Gen Z, millennials call out dangerous workplace habits that bosses should ditch

Young Australians don’t always get the best coverage when it comes to their work ethic, but there’s a group of Gen Z and millennial workers who are burning out at work thanks to a myth perpetuated by their older bosses.

“I had to lie on the floor for 20 minutes this morning and remind myself to take deep breaths just to get up and catch the train to work,” explains Mia*, a 35-year-old government executive from Melbourne.

“I started almost a year ago and over the last six months, things have gotten really bad. It’s a very ‘bums in the seat’ workplace. My boss works on his lunch break and the unspoken agreement is that we all have to too.

“As a result, he has slowly restored our ability to work from home and has booked appointments at the beginning and end of most business days to make sure people are there throughout the day as well.”

Young Australians don’t always get the best coverage when it comes to their work ethic, but there’s a group of Gen Z and millennial workers who are burning out at work thanks to a myth. BullRun – stock.adobe.com

New research from Subway has revealed that four in five Australians either skip their lunch break altogether or don’t take the full time allowed for them.

And surprisingly, it’s bosses who are encouraging the habit, and younger Australians feel the most pressure to work on their holidays, leaving them at risk of anxiety and burnout.

The research showed that Gen Z and Millennials are more likely than Gen X and Baby Boomers to believe their bosses will think they are more committed to their work if they skip their lunch break – with 10 percent of the younger group who believe this problematic myth, compared to 4 percent and 1 percent respectively.

New research from Subway has revealed that four in five Australians either skip their lunch break altogether or don’t take the full time allowed for them. wayhome.studio – stock.adobe.com

Young Australians were also more likely to say that cramming, skipping or working during their lunch break has negative impacts on them overall.

Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z respondents said the practice led to overall negative effects, compared to 53 percent of millennials, 48 ​​percent of Gen X and just 28 percent of Baby Boomers.

The new research is consistent with data released earlier this year by global workplace wellness leader TELUS.

It’s bosses who are encouraging the habit, and younger Australians feel the most pressure to work on their holidays, according to the survey.
zinkevych – stock.adobe.com

Its Mental Health Index found that around 47 per cent of Australian workers feel mentally or physically exhausted at the end of the working day.

This was especially true for younger generations, a finding that TELUS Health senior vice president and managing director of APAC Jamie MacLennan called “disturbing.”

“Many employees, especially younger ones, are struggling with overwhelming workloads that leave them mentally and physically exhausted,” MacLennan said in a statement at the time.

“This relentless stress not only affects their mental health, but also significantly reduces productivity.”

Bosses must do more to banish ‘boom in seat’ mentality

Sinead Connolly, founder of award-winning recruitment agency Lotus People, says bosses need to do more to lead by example when it comes to encouraging staff to take regular breaks and avoid burnout.

“From my perspective, over the years, I’ve seen it become very unusual for people to take a full hour for lunch,” says Connolly. “While in some industries, it’s even frowned upon, especially in places where there can be a culture of hustle, or a culture where spending time at a desk is somehow perceived as hard work, or taken as an act of someone who has a more better than someone going to a longer lunch.”

She says the whole issue ties into a broader conversation about wellness, which can affect an organization’s bottom line in more ways than one.

The research showed that Gen Z and Millennials are more likely than Gen X and Baby Boomers to believe that their bosses will think they are more committed to their work if they skip their lunch break. TommyStockProject – stock.adobe.com

“It’s up to employers to actually lead from the top, and more often than not it doesn’t happen at the executive level, and then it doesn’t happen at the management level,” she says.

“Everybody’s busy, and we’re trying to do more with less capacity, and everybody’s running lean. Businesses are performing poorly.

“It doesn’t surprise me and I don’t think it’s right. I think it’s going to take a lot of work to actually change that, and it’s going to have to be a conscious focus that, unfortunately, I just don’t see in businesses right now.”

Sinead Connolly says she is seeing a pattern where taking an hour off is highly unusual, even uncomfortable in some industries where employees spend more time sitting at a desk.
Pintau Studio – stock.adobe.com

Subway Australia and New Zealand marketing director Rodica Titeica found the data alarming and expected and said changes within the organization are aimed at combating the worrying trend.

“As part of Subway’s mission to help Australians reclaim lunch, it was important that our corporate business lead by example and so for several months, we’ve made 12pm to 1pm an appointment-free hour “Make sure our staff have an uninterrupted hour for food, for a break and for themselves,” said Titeica.

“Of course, staff can still eat lunch when it suits them, it doesn’t have to be between these hours, but across the company, we respect this sacred no-meeting hour that we’ve established every day.

Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z respondents said the practice led to overall negative effects, compared to 53 percent of millennials First images – stock.adobe.com

“We encourage employers and other businesses to find ways to foster a supportive environment that encourages lunch breaks. It starts from the top.”

Mia, who is appalled at how a post-pandemic approach seems to have fueled toxic work cultures, agrees.

“I’m actively looking for a new role, but if I don’t find one soon, I’ll be handing in my resignation regardless,” she says. “Nothing is worth damaging your health like this.”

*Name has been changed to protect the employee’s anonymity.

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