Is Gen-Z Actually Lazy?

Just the other day, I was having a conversation with my mom and stepdad who happen to be apart of Generation X. I brought up how I had witnessed and heard a lot of Baby Boomers trashing on Gen-Z calling us "lazy," "incompetent," "selfish brats." I'm sure some part of society recognizes this behavior. It's almost like the Baby Boomers utterly hate the newer generations. So, I tried to look at where they were coming from. I know there are a lot of great actors and innovators that came from that generation. But it led me to the question of whether or not they had things easier which is why they don't understand the generations that came after them.

I did some research to compare the 80s lifestyle to now. The boomers, during that time, would be in their 20s or their teens. For our sake, we'll start with the 20 something year olds to give a fair comparison. The minimum wage in 1980 was $3.10. I am from PA and the minimum wage now is $7.25. In 45 years, the minimum wage has only gone up by $4, but the price of everything else has skyrocketed. A full cart of groceries cost $20. Most people only go grocery shopping a couple of times a month. So, if someone in the 80s went grocery shopping 2x in one month, that would put them at about $40 to $50 depending on their lifestyle. Now, a single person might spend anywhere from $360 to $445 a month for groceries. While a family usually spends in between $600 to $1,000 a month on groceries, according to InstaCart and RamseySolutions.

Let's move on to education and salaries. According to Education Date Initiative, for a 4-year public college, it cost around $12K per year. Now, to go to a 4-year public college, you're looking at $27K+ per year. For a total of $100K-$200K over the span of 4 years. That's the price of a home y'all. So, the cost of an education has been increased by 8x since the 80s but somehow minimum wage has only been increased by 2x? Interesting. Keep in mind, this is the cost before fees, housing, meal plans, and all of the other things you need. Now, I would like to introduce the issues with the average salaries. According to the Social Security Administration, the average salary in the United States was $12K. Would you look at that, it's the exact amount to pay for college. The latest index for our generation goes back to 2023 in which the average salary was $66K. Which is 3x less than the cost of tuition at a 4-year public college. Do you see where the unfairness lies?

Furthermore, we could talk about statistics all day. I could mention how the prices of houses have skyrocketed by the quality has stayed the same or gotten lower. I could mention how the average salary would need to increase by $50K in order to afford a house. I could mention how back then, people did not try to rip you off on necessities like houses and cars. I could mention how most people didn't have to work overtime just to be able to afford groceries. I could mention how it wasn't this unforgivable sin to want to be with your family on the holidays, like it is now. But what good would that do? What good would it do to confront the generations who statistically had it easier and have the nerve to call us lazy?

Before I get mad, I would like to share my own experiences. About a year ago, I had a professor who is apart of the baby boomer generation. I took night classes because I worked during the day. I was 19 years old working Monday through Friday and going to class at night every other day. Most, if not all, of my classmates were apart of Gen-Z. I remember my professor going on a rant about how our generation "doesn't want to work," and how we are "lazy." Here we all were sitting in a night class because we had just gotten off of work. Where are the comprehension skills? We're taking the night classes because we do work! That was a level of stupidity that I never want to deal with again. But we can't always get what we want. Since then, I have found the standards of obtaining a job increasingly difficult. When scouting on Indeed.com, I found hundreds of "Entry-Level" jobs that wanted 2-5 years of experience. I'm so sorry but I don't think that's what "Entry-Level" calls for. It's "Entry-Level," because it's the first level you enter on to get experience. You don't apply to an "Entry-Level" job if you already have experience. What kind of sense does that make? Not only that but these "Entry-Level" jobs require Master's, Doctorates, Phds. I'm sorry but I'm not getting my Master's degree to apply for your "Entry-Level" job that requires 5 years of experience and pays $20 an hour. Not in this economy. On top of that, the unemployment rate of the USA has never been as high as it is now. Guess why. It's because jobs are being replaced with robots, and guess who is doing it? Older generations! I am so sorry, but you cannot call Gen-Z lazy when you replace jobs with robots leading to their being no jobs available. And then the ones that are available are crappy, low-pay jobs that require you to have a timesheet with 50 hours and no benefits. And God forbid you ask to have the holiday to be with your family. How dare you want to spend time home! How dare you have a sickness and can't come into work! How dare you be in the hospital and not show up to work!

I know that I am not only speaking for myself but also for the rest of my generation; we are sick and tired of getting 2 jobs and being told we are lazy. We are sick and tired of going to school and investing in ourselves and being called stupid. We are sick and tired of being called rude and selfish just because we won't put up with the crap that we receive. Older generations, you raised us. If you don't like us so much than maybe do some reflecting. I'm not denying that there are rude and lazy people in our generation, but give us a break. There are rude and lazy people everywhere in every generation of every age group. But it's not okay to label us all as rude and lazy just because you saw one video on Facebook or Instagram of some girl or guy being a jerk. Keep in mind, what you see on social media is more likely than not real or is overly exagerrated and is planned in order to receive attention. For a group of people who always tell us to get off our phones, y'all seem extremely gullible to believe everything you see on the internet and then judge an entire group of people off of it. I hope this clears some things up and shows the world that there are challenges that come with every generation.