Aussies told to quit work
Gen Z reminded they’re replaceable and to focus on needs
“What would it take for you to quit your job?”
The answer for Generation Z is not that much.
Aussie creator Hannah Elliot, 26, has amassed more than 200,000 views by telling fellow young people to quit their jobs because employees are seen as replaceable.
In true Generation Z fashion, she turned her theory into an online skit. She pointed out that if you died tomorrow, while the people you work with would be sad, ultimately, the company would immediately need to find your replacement.
“Let me remind you what is going to happen if you die tomorrow at your job,” she said.
Ms Elliot said that after your boss briefly expressed their condolences, they would immediately call a meeting to launch a plan of action on who can cover your work and then, within six months, you’d mostly be forgotten.
What is the moral of the story?
According to Ms Elliot, it is a reminder that you’re ultimately a cog in the wheel and shouldn’t stay in a job you don’t enjoy.
“If you are an employee, you are replaceable. Do not spend your life in a job you hate for the sake of pleasing other people because you’ll live one of the saddest lives for no literally no reason,” she said.
People immediately shared their stories of feeling replaceable in jobs to which they’ve dedicated so much time.
“I was in a major car accident, notified boss, his literal first words ‘how soon can you get into work’,” one person commented.
“I was taken from work in an ambulance, ended up a month in a psych hospital. They sacked me on day 10 because they had nothing in place to work around my mental health. (Which was a result of my work),” another shared.
“My appendix burst and I called my boss from the hospital and he said, ‘it’s not a very convenient time. We have others out this week’,” one person wrote.
Ms Elliot told news.com.au that she used to have so much “anxiety” about leaving a job but now she focused on her own happiness.
Hande Akman, research director at Youth Insight, said that Generation Z was simply more willing to walk away from a job that wasn’t serving them.
“Some reasons include not getting enough pay, transport issues (it being too far, not having good public transport or a way to get there, having to relocate), and not getting enough hours,” Dr Akman said.
She has also experienced Generation Z calling it quits because they found a co-worker too “annoying” or the job “boring”, or even there just being too much “outside noise” at the office.