Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series by The American Spectator’s summer intern class on how conservatives can wage a cultural takeover. Read part one, part two, and part three.
Gen Z has come under attack from boomers and Gen Xers who are frustrated with them for one main flaw: laziness. Though it is cliché that the older generation lambasts young people, in this case the critiques are certainly deserved. There is no way to dodge the reality of Gen Z’s laziness.
More than 15 percent of Gen Zers will not accept a job at a company that does not include an area for them to take a nap, even though most of them admit in surveys to putting in minimal effort on the job anyway. This laziness doesn’t just start and end in the workplace. Though statistic after statistic demonstrates their declining social skills, members of Gen Z are more likely than their predecessors to miss crucial time outdoors, insisting instead on spending an average of six hours on their phones every single day.
The results of these decisions are devastating for young people.
Gen Z’s unrealistic workplace standards may lead one to believe that they have the luxury of a bolstering job market and limitless opportunities. This, however, is not the case. Their unemployment rates are staggeringly high for living in such a well-developed economy. After graduating college, 58 percent of Gen Zers cannot enter the workforce, as compared to only 25 percent of graduates in years prior, according to Fortune.
Yet Gen Z still largely chooses liberal arts, general studies, and humanities degrees. They also ardently insist that companies need “dedication to diversity and inclusion … and permanent flexible work alternatives,” according to Johns Hopkins University. Their persistent laziness and need for constant comfort keep them down in the workplace and suffering financially.
Employers, taking note of Gen Z’s abysmal work ethic and high-maintenance demands, are not willing to close the employment gap. On an episode of Dr. Phil addressing Gen Z’s laziness epidemic, Michelle Thomas, a business owner, unapologetically admitted to firing Gen Z employees.
“One of the reasons is social media. It’s hard to do your job and work if you’re on Instagram all day,” she reasoned. “You have to actually put your phone down and do some work.”
Her mentality is not unique: 75 percent of employers say they have fired a Gen Z employee, and 20 percent have done so within a week of hiring them.
The consequences of lazy living are not confined to unemployment and bad work relationships. Gen Z’s mental health is reportedly plummeting, with 65 percent reporting at least one mental health issue, which is significantly higher than the 51 percent of millennials, 29 percent of Gen Zers, and 14 percent of boomers who reported the same.
Seventy-three percent of Gen Z feels lonely, according to Forbes, and surveys show that 60 percent of them struggle to forge and sustain friendships. “The typical Gen Z friendship [is] very self-centered, very much benefits-oriented, very hypocritical,” writes Gen Z author Hannah Blessed.
Gen Z pursues a fake version of friendship that requires no more work than hitting a “follow” button. Scrolling through Instagram and making encouraging comments to a few “friends” is easier than walking through life, face to face, with a companion. “Followers do not translate into genuine connections and friendships,” notes Blessed. “We are stuck in a place where we think knowing many people translates to having many friends.” In their slothful refusal to put forth effort, venture outdoors, or meet new people, my generation has chosen to seclude themselves. They now suffer the mental and physical consequences.
Sadly, the lazy behavior that leads to sadness, joblessness, and loneliness continues to go unchecked, and it is even encouraged by media outlets and progressives. Headlines read: “Lazy or Just Setting Boundaries?” “We Just Grew A Spine,” and “Gen Z Aren’t Lazy; They Just Know Work Doesn’t Pay.” Gen Z’s predicaments are blamed on climate change, political unrest, or even older generations instead of their blatant and unchanging aversion to a productive, diligent life. With no one willing to pull Gen Z out of their sloth, the future for American businesses, friendships, and families looks bleak.
Notably, however, conservative Gen Zers have been able break away from the lackadaisical lifestyle of their peers. Conservative movements within Gen Z are transforming lives toward productivity and diligence.
Many conservative lifestyle patterns are rooted in tradition, and Gen Z conservatives are no different. Due to their adherence to tradition and willingness to commit to the hard work of building and maintaining a family, conservative Gen Zers are getting married more than liberals in their generation.
Corporate life and education are likewise affected by the hard work of conservative Gen Zers. Instead of pursuing meaningless degrees and forfeiting a job post-graduation, young conservatives pursue blue-collar jobs, meaningful college degrees, and work hard on starting their career after leaving high school or college. After all, if they hope to leave home and maintain good families, income is necessary.
It’s not only tradition that influences Gen Z conservatives; trends on social media, based in conservative values, have turned young people’s heads.
Fitness and strength, which once signaled misogynistic exclusivity, have taken over the lives of conservative young people, led by RFK Jr. According to the 2025 American Fitness Index Report, there have been serious increases in exercise over the past year. On TikTok, gym content has skyrocketed in popularity, with a growth of 2,200 percent over the past five years. Young, conservative men, largely fueled by the desire to be traditionally masculine, work extremely hard to keep their bodies healthy.
Even aesthetics and beauty have been reclaimed by young conservatives. Old beauty standards have swiftly come back in style for young conservative women, after being condemned for over a decade. In June, Dazed Beauty suggested that “we’ve witnessed a … stark reversal of the inclusivity and progressiveness of the past decade.” After the body positivity movement convinced members of Gen Z that their health and looks require no upkeep, young conservative women are rebelling. Instead of letting laziness rule their life, conservative Gen Z women are going to the gym, dressing up, and going out.
The statistics are clear: Not all of Gen Z has resigned themselves to sloth and laziness for the rest of their lives. The conservative subset of Gen Zers, specifically the younger half of the generation, has taken up difficult jobs and started families young. The effects of their go-getter attitudes are manifest in their happy, healthy lives, even as the consequences of laziness plague the rest of Gen Z.
A perfect example of this is young conservative women compared to young liberal women.
“Young conservative women,” reads an article by Ben Johnson for Institute for Family Studies, “are three times as likely to report having a happy life than liberal women.” Johnson claims that driving factors for this phenomenon include faith and family. Johnson’s arguments are echoed across datasets: Conservative women, who are more likely to put work into serving at church and raising families, are happier than liberal feminists, who aren’t required to care for children. The work that conservative women put into their lives is well worth it; their loneliness is depleted and replaced with satisfaction with life.
This juxtaposition is just a microcosm of the broader reality: Diligence and productivity add quality to life. As liberal Gen Z flounders in the consequences of their lazy decisions, conservatism has rescued many young people from defeat and loneliness.
The laziness witnessed in Gen Z culture is unprecedented, but conservative living provides a way out for Gen Zers who seek to lead diligent lives. For the United States to flourish, our country requires young people to live fulfilling lives, whether as tradesmen, mothers, teachers, doctors, professors, or pastors. Laziness needs to reassume its position as an insult because, in the face of cultural decay, diligence is the greatest weapon.
READ MORE from this series:
Young Conservatives Should Conquer Liberal Colleges Instead of Attending Hillsdale
Liberals Aren’t Pretending Education Is Value-Neutral, and Neither Should We