I'm Not Built to Be a Work Horse

One of my favorite things is that you can almost always tell what generation someone is from based on how they talk about their boss or employer.

Boomers and Gen X tend to carry a very work, work, work until you drop mindset. You don’t question your employer. You don’t ruffle feathers. You don’t speak out against mistreatment. You keep your head down, go to work, get paid, and go home. And for them, it works. It’s just “what you do” when you have a job. It’s part of what they call “the bullshit that comes with being an adult.”

These beliefs weren’t random in nature. They were passed down: from our great-grandparents, to our grandparents, to our parents, and eventually to us. Survival meant compliance. Stability meant silence. And questioning authority often came with real consequences.

But Gen Z has started to change that perception.

We’ve begun to recognize something important: floor workers, low-level employees, hourly workers—the working class—are what keep companies afloat. Not executives. Not shareholders. Us. And once you see that clearly, it becomes harder to accept the idea that we’re disposable or replaceable or should be grateful for bare minimum treatment.

Gen Z has also come to understand that we do not have to put our entire identity, worth, or livelihood into a job that doesn’t treat us well. A job is not a moral obligation. It is not a favor being done for us. It is an exchange; and when that exchange becomes exploitative, harmful, or dehumanizing, it’s fair to question it.

So why tolerate it? Why continue to be mistreated? Why stay quiet in the face of employee injustice?

The truth is, we don’t have to be scared.

Fear has always been the biggest tool used to keep workers in line—fear of being fired, fear of being labeled “difficult,” fear of rocking the boat. But Gen Z is learning that silence doesn’t protect us, it only preserves systems that benefit from our exhaustion. Speaking up isn’t laziness. Setting boundaries isn’t entitlement. Expecting fair treatment isn’t radical, it’s reasonable.

And maybe that’s what really separates the generations. Not that one worked harder than the other, but that one was taught endurance was the goal while the other is asking why suffering was ever normalized in the first place.