. In 2018, the percentage of unemployed people fell to 4%.
It dropped to 3.57% by 2022, the lowest level in the previous 30 years. Why wouldn’t you insist that employers respect your limitations and recognize your value in such a market? The statistics support this: according to YouGov, a staggering 67% of Gen Z think that “employees should only do the work they are paid for – no more, no less,” compared to 51% of millennials and Generation X.
Because of the strong job market and labour shortage, Generation Z has the means to demand a better work/life balance. It also has to do with the psychology of that age; they don’t hesitate to voice their opinions on issues that are significant to them.
Although baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—are renowned for having strong work ethics, the culture in which they were employed was substantially different. Of them, just 35% felt that employees should work to rule, while over half believed that employees should “always go above and beyond.” For starters, there was no blending of the lines between the home and work domains over the majority of their working lives as they didn’t have email or smartphones. They arrived on time, started working, and clocked out.
UK Millennials: Lingering economic impact of financial crisis – struggling to catch up with older generations
British millennials are finding it difficult to catch up to older generations’ living standards due to the long-term impacts of the financial crisis, according to a 2023 research published by economists at the Resolution Foundation. This was partially attributed by the Intergenerational Audit for the UK report to policy choices that favoured the elderly and partially to the UK economy’s stagnation. In the UK, salaries have also decreased: at the age of 30, millennials made, on average, 8% less than their Gen X peers.
The UK has closed the deficit far more slowly than the US, according to the study’s authors. Co-author Sophie Hale of the paper states, “Young people across advanced economies were hit by the financial crisis, putting a stop to decades of progress.” “This ‘crisis cohort’ is no longer young after fifteen years.” Millennials in the UK are still “marred by economic scars as they approach middle age.”
Passing the blame game
Millennials will not succeed by blaming earlier generations, though. There have been significant cultural changes, which involve all generations. It doesn’t advance the cause to suggest that it is the fault of a single generation. That has reciprocal effects. Blaming millennials for their purchases, delayed marriages, and later childbearing is unhelpful since these behaviours are a reflection of a larger societal trend.
Furthermore, it is unhelpful for millennials to blame baby boomers for the current state of affairs. It’s untrue to say that baby boomers manipulated the economy because they are all wealthy, ascended the ladder, and then dragged it up behind them.
Gen Zs are right then?
On a personal level, setting our own limits and learning from Generation Z can be a smart place to start. And without a doubt, millennials ought to resemble them more. Leaving work at work entails setting a firm finish time for your workday and taking responsibility for it. Remove your work email from your phone if you have a habit of checking it after hours.
You can sign back in every morning if it really is that critical. Include a routine in your day that represents your commute—a moment to switch from work mode to life mode—if you find yourself working a little bit of overtime since you work from home and don’t have a set start and finish time.
Therefore, perhaps we should be applauding Gen Z and attempting to imitate their more balanced approach rather than lamenting their lack of work ethic. “Please ignore the boss’s after-hours WhatsApp message and continue your evening,” is how Caitlin Fisher, author of the book The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation: How to Succeed in a Society That Blames You for Everything Gone Wrong, puts it.
(Tashia Bernardus)