Leave Gen Z alone, Jodie... it’s Gen X you should worry about in the workplace

As Jodie Foster declared that Gen Z are ‘really annoying to work with’, Gabrielle Judge, the original Anti Work Girl Boss whose ‘Lazy Girl’ movement went viral last year, explains why older people in the workplace could learn a lot from the way their younger counterparts behave

Jodie Foster (right) with Bella Ramsey – a Gen-Zer she has mentored (Getty for ELLE)

Much like the age-old puzzle of which came first, the chicken or the egg, the dynamics between the different generations in today’s workplace often leave us wondering who set the tone.

Last week, Jodie Foster was quoted as saying that members of Generation Z can be “really annoying” to work with. She joked: “They’re like, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10.30am.’ Or in emails, I’ll tell them: this is all grammatically incorrect, did you not check your spelling? And they’re like, ‘Why would I do that, isn’t that kind of limiting?’”

Foster could have stepped into leadership by discussing work expectations; maybe even offering to give her staff a grammar subscription. Instead, the two-time Oscar-winning American actor and filmmaker chose name-calling. No wonder we have a work culture problem.

Foster’s opinion of her Gen Z colleagues sparked the usual outpouring of anger on behalf of the younger generation, as she was accused of falling into the trap of being older and simply hating on those who are coming up behind. A story that is, well, as old as time. But I would rather use this as an opportunity to address why these generational tensions exist in the first place.

Ultimately, young people’s work attitudes are a product of the legacy working conditions Gen X and the baby boomers left behind. And understanding between the generations has never been more important – Gen Z currently makes up 30 per cent of the world’s population, and is projected to constitute 25 per cent of the workforce by 2025.

Like the CEO of Wayfair Niraj Shah, who made headlines by saying that “history doesn’t reward laziness with success”, Foster also seems to enjoy demonising the concepts of rest and work-life balance. Maybe this is a plot by bosses to get their employees to work harder, but the history of a burnt-out generation also tells us that maybe it is a strategy that has poor returns in the long run.

Gabrielle Judge: ‘Every generation has something to bring to the table when it comes to this discussion’ (Gabrielle Judge/Instagram)

There have been some notable changes in the workplace that need to be called out, and Gen Z are the ones doing it. These children were influenced by the “work hard, play hard” generation of their parents – Gen X and boomers – who were encouraged to go to college, land a job, and spend the rest of their working days leaning into employer loyalty. This plan made sense at a time when the wage gap was less prominent, and when generous workplace pensions and benefits were widely offered.

Most young people would be eager to say yes to extra workload for those kinds of guarantee. But they don’t exist any more. Many of us are also witnessing our parents suddenly expressing second thoughts about giving their all to a company as they near retirement. It’s the Gen-Xers and boomers who are now quitting the workforce in record numbers, not the Gen-Zers.

Today, 50 per cent of Gen Z not only hold full-time jobs but have a side hustle, too. By not being solely reliant on a 9 to 5 (and with good reason), we are now working more like 8 to 9, plus weekend hours to boot. Add in the pressure of always having to be available online, and taking work home with us, and Gen Z are probably working harder than any of the generations before them.

Any confusion I had about the widespread slandering of Gen Z as lazy, however, was quickly cleared up when I remembered the headlines that targeted millennials a decade before, calling them the “Me Me Me-llennials”. Is the current vogue for digging into Gen Z just an example of their predecessors doing what was done to them? And maybe Jodie conveniently forgot how the Xers were once dubbed the “slacker” generation by the boomers.

And it’s sad – because instead of pulling the ladder up, how about throwing a rope down to this generation behind you, currently a group of young workers who have never been so overworked and underpaid. Looking at the productivity increase from 1979 to 2020, we saw a 61.8 per cent rise in productivity, with wages growing by a solemn 17.5 per cent across that exact period.

Maybe it’s because Generation Z are so aware of these diminishing returns that we are now just looking at work differently. Only 37 per cent of Gen Z believe that economic opportunities are going to be part of our future, according to McKinsey. Headlines boasting how 300k is the new 100k salary are far off the mark compared with the grim reality experienced by most of us.

Of course we will be conscientious, but we also need to be conscious of where we put our time and energy. And that might not be the day job any more, because we know that our job will never love us back.

Judge says it’s ‘time to foster a culture of empathy, open communication, and adaptability in our workplaces’ (Gabrielle Judge/Instagram)

Take a moment to see the world in our eyes. If anything, we should be applauded for finding positives in the negative. Generation Z has a refreshing new take on the future of work. A true commitment to work-life balance, and to finding joy (and money!) in our own passions, was why I coined the term “Lazy Girl Jobs” last year and started a global trend. The initial video on the topic gained almost 4 million views, and in two short months, the term received over 10,000 worldwide media mentions; so far, the hashtag #lazygirljob has amassed 43.5 million views.

But, like I said, we’re not a lazy generation, and while some took offence at the name, the movement is there to focus on normalising work-life balance in our everyday jobs and to spark a larger and more interesting conversation on the role of work in our society. Gen Z is interested in hard work, but in work that is also flexible, well-scoped and high-paying, so avoiding burnout and financial stress.

Gone is the time to get “quiet hired” or to take on additional, unpaid work beyond our job scope. Upskilling to advance our careers can now be done for free, with us in charge and from the comfort of our own homes, thanks to us creating our own opportunities via streaming platforms. The greater point of the “Lazy Girl” movement was to acknowledge what we were up against, and to give young workers permission to formulate their own response to that.

Every generation has something to bring to the table when it comes to this discussion. Generational diversity in the workplace is more crucial than ever, and it’s imperative that we recognise the contribution and unique perspective of each generation.

It’s time to foster a culture of empathy, open communication, and adaptability in our workplaces. As Gen Z redefines the boundaries of work, we need to remember that our relationship with work is not bound by age. Every person should recognise the strengths and weaknesses of each generation, rather than digging in. To be fair to Foster, she did say that while she found Gen Z’s attitude to work difficult to understand, she did hope to lean into being a mentor, and to help young stars to find their own path and relax.

I don’t doubt Gen-Zers can learn from the career wisdom of Gen X and boomers, but they can learn from us, too. After all, Generation X taught us everything we know.

Gabrielle Judge is the CEO and content creator of Anti Work Girl Boss