The (conditional) hustlers

Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on hustle culture, unpacking how Gen Z is redefining work, ambition, and success.

Highlight of the week: This message. 🥹

When the WSJ published a piece about ‘lazy-girl jobs’, two university friends who ran a meme news podcast were quick to give their take. 

💬 Commentator: If you ever hear boomers or old people talking about their jobs, the one thing they’re always trying to flex is how hard they work. Anybody I talk to who’s flexing something about their job is flexing how little they work. 

💬 Commentator: If somebody was like I worked 14 hours yesterday, I’d be like “dude you’re such a f***ing loser”. Like, you’re ruining the vibes.

Out of respect to them and their employers, I won’t reveal who they are or which (extremely corporate) companies they work for. 

Rest assured, they have both probably worked 14 hour-long days before, but hopefully if their podcast takes off they won’t have to. 🤑

Why Gen Z works differently

If your family gatherings are anything like mine, it takes about 10 minutes before someone starts ranting about how lazy Gen Z is, a sentiment shared by 4 in 10 business leaders who think new graduates are ill-prepared for the workforce, citing poor work ethic and bad communication skills as their main qualms. 

But context matters. Gen Z entered the workforce at a time when:

• There’s been a complete 180 on DEI initiatives and ESG reporting 📋

• They probably don’t even know what ChatGPT wrote in their cover letters (neither do employers who never read them) 🤖

• Every scroll brings a new story of 20-something tech founders, travel influencers and crypto-gamer millionaires 🤳

No wonder their expectations are different.

To unpack how and why, I hosted an insights roundtable with some of Doomscrollers’ most engaged readers – aged 18 to 26, across the UK, US, Canada, and India. (Want to join the next one? Email or DM me). 💡

Here’s what I learned.

Corporate values don’t matter, but your manager does

By now we know that Gen Z is allergic to “inauthentic” performativity and institutionalism.

This should come as no surprise given 2025 was a record year for corporations backpedaling their diversity goals and policies which no longer aligned with Trump’s worldview (Victoria’s Secret, IBM, and Pepsi to name a few). 🧑‍⚖️ 

Yet, research shows many young people don’t actually care, with only 33% of new graduates stating that they would turn down an offer due to lack of diversity, compared to 42% just one year prior. 

One likely reason is that many Gen Z saw DEI marketing campaigns as performative to begin with. So, rather than feeling let down by a company’s sudden change, they’re not surprised. Companies are here to make money, after all. 📈

But here’s what does matter: managers and how they treat people. 

💬 Participant, 26: Corporate values are not real… What actually matters is the people. Are they interesting, exciting, and thoughtful? It’s really as simple as – are the people I work with (and for) fun to banter with? 

💬 Participant, 23: Corporate values don’t matter if no one follows them.

💬 Participant, 18: Influencers have exposed a lot of companies and their day-to-day environments. It’s changed what I want in a job.

When asked about their bosses, research from Deloitte revealed that Gen Z ranked empathy as the second-most important trait, whereas bosses ranked it a distant fifth. 

In another survey, an overwhelming 92% said that it’s important they’re comfortable speaking about mental health at work (which presumably happens most in 1:1 conversations). 🫂

The data backs it up: when Gen Zers feel genuinely cared for at work, they’re 3.3x less likely to leave.

Why haven’t I been promoted yet?

Half of Gen Z said that their ideal job involves entrepreneurship. In other words, they want creative control, a fast path to growth, and fewer barriers to trying things out.

In a survey of 3,000 new grads, 70% said they expect to be promoted in 18 months or less, with 40% expecting a step up in under a year. 

They’re not delusional – they’re hungry. And in some cases, Gen Z’s willing to trade short-term salary for long-term momentum.

💬 Participant, 23: One of the strongest signals of a positive work culture is the number of young people in the company and how many of them are getting promoted. 

From speaking with the group, my sense was that they wanted to work smart, not hard, and avoid corporate bureaucracy as much as possible. 

Please please please, don’t make me go back to the office

The generation who entered the workforce during the pandemic (or shortly after) expect flexibility from their employers, with 60% of new graduates saying they wouldn’t apply for a job that mandated 5 days in the office. 

That said, a similar figure weren’t keen on fully remote work either. Most want a balance: in-person socialization and mentorship, minus the rigid presenteeism.

💬 Participant, 23: For me, it’s more than just about flexibility. It allows for greater diversity in the organization, by accommodating people who otherwise couldn’t afford to commute every day. Plus, I’m definitely more productive at home.

What’s next?

This week we investigated what young people actually want in a job. Next, we’ll explore how AI is changing the ways they recruit, work, and think about their prospects. 🧑‍💻

So what?

💡 For strategists & researchers

• TLDR… Creative autonomy, hybrid working, and honest leadership are the new workplace dealbreakers.

• Ask yourself… Do people in your company generally like their bosses?

• Check this out… Deloitte’s future of work report.

💭 For self-reflective readers

• TLDR… If you aren’t keen to go back to the office, you’re not alone.

• Ask yourself… What would the 23-year-old version of you say about your job right now?

• Check this out… A Reddit thread about the work phrase “we’re a family”.

– Liat