Gen Z’s ‘lazy girl jobs’ trend hits back at hustle culture, but critics warn outcome could be problematic

Move over “Bare Minimum Mondays” and “quiet quitting” and make way for Gen Z’s latest work trend – “lazy girl jobs.”

The TikTok and tech-savvy generation is leaning into the latest social media trend of finding well-paying often fully or partially remote jobs that require minimal effort to cut back on the stress and anxiety they say is harmful to mental health. 

“[I’m] going out on walks, going out places, getting food, going shopping, just like, [doing] daily day-to-day things that I need to get done that, if I was working a job where I didn’t have the flexibility to do that, I wouldn’t be able to do that,” one woman told FOX Business.

“[I like to] do yoga, go out for walks and just do little random things like whatever seems fun that day,” another said. 

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While it might sound enticing to do yoga, grab some food, walk your dog or go shopping on the clock, not everyone is on board with the concept.

“I spoke to a psychiatrist over at the Langone Medical School [about this]… Her argument – and it makes sense to me – is that, as boomer parents did everything they could to make their children’s lives perfect, they removed sources of anxiety,” NYU business professor Suzy Welch, who recently wrote a piece discussing the trend in The Wall Street Journal, told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto on Tuesday.

“In that case, you don’t have any experience with it, and you fear it, and you run away from it instead of doing what I did, or many people did… you sort of plow through it, and you think, ‘Oh, that didn’t kill me? I can take anxiety. That’s just part of being a grown-up. And I don’t love it, but I’ll work through it.’ I call it paradox management.” 

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Welch broke down the trend that many argue is feeding America’s “lazy” youth and perpetuating existing stereotypes that they have been coddled for too long.

“Remember how Sheryl Sandberg said to lean in? This is like sister, lean out. That’s what’s going on, and they’re [Gen Z] just saying, ‘We don’t want it. We want the kind of easiest job we can have.'”

Though the trend is associated with “lazy girls” by stereotype, many speculate the issue isn’t gender-exclusive and can be applied across the Gen Z spectrum. Reno Davis, a 22-year-old entrepreneur and real estate expert, for instance, told Fox News Digital he thinks his entire generation is lazy and, while the trend of finding more laid-back jobs might work for them right now, trying to take the easy way out could have consequences in the future.

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“By doing so, you don’t have any real-world experience, and so taking the easy way out sets them up for failure,” he said. 

“At some point, they’re going to come upon an obstacle, and they’re not going to know how to deal with it because they take the easy way out, whether it would be with jobs or life in general. I think this leads to ultimate destruction later in life. It might be okay right now, but later in my career, I find out that it’s not the way to go about it.”

Davis, a real estate wholesaler who built his own seven-figure company beginning with $0, said he believes Zoomers are “followers” and are seeking less stressful jobs because their upbringing encourages them to avoid taking the same risks he took.

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“They like to do whatever is going on and so that’s why it’s so rare for people my age, I would say 25 and under, to be entrepreneurs and self-employed business owners, because it’s not something that’s common because it takes a lot to get here, a lot of failure, lots of everything. I also think social media plays a big part in it because people are just glued to their cell phones, and it’s full of distractions. It’s just complete, utter garbage, and people are just scrolling on their phones all day long.”

Others think the trend – as its name implies – could yield disastrous consequences in the race to outpace China, including business owner and investor Lili Gil Valleta who said in a discussion on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria” Wednesday that she’s “concerned” about the culture fueling young Americans. 

“It’s estimated that like, 30% of workers are going to be Gen Z by the year 2030. So, if they don’t want to work, then who’s going to take on those jobs?” she asked. 

“The scary part about it, we talked about China earlier. When you look at the stats, Chinese young people want to be astronauts and engineers and mathematicians, and our kids want to be influencers. So I think that easy button, if we don’t pay attention to it, will shift the culture of what has made America the hustle and driven country that it is, and it concerns me.”