I swear I can hear phantom Outlook inbox chimes when I’m in the shower. Maybe it’s because I manage six email inboxes. Between my remote job, school, my hobbies, and freelance creative projects, I have more emails than I do brain cells.
If you’ve spent any time on the internet in the past few years, you’re likely aware of Gen Z’s total aversion to the horrors of the “9 to 5” lifestyle. Whether it’s finance bros convincing you that you’re missing out on earning thousands of dollars through “passive income” or liberal commentators blaming all social qualms on capitalism, the cubicles are not calling anyone’s name these days.
Remote work — either purely remote or hybrid — is the answer Gen Z needs.
Gen Z doesn’t hate work. It’s easy to dilute complex issues with modern work culture to dismissive snowflake statements, but really Gen Z is looking for work that is more conducive to their lifestyles.
The job I currently work now is a part-time remote gig for undergraduate students interested in the music industry. By the time I graduate, I will have over two years worth of concrete projects that I’ve worked on to add to my portfolio. I don’t live in Los Angeles, New York, or Nashville. Remote work enables me to have the same opportunities as my peers in those music hotspots or those going to school for specialized music business degrees.
Where there is an internet connection, there is a way.
By and large, Gen Z is more creative, more emotionally literate, and more likely to have boundaries when entering the workforce. Older generations pin the“participation trophy generation” stigma on us. But we grew up with workaholic parents. We endured the pandemic during formative social and academic years. We were forced to alter how we achieved our educations and our paychecks. As a result, we’re a more dynamic generation and an asset to the workforce when used properly.
In the years following 2020, many companies have elected to keep part of their employees fully remote or adapted to a hybrid schedule. This allows for a better work/life balance, something Gen Z has been very vocal about wanting in a career. The pandemic was a mortal reality check – a reminder that at any point, every societal structure we so dearly cling to can be shattered.
It’s no surprise we’re not jumping at the bit to spend the rest of our lives dedicated to corporate entities that couldn’t care if we live or die.
Considering that the country is still in the trenches of a national mental health crisis, remote work becomes more than a preference and more of a dire need for many. But even if your neurotransmitter levels are pristine and all your needs are met, remote work offers workers a chance to build life outside of the Outlook inbox.
Through remote work, I have a taste of what corporate life is like, how my bosses manage their levels of hybrid/in-person demands, and what kinds of things I’ll be looking for when it’s time to move into a full-time role. My portfolio sees the benefits of my job, but so does my soul.
It’s important to leave the house. The lockdowns taught us that if we don’t touch grass every day, we’re going to lose it. But remote work is the key to increasing morale long term and aiding young people in the bridge to older adulthood. It’s an accessible, dynamic option we’ve seen work.
And yet, even with remote work, I still think the noise of water hitting the porcelain in the bathroom is my email.
