Gen Z: Stop ‘quiet quitting,’ and dream out loud

You’re right - in a different time that was the case (and in some companies it might still be).

The simple truth is that in most cases it no longer provides any escape or extra income or recognition at all; this is a global phenomenon, and certainly isn’t restricted to low-wage jobs. In my case, I see people paid well who still won’t work as they did a few years ago; two factors appear to come into play: They are a couple of years from retirement, and new management isn’t learning how to replace them fast enough to dump them.

In terms of low-paying jobs, NJ has put employers in a position because our minimum wage is $13/hour (and will move to $14.13 on January 1) and all employers must now provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time to ALL employees (part-time, non-profit, etc. included; it is based on hours worked/”earned”). Because the minimum wage has been pushed so high, employees and bosses know that if pushed to hard, employees flee to lower-effort jobs that must still pay the same.

Even when I started my career in the 1980s, we had a considerable amount of the workforce that had those attitudes. We called them "slackers" or "skaters" back then. They were the types that always asked for copies of their job description so that they could refuse to do any task that did not strictly fall within it. They were out the door at 5pm sharp even if a task was unfinished or there was more pressing work to be done. They were also the most vocal ones out in the parking lot or at the water cooler about how the company was screwing them over so they weren't going to give any more to the company than they absolutely had to. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a variation on the phrase "I pretend to work as long as they pretend to pay me", I could be retired now!

I always wondered why they stayed in those jobs if they were so miserable. But they would hang around for years or decades until they either retired or were kicked out. They'd do just enough to keep their jobs and collect their paycheck but they'd gripe, gripe, gripe. Eventually I learned that they were going to complain and be slackers no matter what. You could triple their pay and they'd still do the bare minimum. That was just the type of people they were and it's nothing new under the sun.

I think there is something to be said for getting out on your own at an early age. It motivates you to get off your duff and seek the promotions and higher-paying jobs, the ones that are harder to do and carry more responsibilities, but allows you to make a lot more money and improve your financial situation. Typically these people are likely to be married with children so they have even more incentive to bust their butts at work and move up that corporate ladder.

Many are just not motivated however. They are allowed to live with their parents into their 20s, their 30s, and beyond. This allows them to get by working low-skill, low-paying jobs. They know they stand to eventually inherit their parent's home, and likely the balance of their unused retirement savings as well, so they really have no pressing financial worries in their life. So long as they have enough pocket money (earned from their dead end jobs) to have the latest iPhone, a nice car, some stylish clothes and a closet full of video games to play, they are content to live in their parent's basements even as they are fully grown adults.

Good points, but I don’t think many stand to inherit all that much any more; in their later years, much of the parents’ money will be spent on their care (as they live longer and longer, and more medical treatments are available). Also, the parents have to remain in the home if the adult children are there (so they can’t downsize to cheaper digs).

I found getting married and starting a family was great motivation to get ahead, but at this point I understand those who don’t give extra as it is rarely rewarded (as it had been in the past). Also, as money is thrown at gender/race tokens to keep lawsuits at bay, when those tokens work the bare minimum I feel I just have to do that plus one minute. I’m never the first to leave, but it starts the clock ticking when one of them does...

I think companies that reward performance/effort still get it from their employees, while the growing number that don’t reward them don’t get them.

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