Gen Z whines about everyone else calling them lazy workers: ‘People like to talk about us but not talk to us’

They’ve been called lazy, entitled, screen-addicted and allergic to hard work — but Gen Z isn’t having it.

Now, the youngest members of the workforce are firing back at the finger-wagging boomers and eye-rolling Gen Xers, claiming they’re misunderstood — not malfunctioning.

“People like to talk about us but not talk to us or build with us,” said Ziad Ahmed, head of UTA Marketing’s Next Gen Practice, said at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit this week.

“I think that is rooted in a lot of presumption. It rarely gets us to where we need to be.”

Translation: Don’t call them slackers — they’re collaborators.

At this week’s summit held by the publication, Gen Z leaders made a plea for older generations to stop clinging to outdated stereotypes and start listening. 

Gen Z isn’t trying to overthrow corporate culture, they say — they just want to tweak it.

“You can’t walk in the door on day one and say ‘we’re changing everything for [Gen Z],’” said Jonah Stillman, co-founder of consulting firm GenGuru. 

Instead, he suggested employers give younger staffers a real seat at the table. “Every voice is relevant amongst generations.”

“The most productive, multi-generational workforce is one that prioritizes this idea of evolution instead of revolution.”

But not everyone’s convinced. With five generations squeezed into the modern office, friction is inevitable. 

A recent Korn Ferry report found just 17% of Gen Z workers said they had no issues working with other age groups, compared to a whopping 45% of boomers.

A big part of the disconnect? Communication. Nearly half of Gen Z employees want better teamwork and meaningful dialogue on the job.

Which might explain why so many young workers are ready to walk. 

According to SWNS reporting last month, a staggering 73% of Gen Zers say they’re looking to switch jobs — the highest of any generation. Millennials aren’t far behind at 70%.

Why the job-jumping itch? Burnout.

Two-thirds of Gen Z workers (68%) report feeling burned out, according to iSolved and Talker Research. That’s more than any other generation. 

Their top complaints: Doing the same thing every day, more work without more pay and a general feeling of being unappreciated.

And don’t forget the workplace itself. Nearly one-third of full-time employees say they’re stuck in a toxic environment. 

Half work while sick, 31% skip lunch breaks, and many cite stress, rigidity and negativity as serious culture killers.

But Gen Z says their generation isn’t soft — just self-aware.

“We like to differentiate generations by generation, but human behavior doesn’t change that much,” Tiffany Zhong, co-founder of social media platform Noplace, said, as reported by Fortune.

Zhong and others argue Gen Z was shaped by a nonstop cycle of tech, trauma, and TikTok — from climate dread and political chaos to pandemic disruptions and economic volatility.

They’re not lazy, they insist — just looking for work that works for them.

“We keep being told to be realistic,” Ahmed said at the summit. “But who decided what realistic is?”