Why doesn’t this generation want work?
Written By; Noely Loeza
Kim Kardashian, a celebrity born into wealth, once said “It seems like nobody wants to work these days”. However, many people share her same sentiment. There is a lot of dialogue around Gen Z and how we (Hi, im a gen z’er), don’t have work ethic, are lazy, and simply don’t want to work anymore. Personally, I have worked since the age of 16, I’m now 24, and they’re right, I don’t want to work anymore, but not for the reasons that older generations think. I work with youth and believe me when I say, money and financial stability is all we think about, but it seems to be an unreachable goal.
I remember being 16 years old, working at Jack in the Box making $10.50 an hour, only working 20 hours a week. My coworkers were adults over the age of 40 who had been cashiers for years, never moving up the ladder. I remember thinking “how am I 16 making the same amount as my 40 year old coworker who is a mom of 3? Am I never going to leave this cycle of living paycheck to paycheck?” I am now 24, with a degree, a whole career, making double what I made at 16, and still living paycheck to paycheck.
According to a report by the UCLA labor center, “More than 2 million people ages 16 to 24 are working in California '', yet they're working low wage service jobs that “ are structured with little room for growth or skill development”. Meaning, youth are stuck in low wage jobs, with no ability to move up the financial ladder. On top of that, half of the working youth population are going to school, 12% are head of household, and 17% work 40 hours or more. All that is to say, though older generations have this perception that youth are lazy, want the easy way out, and don’t want to work anymore, we are actually making up 40% of all service industry jobs. Yet, this “work ethic” doesn’t guarantee financial stability in the future.
The lack of financial stability offered by jobs dominated by youth is an issue for all youth, but especially youth of color. Youth of color already face obstacles of low income backgrounds, and oftentimes being the first in their family to attend higher education. Many of them, myself included, have chosen low paying jobs over unpaid internships, because we need money, and can’t afford to go to school and also provide free labor, even if it does look good on a resume. This alone already sets youth of color at a disadvantage for employment in career fields.
Additionally, the cost of higher education has only skyrocketed, and the aid has significantly decreased throughout the years. It seems as though attaining financial stability will be a thing many of us (Gen Z’ers) will not get to see, so forgive us if we are burnt out, tired, and “don’t want to work anymore”.
Though there seems to be no end in sight for youth when it comes to financial stability, and that’s why we’re so burnt out, there is a lot that politicians can do right now to alleviate this stress. In the past there was a push to implement a California Youth Apprenticeship program. This program would essentially make it mandatory for high schools to provide apprenticeship programs for youth to guarantee multiple pathways to economic self sufficiency. Unfortunately, this bill, formerly known as SB-1351 died in 2022. However, I think we can urge our representatives and Governor to bring this bill back, as it would even the playing field for many youth of color. With this bill, youth would not have to choose between internships that offer experience, or low paying jobs that offer money but not growth; with a bill like this, both can be achieved!
