Working hard or hardly working? Gen Z's brutally honest backlash over ‘out of touch' work-life balance ignites TikTok
Lindsey Carter, founder of activewear company Set Active, said she wasn't prepared for the backlash she faced after critiquing Gen Z's take on work-life balance in a now-deleted TikTok video.
'Now all I see are people sprinting out of their offices at 5pm like it's a fire drill and then wondering why they feel so unfulfilled in their careers,' Carter posted last week.
'Balance is important, but balance without ambition. That's just coasting,' Carter continued. 'You don't build something great by just doing the bare minimum.'
The backlash was fast — and furious.
Critics slammed Carter, suggesting she was promoting unpaid work and ignoring burnout.
'Staying past 5pm working for a company I have no equity in doesn't sound like the path to fulfillment, ' one TikToker responded.
'How can I be active if I have to be strapped to my desk after 5pm?' another wrote.
Carter quickly deleted the post — then blasted her critics on her Instagram story and claimed she'd been cancelled.
'What followed wasn't dialogue. It was a pile-on,' Carter wrote. 'It doesn't leave room for the thing we all say we believe in . . . growth.'
She didn't stop there.
'I'm a millennial. I grew up in a culture where 'hard work pays off' wasn't just a phrase . . . it was a promise,' Carter said in a May 30 Substack essay defending her position. 'Two truths can coexist . . . we can honor ambition and protect our peace.'
But for many online, that didn't cut it.
Haters noted Set Active's negative Glassdoor reviews and Carter's 2023 decision to restructure her social media team, which some interpreted as layoffs.
'She just had a bad take and is out of touch,' one Reddit user wrote. 'That's consequences, not cancellation.'
The controversy has since evolved into a larger debate over what ambition should look like in today's workforce and whether Gen Z is lazy — or simply redefining success on their own terms.
Younger workers are no longer buying into the hustle mindset pushed by older generations, said Gabrielle Judge, an influencer known as the 'anti work girlboss.'
'Gen Z isn't unambitious,' Judge told The Post. 'We're just done sacrificing our mental health for companies that reward burnout with pizza parties.
'Logging off at 5 isn't laziness. It's a boundary.'
Career strategist J.T. O'Donnell, founder of Work It Daily, said she understands both sides. Rather than trading hours for pay, younger workers are more focused on leveraging skills and knowledge in a changing economy.
'Working long hours is less productive,' said Celeste Headlee, author of 'Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving.'
'I'm not irritated that Lindsey used the word 'coasting,' I have great empathy for her. She is still gripped by the delusion that work is what gives her life purpose and value.'
Studies show Gen Z is noticeably less focused on work than young people were just five years ago, said psychologist Jean Twenge, author of 'Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents — and What They Mean for America's Future.'
'It's a rejection of the idea that work is the most important thing in life,' Twenge said.
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