"Gen Z is Not Lazy . . . We’re Exhausted" By Wyatt Armitage

     “Oh, it’s nice to see that your generation is not as lazy as we thought.” I’ve got to ask, “What is with people nowadays?” . . . I am sorry, but please explain to me why people think they can come up to you and say things like that. If you are wondering where my example comes from, it was the old lady at the Vons in Clovis . . . Like, really, I'm over here picking out deodorant, and you decide that was the perfect time to tell me. Like, come on, lady, there is a time and place... at least find me in the candy aisle; I will be in a better mood. My response, you may ask, was to arch my brow at her and say, “Oh, who is you?” (TikTok reference if you get it . . .). Afterward, I went on to say that just because some may be lazy and do not want to do anything does not mean I am that way too. I have been working since I was fourteen, paying bills and providing for my family when times were tough. At sixteen, I started college and picked up two jobs to support being in college, leaving me with no free time. So lady, if you want to call me lazy, find me the time when I can be. I think that the issue we see has to do with how society and its history play into it. 

     Something ironic is that every generation seems to accuse the next one of being lazy. It's become a repeating social pattern rather than this judgement objectively. The older generations are comparing younger people to their memories of the past. When you think about it, those memories often leave out the policies, economic conditions, and other forms of assistance that have made their success possible. They remember working hard; and in all honesty, they probably did, but many have overlooked how much their paychecks could get them. 

     The interaction with me is a representation of a larger issue. An effective way to think about it is selective hearing, which is a conception of our social reality. People, when and if they believe that my generation, Gen Z, is lazy, are going to selectively start to notice only that thing. Basically, only take examples of things that confirm their beliefs, while the person will ignore all the stuff that proves them wrong, i.e., Gen Z who works, attends school, and more. The comment that was made at Vons can also be sent as passive-aggressive; the lady said that I seem hard-working for someone that is in the generation I am in. That belief comes from the social “truth,” which is that something that is repeated by people tends to become something that society will begin to treat as a fact, even though the reality of it all is that it is more complicated than that. 

     To better grasp the reasoning behind where this “lazy generation” myth stems from, it begins with the American Dream. This dream existed previously before the 1950s; however, the postwar period did benefit the American Dream, as it helped make it a more powerful social contract (this is basically the idea that ideas and concepts only exist because a group of people or society agreed they did). If we look at it in its simplest form, it is the idea that if people worked hard, followed rules society has set, and remained loyal to employers, they may expect financial stability, a family, a home, and even a comfortable retirement. Although this was not a written contract, it shaped how Americans in that time saw and understood success. If you were to succeed, society would then credit you for your hard work. If you were someone who struggled with people more often than not, we assume that you simply had not worked hard enough to earn anything.

     The 50s and 60s are deemed the golden era (it's a good thought to think about whether this was actually a golden era or if it's a lie . . .), and this is due to homeownership and economic opportunities that had been expanding for many Americans. The support given by the government plays a leading role in growth. The New Deal program, which originated in the 1930s, and had created a part of the country in terms of its modern safety net (safety net is this idea that there were programs the government had created to help people who were falling into financial hardships). Postwar programs like the GI Bill definitely helped various veterans access things such as home loans or education. Government assistance did not eliminate the hard work, but it definitely made it a little easier to achieve this likelihood of stability. The opportunities, however, were not being distributed in an equal way. Policies that were discriminatory prevented many of the Black Americans in society, as well as other marginalized groups, from receiving any of the benefits. This shows us that what was once deemed as the golden era was not a golden time for everyone.

     From Boomers to Generation X, we can see clear cracks that begin to show within the social contract. Generation X inherited and stuck to the goals of the past generation: being debt-free, own a home, and achiev financial stability. Generation X entered the workplace during a time of corporate downsizing, recessions, and even a decline in traditional pensions. Many of the workers had discovered and started to grasp the idea that the company's loyalty was not something that guaranteed loyalty back from the company. It showed that hard work could still end with being laid off or receiving stagnant wages. The result of all this is that Generation X began to associate; they associated with this greater skepticism that was directed toward authority; there was a stronger interest in entrepreneurship and independence. Generation X did not reject the idea of hard work; they just became suspicious of the promises that were being attached to it. 

     Millennials had experienced an even greater breakdown of the promise due to various things such as economic hardships. Many were raised and told that college was going to be their surest path to success. Yet when they entered adulthood, you know what they entered with . . . debt from being a student, housing costs that were so high for the time, and the overall effects of the Great Recession. Millennials followed the direction that society told them to, yet many of them had struggled to reach those milestones like earlier generations had reached. Even though this may seem like a lot for people to go through on top of all that, they faced criticism. This criticism came from the past generations; they were criticizing millennials for supposedly “killing” the industries (this was because of a change in spending habits as well as declining sales within traditional businesses) or delaying marriage and homeownership; it was almost like they decided to all wake up one morning and collectively decided to ruin the economy for the heck of it . . . yea right. Once again, society has put the focus on their choices and did not even pay attention to the conditions economically that were influencing those very choices. 

     Now we have reached Generation Z... This generation has grown up watching the social contract fall apart in real time. We have been told to go to college, get experience, build your resume, maintain side hustles, you need to network, and while you are doing all of that, you need to protect your mental well-being. Hustle culture is something that presents constant productivity as this moral virtue. When you rest well, that is being lazy; your exhaustion needs to be ambitioned, and you only having one job means that you as a person are not trying hard enough. If a person is not going to seize every moment of their time to be doing something educational or not, then society will begin to question that work ethic for that person. This is where that idea of selective hearing will become obvious. People hear Gen Z say things like that. “My life should not revolve around work all the time,” but they're going to ignore certain parts, and that is because working hard is no longer guaranteeing people financial security. Now this is not a rejection of work; it is Gen Z questioning a system that is demanding loyalty without even offering stability in return. The distinction is starting to disappear because these older generations have already accepted the fact that Gen Z is lazy, and that's their social truth.

     The thing we so-called treat economy is yet another example of how Generation Z is being criticized; in this case, it would be on spending money on things such as coffee, skincare, concerts, things of small pleasures. This is replacing the idea of saving every penny to put it toward a home. Now yes, financial responsibility does matter, and no, if you buy iced coffee every day, it is not going to magically improve your credit score . . . trust me, I tried. However, it is important that the treat economy is a reflection of more than just irresponsible spending. When people have major goals such as ownership of a home, if that person starts to feel increasingly distant from that goal, they are more likely to get something smaller and more immediate to purchase. This provides the person with the feeling that they are in control, that they achieved this purchase, and they get pleasure from it.

     So, yeah, Generation Z is not perfect, and yeah, some of us are lazy; just the same way, Boomers, Generation X, and millennials all have lazy people too. Laziness is a behavior individually; it's not a generational personality trait. So, before you call an entire generation lazy, people should examine the reality that the generation is being asked to work. Gen Z did not destroy the American Dream; Gen Z simply saw that the original social contract had stopped holding its end of the bargain. So overall, if you take anything away from this, it is that if you want to debate me about this, please do not approach me while I'm buying deodorant. Find me in the candy aisle and bring your research.