Written by Michael Thervil
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Most first line supervisors, middle management, and upper management have reached the same conclusion: Generation Z is lazy. Generation Z is categorized as people that were born between the years of 1997 to 2012; and the notion of them being lazy is nothing more than a concept of value-judgment that older generations label them for two reasons. The first reason is because it’s a way to manipulate and to control them to make them feel guilty for not wanting to go through the abuse and exploitation in the workforce as a “human resource”, that often leads to burnout, and financial mistreatment. Secondly, older generations tend to label Generation Z as lazy, because they [Gen-Z] have the courage to say no to the abuse, exploitation, and financial mistreatment that they would be subjected to if they gave into the workforce the way every other generation did before them.
The number one reason why Gen-Z’ers don’t want to work is because of the low wages they (and most people) are subjected to. This is due to with the ever-increasing rise of inflation that America is experiencing, coupled with the fact that wages have not been keeping up with the cost of necessities such as rent/mortgage, food, and healthcare, it's no reason why Gen-Z’ers are giving the workforce “the finger”. The question they’re asking (and everyone else for that matter) is: “how can we pay for our basic needs when the daily cost of living far exceeds what we are getting paid?”
To put things into perspective, we’re not talking about people making the federal minimum wage, which is a whopping $7.25. And even though each state in the United States has their own version of the federal minimum wage law (for the exception of Washington D.C. which isn’t a “State” but a “District”), hardly any other them go past $15.00 per hour. According to the U.S. Department of Labor the state with the lowest minimum wage depends on how many employees a business has; it was Oklahoma even though employers in that state adhere to the federal $7.25 guideline; depending on certain variables an employer could still technically pay you a whopping $2.00 per hour. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 took effect on July 24, 2009, and hasn’t risen since.
This is not to say that some employers are not going against the grain of the federal minimum wage law; one such employer is the Fast-food chain Raising Canes who is offering wages as high as $19.00 per hour. It has also been found that other fast-food restaurants such as some McDonald’s locations, are following suit and paying employees $20 an hour. But is $20.00 an hour enough to live on? Crunching the numbers; if an employee works 40 a week at $20.00 an hour, that employee makes $800 before taxes. Every two weeks that equates to $1,600 and every month that employee would make $3,200 before taxes. Keep in mind that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median income for a fast-food worker to date is $13.43 an hour.
But let’s say an employee makes $20.00 an hour and pays roughly 30% in taxes; that would leave that employee with roughly $2,240. The average cost of rent in the United States is $1,372 according to Forbes Advisor as of August 2023. That leaves that employee with $868 left. When you factor in things like utilities, cell phone and internet service, childcare, car payments, car insurance, gas, and general car maintenance; that same employee has nothing left. In fact, that employee is most likely to find themselves in the negative.
So, Generation Z is right in how they’re approaching employers, and we all should be glad that they are coming to the forefront of the workforce and having the courage to tell employers “No – I’m not working for an unlivable wage”. In fact, when speaking to one Generation-Z’er, she stated that if the pay is low – she’ll still take it. However, if a job paying more money comes along, she’ll leave one employer for another. If she can’t find an employer to transition to, she simply won’t work as hard as she could for that employer. In fact, she stated she’s more likely to call out and use her PTO (paid-time-off). In short, her production will be on par with the pay. She will not go the extra mile. Many people, Gen-Z or not, are siding with her.
Work-life balance is another thing that is important to everyone; not just Gen-Z’ers. But the one thing that separates Gen-Zer’s from everyone else is that they have the courage to walk away from the workforce and employers in general and find alternative means to financially support themselves.
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