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The pandemic has made many burned out and overworked Americans question their work lives. Gen Z, along with younger millennials, are acting as the voice of these grievances online.
On TikTok, they're calling out capitalism for the role it's taking on their mental health.
"I live in a society where my productivity matters more than my well-being, and so I'm just depressed and anxious all the time," says a user who goes by Rama in a video. "I'm smiling, but I'm deeply wounded. I work three jobs, and I still feel like I'm not doing enough."
On Reddit, they're bolstering the "antiwork" movement, which embraces a work-free lifestyle. As Insider's Juliana Kaplan reported, the movement looks to similar youth-led movements against work in other countries, especially China, where young people are "lying flat" by decentering a drive to constantly be more productive and competitive at work, and instead find happiness in their own lives and relaxation.
The antiworkers are opting out of working altogether. Kade, a Gen Z worker in Kansas, quit his job as a service worker after his boss posted a sign telling workers they couldn't use their phones during shifts — and, if they were caught with their phones, management could confiscate them.
"I think it felt like I could be like a bigger part of a movement," Kade told Kaplan. "I didn't want to put up with this stuff."