Why Gen-Z is refusing to go 'above and beyond' without a matching paycheck

Nothing says Gen-Z more than the new and exciting trend of wage theft.

Seriously though, it’s not wage theft. Just doing what I was hired to do and not going ‘above and beyond’ at the workplace simply isn’t going to happen. If I’m not getting above and beyond pay, why should I give above and beyond effort? That’s why slow quitting and quiet quitting are nonsense, right off the bat. They’re just words to make us think working from home isn’t superior — it is — and why it’s necessary to maintain a strong work-life balance.

Given the opportunity, an employer will mandate you return to the office often just because their empty real estate is costing them money.

Let’s wind back the clock to the height of the pandemic. It’s early 2021, and the Great Resignation is sweeping the West. Also called the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle, a shift towards favouring life over work allows workers everywhere, though primarily those who worked from home, to take back control of their lives. Work lost value, both due to the worldwide stagnation of wages despite high profits for the vast majority of corporate entities, and because workers realised there is so much more to life than work.

People were more efficient working from home, more productive when given the freedom to work how they like, when they like. If the work gets done, what’s the difference?

I would encourage everyone, Gen-Z or not, to adopt one or more of these working models, to maintain that work-life balance.

Slow

Slow, as opposed to fast. What started as backlash against fast food, progressed into a movement that advocates a reduction in the pace of modern life. Essentially, don’t focus so much on work and new experiences, and just try to be in the moment and foster strong emotional connections with your loved ones.

The inherent issue of slow is the cost — most cannot afford to work less, and many still want to have new experiences, and will gladly work hard to make the money to pay for those experiences. The elitism brings us back to Gen-Z, as there is a growing disdain for Gen-Z specific culture and movements therein, as if ‘we’ are the elites allergic to hard work.

Slow quitting