The women who prefer "lazy girl" jobs

[Trampa501]

The Gen Z women turning their back on hard work for ‘lazy girl’ jobs (msn.com)

Quote

She says managers and employers use “crazy metrics and instruments” to push employees to work harder and harder, often at “110pc of their effort”.

“Lazy girl jobs are definitely a positive spin on how we can be antiwork,” she says.

The antiwork movement is not against all work, but is hostile towards jobs “as they are structured under capitalism and the state”, “exploitative economic relations” and “hierarchical social relations in the workplace”, according to the subbreddit’s FAQ.

Isn't this just a similar message to "don't work harder, work smarter"?

[TenYearToGetMyMoneyBack]

8 minutes ago, Trampa501 said:

The Gen Z women turning their back on hard work for ‘lazy girl’ jobs (msn.com)

Isn't this just a similar message to "don't work harder, work smarter"?

Another variation of "Quiet Quitting" ?

I don't think this anything new apart from the "Girl" part. In the 1990s I worked alongside a section leader who would put more effort into making excuses as to why work hadn't been done than it would have taken to do it. The proof was that when they finally got rid of him I am sure the productivity of his former team went up.

[Casual-observer]

3 hours ago, Trampa501 said:

The Gen Z women turning their back on hard work for ‘lazy girl’ jobs (msn.com)

Isn't this just a similar message to "don't work harder, work smarter"?

The girl in the video studied for IT but once entering the profession stated she didn't like it. 

I wouldn't say it's quiet quitting, it boils down to women preferring soft/social jobs. They are more social beings. 

When I say soft jobs that means less technical talk and regular communication that can be done over a coffee. 

Generally speaking proper IT jobs involve a fair bit of technical talk and thought and then a hell of a lot of quiet time in front of a computer. That's just isn't what a lot of girls want deep down. 

The problem is though even the soft jobs are becoming more technical and you need to be switched on and prepared to put in the hours. The days of shuffling paper around over a coffee are on the way out...especially as AI takes off. 

Even simple acts like getting an invoice out of the door are becoming increasingly technical, you don't need an admin girl doing that sort of manual processing when it's all going electronic (by law). 

This is why people are saying this current/looming recession will likely hit the female labour force harder. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Casual-observer

[Si1]

There's nothing new with pushback against employers wanting 110% effort. Doesn't need a special label.

[nero120]

Just guessing but this article could be re-written like so:

Quote

When Gabrielle Judge finished university in 2019, she got a job at a software company in the tech industry that needed to meet diversity targets.

She had studied computer and information systems security – a subject most parents would consider to be a good bet for securing a well paying, steady job. Even though she really didn't have much interest in tech, but just went along with the "learn to code" crowd as it seemed like a good idea, despite not having any relevant core skills such as problem solving.

But after a year and half of working long hours, Judge burnt out and quit her job. Sometimes she even had to work 7 hour days, and then her tech lead would criticise the quality of her output.

Wouldn't be the first time that someone with no business working in tech got a job in tech (somehow) and then didn't enjoy it. No harm in that, but don't make out like the nasty employer was nasty and mean and expected our heroine to actually do something productive...

[Brendan110_0]

1 hour ago, nero120 said:

Just guessing but this article could be re-written like so:

Wouldn't be the first time that someone with no business working in tech got a job in tech (somehow) and then didn't enjoy it. No harm in that, but don't make out like the nasty employer was nasty and mean and expected our heroine to actually do something productive...

Half the issue is companies all following the same boring trope, must have appraisals/KPI’s (mostly nonsense ones just box ticking). YAWN. Only KPI that matters is profit and loss and the few that indicate how you’re doing. No need for individual development plans if company is tanking. 

[PeanutButter]

Plenty of men have the same type of jobs. Our receptionist for instance. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by PeanutButter

[regprentice]

53 minutes ago, nero120 said:

Just guessing but this article could be re-written like so:

Wouldn't be the first time that someone with no business working in tech got a job in tech (somehow) and then didn't enjoy it. No harm in that, but don't make out like the nasty employer was nasty and mean and expected our heroine to actually do something productive...

You can enjoy tech and development, but be absolutely destroyed by the way many IT departments are run. "Agile", For example, is about crushing joy out if every moment of your existence and turning your job into a conveyor belt of work. 

My organization just started advertising for managers with Six sigma experience . That went out of fashion a decade ago, what comes around.....

[Si1]

I've observed that it's not the smartest but the dullest (for a given minimal ability requirement) that climb the middle-management ladder the highest. Upper management is another world about which I know nothing. 

Really smart cookies either become academics, or get highly qualified in an unusually hard area like surgery, harder levels of finance, or engineering, work for themselves, or go minimalist and avoid the psychopathic work ethic thing altogether.

