Latest news with #LindseyCarter
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Working hard or hardly working? Gen Z's brutally honest backlash over ‘out of touch' work-life balance ignites TikTok
A millennial CEO called out Gen Z's work ethic — and got flamed for it. 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.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Gen Z debate over work-life balance lights up TikTok
A millennial CEO called out Gen Z's work ethic — and got flamed for it. 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. 6 In a now-deleted TikTok, Set Active founder Lindsey Carter told viewers to 'stay late' if they want to succeed — a hot take that quickly lit up the internet with backlash. Obtained by the New York Post '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. 6 TikTok users did not like Carter's take and accused Set Active of promoting a hustle-first mentality. Obtained by the New York Post 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. 6 Carter quickly deleted her TikTok post — then dismissed the criticism, claiming it was 'cancel culture.' Lindsey Carter/ Instagram '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. 6 Haters pointed to Set Active's negative Glassdoor reviews and Carter's 2023 decision to restructure her social media team, which some interpreted as layoffs. Helayne Seidman '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.' 6 Lindsey Carter's take on work-life balance is 'out of touch,' her critics said on Reddit, accusing her of pushing a tired, toxic narrative in a wave of viral backlash across social media. Obtained by the New York Post '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.' 6 Lindsey Carter struck a nerve online after suggesting the 5 p.m. clock-out culture signals a lack of ambition — and the internet had receipts. Lindsey Carter/ Instagram 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.
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How SET Became The It Brand Of Athleisure
SET Founder Lindsey Carter SET Lindsey Carter, the founder behind the insanely popular activewear and athleisure brand that is SET, knows how to turn a product into a must-have. You've undoubtedly seen this brand all over your social media and worn by the coolest in the Gen Z and Millennial crowds. But in a world overrun with fitness apparel and athleisure, what has made SET stand out from the competition and sell out collections again and again? Ahead of the brand's 7th birthday celebration, I spoke with Carter to learn more about the brand's evolution over the years and why its fans cannot get enough of it. SET Birthday Collection SET Lindsey Carter didn't always think she was going to launch her own business; in fact, she went to school with the goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher. After college, she started working at NBC Universal, which is where she "really fell in love with storytelling, social media, and connecting the dots digitally." From there, she worked at different companies to facilitate their social media marketing strategies and provide trend forecasting, which is where she started to recognize a pattern, or lack thereof, within the athletic wear world. Namely, that there was a gap in the market for the everyday girl: the girl who went to occasional workout classes but wasn't training for a marathon; the girl who needed something that could take her from yoga to coffee; the girl who wanted to look elevated, even in comfortable materials. So in 2018, Carter took the entrepreneurial leap and launched SET. SET Birthday Collection SET In the early days of the brand, Carter was running the business out of her apartment, with boxes everywhere and packaging, customer service, and marketing all done in-house (literally). With no budget for marketing, she relied on growing a community organically on Instagram, which remains one of the brand's most important marketing channels. For her, social media wasn't solely about selling product. "It's about creating a lifestyle that people want to be a part of." She also realized that in 2018, most brands were still incredibly polished with their social media strategies, only sharing professionally shot photos and buttoned-up content. SET leaned away from that, instead focusing on real-life moments, behind-the-scenes content, and the why behind the brand. Carter used social media to share the design process, how the brand came up with colorways and names, and even struggles like shipping delays and faulty products. For her, showing the 360-degree reality of running a business would strengthen brand loyalty more than picture-perfect photos. 'I knew how important it was to build trust with our community,' she stressed. And clearly, that strategy has paid off. SET Birthday Collection SET One question a lot of brand founders have is how much they should be using their personal social media to drive business. For Carter, it's a no-brainer to utilize her own profiles to extend the reach and community of SET. She uses features like Instagram's Broadcast Channel tool to communicate with SET's most dedicated fans, 'talking to them about teasers, [answering] questions, what's coming next, what I'm most excited about,' and so on, with customers able to interact back. As the brand has grown, Carter has been able to build out her team and hire team members to develop SET's social media content, while she's delved back into utilizing her personal channels to extend the brand's mission. 'I think that founders have such a huge opportunity to bring people into their journey in a way that makes the brand feel more personal, relatable, and reachable,' she said, with some advice for any fellow brand founders. 'People can tell when a brand is just trying to sell them something versus when it genuinely cares about its community,' so showing up consistently and authentically is key to a successful social strategy. She also advises not to be afraid of experimenting, whether that be in your brand's social media strategy or even how to run the business. Carter will be the first to admit that SET has experienced plenty of setbacks along with its successes, but what's important is being transparent about those moments and using them as learning opportunities. And now, 7 years into the brand, SET is bigger and better than ever. SET Birthday Collection SET Carter proudly shared that 'this is the best year product-wise that SET has ever done,' with upcoming launches like the birthday collection, a game day collection, and another SET x Parke collaboration in the works. She also just took to Instagram recently to share that their recent resort drop did $1 million in business in 1 hour. If that's not a testament to the brand's continued success, I don't know what is. Naturally, the brand is celebrating these incredible milestones with an adorable ice cream-inspired birthday collection that combines their best-selling Espresso color with 3 pastel hues. SET fans can shop the new drop on May 23rd at 10 AM PT and be treated to a 23% off sale sitewide for 24 hours following the launch. As always, you can browse their social media for all the behind-the-scenes of the collection.
