Gen Z is prioritizing living over working because they've seen 'the legacy of broken promises' in corporate America, a future-of-work expert says
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- A future-of-work expert said Gen Z "work to live" because they watched older generations suffer.
- Speaking to Business Insider at Davos, Ravin Jesuthasan said Gen Z doesn't see the same rewards for hard work.
- As a result, they don't want to put work first at the expense of their personal life and wellbeing.
Gen Z is choosing to "work to live'' rather than "live to work" like the generations before them because they're reaping fewer rewards for their hard work, an expert on the future of work told Business Insider.
Ravin Jesuthasan, global leader for transformation services at consulting giant Mercer, and future-of-work expert, spoke to BI at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, and he touched on the topic of Gen Z in the workplace.
Jesuthasan explained that Gen Z "has some very different attitudes to work" than older generations because they're one of the first generations that won't have wealth that is greater than that of their parents or grandparents. Additionally, they have already experienced huge disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think they have more of an attitude of work to live as opposed to live to work that many of us grew up with. This is particularly true in the West. They have seen the legacy of all these broken promises. In the old days and in many parts of the West, they would promise you if you worked for 30 years, you have this defined benefit pension, you have retiree medical care etc. None of that exists today.
"And so they've seen that get taken away from their parents or grandparents, and now there's a sense of 'I'm only as good as the skills I have. I'm only as good as the value I'm delivering today and so these are the terms under which I want to work, and you either meet them or not.'"
Gen Z have watched on as millennials struggled through economic hardships including multiple recessions and a pandemic which have put a dent in their income and dreams of home ownership. The increased cost of living, skyrocketing house prices, and student debt has locked millennials out of the housing market and has made it difficult for them to accumulate wealth.
As a result, Gen Zers are quiet quitting and taking a step back at work because they're painfully aware that their hard work could essentially amount to nothing.
"Many of us built, whether it's bought homes or whatever, based on this promise of stability," Jesuthasan explained. "There was this expectation that the tail was bigger. And we took on liabilities and obligations early on because of that tail. I think this generation has seen that tail dissipate."
Companies will have to start meeting people on their individual terms rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, Jesuthasan said. This includes being able to "pick and choose" from a "portfolio of rewards."
Gen Z has often received flak for their flippant attitude to work, with one survey last year finding that 74% of managers say they're the most challenging generation to work with.
Meanwhile, celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg have dismissed their economic struggles and said they can't afford to buy a house because they're lazy and "only want to work four hours" a day.
However, Gen Z are, in fact, facing setbacks because of high levels of inflation and rising prices. They're even shopping less and eating at home more to save money.
The younger generation has hit back at some of these accusations, saying that they're not prioritizing work because wages have stagnated, they're unfulfilled by the mundane nine-to-five life, and they're burned out.
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