[Si1]

4 minutes ago, regprentice said:

You can enjoy tech and development, but be absolutely destroyed by the way many IT departments are run. 

And dont they just develop more or less the same stuff year after year anyway?

[nero120]

3 minutes ago, regprentice said:

You can enjoy tech and development, but be absolutely destroyed by the way many IT departments are run. "Agile", For example, is about crushing joy out if every moment of your existence and turning your job into a conveyor belt of work. 

My organization just started advertising for managers with Six sigma experience . That went out of fashion a decade ago, what comes around.....

I know it mate, I've been a software engineer for 20+ years! I interview candidates all the time and it has to be said, by far the majority of candidates are male and the few i see that are female do not really demonstrate much of a passion for tech so i'm always sceptical of stories like the above.

Problem with tech is the hype cycles. I've been through outsourcing, contracting, agile methodology, javascript/open source, cloud, blockchain, and now we're in AI! Same old story, some vested interests make a ton of cash but the businesses that fork out never even recoup that investment let alone the promises that were made (except maybe cloud but that came with it's own risks that are now starting to emerge).

Then all the "learn to code" bs came along and people that have no business in tech were suckered into thinking it was easy money.

[nero120]

5 minutes ago, Si1 said:

I've observed that it's not the smartest but the dullest (for a given minimal ability requirement) that climb the middle-management ladder the highest. Upper management is another world about which I know nothing. 

Really smart cookies either become academics, or get highly qualified in an unusually hard area like surgery, harder levels of finance, or engineering, work for themselves, or go minimalist and avoid the psychopathic work ethic thing altogether.

Actually in my experience, the smartest and most capable people are content to actually produce something for humble rewards rather than seeking gratification as management or, god forbid, "academics".

[Si1]

3 minutes ago, nero120 said:

Actually in my experience, the smartest and most capable people are content to actually produce something for humble rewards rather than seeking gratification as management or, god forbid, "academics".

I think that's within my perceived ballpark tbf, approximately 

Lots of academic pointscoring and non-research in fairness 

[Casual-observer]

14 minutes ago, regprentice said:

You can enjoy tech and development, but be absolutely destroyed by the way many IT departments are run. "Agile", For example, is about crushing joy out if every moment of your existence and turning your job into a conveyor belt of work. 

My organization just started advertising for managers with Six sigma experience . That went out of fashion a decade ago, what comes around.....

That's why out and out software dev companies tend to be the most dynamic to work for.

IT departments in non dev companies tend to just be treated as annoying 'non fee earning' drains. 

As management tend to make up the 'fee earners' they haven't got a clue how to handle the tech side of their business. Therefore they'll land the senior IT manager role on someone they can relate to over a coffee, which inevitably fails badly. 

[Si1]

2 minutes ago, Casual-observer said:

That's why out and out software dev companies tend to be the most dynamic to work for.

IT departments in non dev companies tend to just be treated as annoying 'non fee earning' drains. 

As management tend to make up the 'fee earners' they haven't got a clue how to handle the tech side of their business. Therefore they'll land the senior IT manager role on someone they can relate to over a coffee, which inevitably fails badly. 

Great post btw

[nero120]

4 minutes ago, Si1 said:

Great post btw

Seconded.

[reddog]

Must admit I haven't read the full article, but being "lazy" in this case seems to be just wanting to turn up to work, put a reasonable amount of effort in, and then go home without thinking about work until the next day.

 

That would be considered fairly normal, even for more senior jobs about 30 years ago.  I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

It really annoys me when employers expect you to go the extra mile.  Why?  If you aren't going to pay me more?

 

If you go to McDonald's and order a Big Mac meal, they don't chuck in an extra item for free!!

Edited July 26, 2023 by reddog

[Si1]

8 minutes ago, reddog said:

Must admit I haven't read the full article, but being "lazy" in this case seems to be just wanting to turn up to work, put a reasonable amount of effort in, and then go home without thinking about work until the next day.

 

That would be considered fairly normal, even for more senior jobs about 30 years ago.  I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

It really annoys me when employers expect you to go the extra mile.  Why?  If you aren't going to pay me more?

 

If you go to McDonald's and order a Big Mac meal, they don't chuck in an extra item for free!!

Is it that new?

I understand when Henry Ford introduced a 40 hour working week on his production like, it was breaking the prior pattern of 100 hour working weeks in the American labour economy 

Also, this devastating piece of cultural-economic commentary:

 

 

[regprentice]

17 minutes ago, Si1 said:

Is it that new?

