As the years go by, more and more people from Generation Z are entering the professional workforce and changing things up. But don’t fret, we’ve got you sorted on what to look out for.

Fresh off of a university degree and the pandemic, Gen Z are taking over the corporate nine-to-five workplaces and are introducing a new approach that is completely different to how other generations view work.

First and foremost, Gen Z are coming out of challenging time: the pandemic.

This meant in their developmental years, they lacked social connection and were often communicating through screens.

Second, they are digital natives, who were born into the age of the internet, live and breathe their phones, and don’t know a life without scrolling.

Living in a social media age, it is no surprise that Gen Z are documenting their work life experiences, having even coined work trends such as quiet quitting, appropriate but fun email signatures, lazy girl jobs, and more to describe this new chapter in their lives.

But what even are these trends like quiet quitting or a lazy girl job? And should we be worried?

Taken from entertainment platform TikTok, the Gen Z approach to working is confusing the other generations in the office, and considering that this is the first time in everyone’s lives where all five generations are in one place working together, this can bewildering.

Quiet quitting was first popular on TikTok in 2022 and can be described as putting the minimum amount of effort and not wanting to go the extra mile for an employer.

Kalyn Ponti, CEO of Humankind, an employee experience and HR organisation, says that there are two types of quiet quitting and one of them is a healthy form.

The first form is the negative form and can be seen as the replacement term for disengagement and neglect; the “I don’t care anymore” attitude.

This mindset has been around the workplace for years and is not a new concept, but in the advent of social media, these workplace topics are coming up and are just needing a name to it.

Whereas the healthy form, is the employee’s focus on a better balance of hustle and culture.

“[It’s] the I care about my job and I’m going to go above and beyond when I can, but I’m also not willing to risk my health or relationships,” says Ponti.

Another form of quiet quitting can be seen in the lazy girl job trend, which is defined as a job that is a nontechnical remote role that pays decently, minimises co-worker interaction and encourages flexibility.

Read more: How can employers help Gen Z thrive in the workplace

On TikTok, the lazy girl job – not restricted for just girls – is often promoted as the perfect job that puts the employee’s mental health and wants first.

“The key there is there’s discernment about the why and the what,” adds Ponti.

Though it may not be best for career progression, people are undoubtedly prioritising what is important to them and ensuring agency in their own life.

Gen Z as a whole are completely different to other generations, where their real focuses lie in diversity, equity, inclusion, mental health, and a sense of community.

Millennials are quite the opposite, putting a lot of focus on career growth and professional development.

Despite these work trends gaining traction online, Ponti points out that these trends stem from natural human behaviours, so in a way, these are nothing new.

“When it comes to quiet quitting or lazy girl jobs, as human beings, we all need the same things, which is a fundamental need to self-actualise. It’s now just being applied to a new context,” she says.

“I don’t think people’s focus on their health is going to go away anytime soon, both physical and mental health. But for many people, that’s now, not everyone, but many people, it’s now quite a strong, personally held value.”

With the new work settings such as hybrid and work from home models, Gen Z are approaching the nine-to-five differently and evolving with it.

Though the emotions are the same and felt similarly across all five generations, Gen Z are just more vocal about them and act on them.

For those employers seeing a rise in the terms ‘quiet quitting’ and ‘lazy girl jobs’ going viral, there is not much to fret, as these are not new emotions and have been felt for years now.

Ponti says that the best way to approach this is to make your workplace more “human centered”.

“Speak to all of your stakeholders, speak to your shareholders, speak to your union members, whoever it is and then speak to your employees,” encourages Ponti.

“People are the lifeblood of organisations. That has to connect to results, but they all connect. If people are happy, reasonably refreshed, very clear on how they’re connecting to the bigger picture, have the ability to perform and grow and evolve. Those are all basic human needs.”