TikTok · Fortune Technology
Millionaire podcaster Mel Robbins hits back at Gen Z’s lazy label—she says they’re stuck in a world their baby boomer parents
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Gen Z has been branded a “lazy” generation of workers, marked by their TikTok addiction and work-from-home allegiance.
Key facts
- A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on April 14, 2025
- Gen Z is, by far, the most downtrodden about their work lives: Only 62% say they’re happy in their jobs, the lowest of any generation, according to a 2026 survey from MetLife
- Last year, only about 43% of entry-level workers felt positive about their employer’s six-month business outlook—the lowest figure Glassdoor had recorded since its data collection started in 2016
- Whole Foods ’ former CEO John Mackey said young people “don’t seem like they want to work”; Whoopi Goldberg criticized Gen Z and millennials for not “bust[ing] their behinds” like her generation
Summary
“We sit here and we look at twentysomethings and we’re like, ‘Oh, they’re weak or addicted to social media, or all anxious,’” Robbins said in a video posted to her TikTok last year. Robbins’s empathy for older Gen Z and young millennials is in stark contrast to the negativity clogging the feeds of young people. Whole Foods ’ former CEO John Mackey said young people “don’t seem like they want to work”; Whoopi Goldberg criticized Gen Z and millennials for not “bust their behinds” like her generation did, and that they only want to work four hours a day. But Robbins asserted that older generations wouldn’t know what it’s like to navigate adulthood in the 2025, like homeownership being “out of reach,” a ballooning generational wealth gap, and colossal student loan debt.