I understand when Henry Ford introduced a 40 hour working week on his production like, it was breaking the prior pattern of 100 hour working weeks in the American labour economy 

Also, this devastating piece of cultural-economic commentary:

 

 

Its hit an inflection point and is getting worse again imho.

Apple are legislating for increases in working hours and overtime limits in countries like india where a 45 hour working week was legislated for to solely to attract an apple factory.

The complexity and pressure in work is also increasing. 

The people in the tiktok in the OP are simply trying to experience the kind of working lifestyle most people enjoyed in the 80s and 90s when the work/life balance seemed to be at its best  

[Si1]

10 minutes ago, regprentice said:

Its hit an inflection point and is getting worse again imho.

Apple are legislating for increases in working hours and overtime limits in countries like india where a 45 hour working week was legislated for to solely to attract an apple factory.

The complexity and pressure in work is also increasing. 

The people in the tiktok in the OP are simply trying to experience the kind of working lifestyle most people enjoyed in the 80s and 90s when the work/life balance seemed to be at its best  

As a cycle have we reached peak neoliberalism then? That goes with peak globalism I reckon.

[Insane]

1 hour ago, reddog said:

It really annoys me when employers expect you to go the extra mile.  Why?  If you aren't going to pay me more?

About 40 years ago I worked in a pub, there was a group of middle age people who would crowd around the bar. I heard a certain conversation between them a few times. One of the women in this group would get into her office every morning at 7.30 instead of 9.00. They used to take the piss out of her and ask her if the company would collapse should she leave? It was back then considered an unusual and weird thing to do yet today this is not just normal but in many cases required. 

[zugzwang]

45 minutes ago, Si1 said:

As a cycle have we reached peak neoliberalism then? That goes with peak globalism I reckon.

It's just another stick for that scabrous hate-sheet to use to beat down the British worker.

[Hullabaloo82]

This is the future and not just for women. 2 things are happening here;

1. There is a shortage of talent in certain professions and employers are getting cleverer about their offerings;

I'm a bloke, I just took a significant payrise for a 100% remote job that was sold to me on the basis of it being a strict 9 to 5 (which it is). 

My current employer is essentially poaching well qualified staff from less forward thinking organisations with better pay and conditions. We don't break our backs but there are no muppets here and everybody is ultra aware of what a sweet deal it is so people get what they need to done. 

Not rocket science when you think about it. Ball very firmly in the court of more traditional employers. 

2. People will only work their arse off if they feel it's worth it.

In the past, things like owning a house, saving for retirement were real achievable goals for people so they willingly put extra time in. That isn't the case for many anymore so why would they waste their time? The only logical choice for a lot of people is actually to minimise effort at work and find fulfillment in other areas of life. 

[Trampa501]

31 minutes ago, Hullabaloo82 said:

This is the future and not just for women. 2 things are happening here;

1. There is a shortage of talent in certain professions and employers are getting cleverer about their offerings;

I'm a bloke, I just took a significant payrise for a 100% remote job that was sold to me on the basis of it being a strict 9 to 5 (which it is). 

My current employer is essentially poaching well qualified staff from less forward thinking organisations with better pay and conditions. We don't break our backs but there are no muppets here and everybody is ultra aware of what a sweet deal it is so people get what they need to done. 

Not rocket science when you think about it. Ball very firmly in the court of more traditional employers. 

2. People will only work their arse off if they feel it's worth it.

In the past, things like owning a house, saving for retirement were real achievable goals for people so they willingly put extra time in. That isn't the case for many anymore so why would they waste their time? The only logical choice for a lot of people is actually to minimise effort at work and find fulfillment in other areas of life. 

Good post. The post I should have made if I were eloquent enough... The article does reflect a change in society, particularly in the work area.

[Bob8]

59 minutes ago, Hullabaloo82 said:

This is the future and not just for women. 2 things are happening here;

1. There is a shortage of talent in certain professions and employers are getting cleverer about their offerings;

I'm a bloke, I just took a significant payrise for a 100% remote job that was sold to me on the basis of it being a strict 9 to 5 (which it is). 

My current employer is essentially poaching well qualified staff from less forward thinking organisations with better pay and conditions. We don't break our backs but there are no muppets here and everybody is ultra aware of what a sweet deal it is so people get what they need to done. 

Not rocket science when you think about it. Ball very firmly in the court of more traditional employers. 

2. People will only work their arse off if they feel it's worth it.

In the past, things like owning a house, saving for retirement were real achievable goals for people so they willingly put extra time in. That isn't the case for many anymore so why would they waste their time? The only logical choice for a lot of people is actually to minimise effort at work and find fulfillment in other areas of life. 

I am recruiting people. There is a labour shortage and I cannot compete on salary, so my USP is being as decent as possible. Turns out good so far, but might be why I have no white men (guessing).