"It seems like nobody wants to work these days."
This infamous statement by billionaire Kim Kardashian has echoed throughout the cultural zeitgeist in recent years. Generation Z has been unceremoniously dubbed the “lazy generation,” and to a certain extent, the stereotype rings true. Much of this generation has rejected the bootstraps optimism of their parents in favor of “quiet quitting” and “don’t contact me after 5 p.m.” out-of-office memos.
While many care about their work-life balance, a growing faction has taken the opposite route — eschewing traditional work ethics in favor of something more extreme. This group has devoted their lifestyles to productivity: aspiring to follow the perfect 4 a.m. wake up routine, create multiple businesses and build an easily marketable personal brand — all before hitting the ripe age of 25.
As faith in traditional institutions erodes and economic instability looms, young people are arriving at a seemingly logical solution: to grasp for control wherever they can. In this landscape, the idea of "grinding" toward security has officially taken root. Once confined to the gig economy and freelance work, “hustle culture” has evolved into a lifestyle, embedding itself in the mindsets of young people desperate for some semblance of financial security.
This obsession with productivity isn’t born from blind ambition — it stems from deep-seated anxiety about the future. And to make matters worse, the odds of a U.S. recession are rising. Business and consumer confidence have further taken a sharp downturn due to President Trump's threats of punitive import tariffs against allies and adversaries alike.
Despite the bleak economy that Generation Z is coming of age in, we have no choice but to participate. Recent policies favor tax breaks for the top one percent while gutting essential social programs that would help us if we were to hit financial struggles. The current administration has taken this a step further by reducing the workforce behind Section 8 housing and homelessness services by 84 percent, slashing thousands of public sector jobs, and taking steps to cut SNAP and Medicaid. The message sent from these moves is clear: if you can’t secure economic stability for yourself, there will be absolutely no safety nets to break your fall.
Faced with this uncertainty, we’re left with this question: can we even build a future? And for many young people, the answer they’ve found is, “Yes, but you have to dig your heels in and work even harder.” With 60 percent of teens aspiring to start their own businesses, the young generation has subscribed to the idea that working for someone else is no longer the path to success. While nationwide unemployment is relatively low, many are graduating into a federal and private sector hiring freeze. The freeze, paired with competing against thousands of recently laid-off government employees for jobs, has made securing stable employment feel even further out of reach.
Yet the vast majority of these success stories that we aspire toward are built on generational wealth and privilege. The myth of the self-made empire is just that — a myth. The answer to economic instability isn’t sacrificing sleep, friendships and personal well-being to pursue an unattainable ideal.
As Generation Z navigates an increasingly absurd world — one of slashed public sector jobs, frozen federal funding and a looming recession — trying to beat a failing system at its own game will ultimately harm us more. We might be the lazy generation or the one that grinds itself into oblivion but more than anything, we are a generation inundated with information yet crushingly unsure of how to move forward. In the face of our uncertain future, we must carve out moments of peace amid the constant cycle of work and stress. We need moments of rest and reconnection with others now more than ever.
