- Gen Z is breaking the traditional rules and conduct baby boomers have set in place for the workplace over decades. The young professionals are more comfortable with “cheating” on the job, wearing comfortable attire, prioritizing their wellbeing, setting boundaries, and sticking with unfulfilling jobs for career advancement.
Gen Z is sick of being told they’re “lazy” and “entitled.” They’re upending how the workplace has run for decades under baby boomer leadership—and their elders could learn a thing or two.
The newest cohort of workers grew up with the classic instructions of the American Dream: go to college, do unpaid internships, then catapult into a job with a living wage. But as college tuition has skyrocketed, household expenses are climbing, and many white-collar jobs are on the fritz, that dream is crushed. So the young workers are adopting a new way of work—and baby boomers are bewildered.
Hiring managers are avoiding hiring recent college graduates, and employers are perplexed by the newest cohort of workers. Whoopi Goldberg said that Gen Z and millennials can’t afford a home because they “only want to work four hours” a day. It echoed a similar sentiment from personal finance guru Dave Ramsey that young workers act like a “victim and they’re entitled,” adding that they “just suck.” But these older critics slamming young employees could be ratting on the exact behaviors boosting Gen Z’s careers.
Gen Z is engaging in five behavior trends that are contrary to baby boomer’s way of work: including “cheating,” wearing comfortable clothes, prioritizing mental well-being, setting work-life boundaries, and accepting unfulfilling work. And experts say these habits could prove to be beneficial for their careers—and others.
The Gen Z work habits baby boomers can’t stand
‘Cheating’ at work & tardiness
While older generations are accustomed to showing up to the office on-time five days a week, Gen Z is rewriting the rules of showing up to work and how they do it.
About 95% of staffers between the ages of 18 and 34 said some type of “workplace cheating” is to be expected, according to a report from writing services PaperOwl. This can entail anything from turning up late to work, using AI on the job, or “quiet vacationing.” The young professionals think some wiggle-room in following the rules is normal—but boomers don’t tolerate this rule-bending nearly as much.
A majority of boomers, about 70%, said they have zero tolerance for any degree of workplace tardiness, according to 2024 research from Meeting Canary. They’re a lot less lax about it compared to their younger counterparts, as only 22% of Gen Z feel the same way about running late. In fact, nearly half believe being five to 10 minutes late is still technically “on-time.” This practice is relaxing the strict, and often anxiety-inducing, mandates held over staffers.
Wearing comfortable and trendy clothes
Office fashion is another contentious issue. Boomers have spent most of their careers in more traditional, buttoned-up attire. Donning dress shoes, slacks, collared shirts, dresses, and heels, their white-collar uniform has grown to be a bit outdated. Gen Z is upending what’s acceptable to wear to work.
Young workers are showing up in more comfortable clothes, like sneakers, jeans, and athleisure. Some are even choosing to emulate certain social media-famous fashion trends; from the “office siren” to “corpcore,” they’re bringing Gen Z-edginess to the watercooler. Boomers coming back to the office after the pandemic were met with a new fashion-forward cohort of employees. While their style may come off as rule-breaking or subversive, experts say their fashion choices reflect confidence and willingness to change stuffy corporate culture.
“Gen Z pushes the boundaries in every way, and it’s not a bad thing at all. In some ways, the world is changing for the positive because they’re being outspoken,” Marina Santo, managing director of fashion staffing agency Fourth Floor, told Fortune.
Prioritizing mental wellness
Gen Z gets a bad rep for being overly sensitive or whiny, but they just may be better at recognizing and expressing their feelings than older coworkers.
Young people, and employees of all ages, are grappling with a loneliness epidemic. But Gen Z seems to be getting the short end of the stick, according to a 2025 study from Metlife. About 35% said they’re depressed compared to 20% of workers in general, 44% are burnt out in juxtaposition to 34% of everyone else, and 30% report being lonely compared to 22% of others. Meanwhile, 79% of boomers said they’re engaged at work. Only 60% of Gen Z agree.
This may be because Gen Z was forced into life circumstances that drained their mental health. Additionally, the young generation has paved the way in normalizing conversations around emotional well-being.
“Given what Gen Z has experienced in their lifetimes—beginning their careers during a global pandemic, growing up with social media, living with climate anxiety—their struggles are understandable, particularly with mental and social health,” the Metlife report reads.
While boomers lived through their own setbacks and global tension—from the Vietnam War, to civil rights protests, to the Cuban Missile Crisis—they didn’t grow up with nearly as many resources to express their feelings. But Gen Z has normalized therapy, openly expressing emotions, and prioritizing their mental health. It could prove to better their own work lives, and the work lives of others.
“The fact that there’s a generation that’s creating boundaries and saying, ‘I’m not going to do that,’ is irking older generations, because they’re like, ‘But I had to do that!’” Corey Seemiller, a generational researcher, told Fortune. But she added, “the fact that they’re drawing attention to this is helping everybody, because it’s making work-life balance a priority for older generations like mine.”
Unplugging & setting work-life boundaries
American workers have long pushed the upsides of the “grindset,” working long hours to boost their career and impress the boss. But Gen Z isn’t going so hardcore—they recognize the power of rest and unplugging from work, and aren’t afraid to vocalize it. No matter the sweeping criticism that they’re “lazy.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that as a Gen Z [worker], we’re spoiled. I just say that we’re doing what everyone else should have been doing a long time ago: setting strict boundaries at work,” DeAndre Brown, a 22-year-old content creator, told Fortune.
Many boomer employers don’t love this facet of Gen Z’s working style—but they do recognize the power in their behavior. Actress Jodie Foster complained about her young staffers being “annoying” for not showing up to work early and using incorrect grammar. But she does respect their ability to draw a line with work responsibilities and hours. It could set a new standard, and send ripple effects to embolden other workers to stick up for themselves.
“That’s what’s good about this new generation; they’re very comfortable with saying no,” Foster said. “Very, very good at setting boundaries and going, ‘I don’t like that’ and ‘I want to do this.’ And I didn’t know that was possible when I was young.”
‘Just a job’ mentality
Gen Z is at the bottom of the totem pole at work. Being the most junior employees, they’re simply focused on holding down the gig they have.
Only about a quarter of Gen Z and young millennials, aged between 24 to 35, prioritized daily enjoyment of their duties when picking a job, according to a 2024 report from ADP. Meanwhile, 45% of baby boomers over the age of 55 considered this when choosing a gig.
A large part of that is simply having no choice. Gen Z and young millennials graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic and financial crisis, when opportunities were scant. Finding a job was one battle, but holding it down was another. These young workers are experiencing a “crisis of purpose and engagement,” Steven Floyd, owner of SF Psychotherapy Services, told Fortune.
“A generation that was encouraged to work hard and shoot for the stars—they got there and wondered: am I satisfied? Do I even care?” Floyd said.
As baby boomers were roped into the workforce during a less tumultuous time, they could afford to be picky. But now Gen Z and young millennials are ditching happiness for professional development—and if they can stomach bad bosses or unfulfilling work now, they could be on the right path to succeed happily in another role down the line.
