Since Feb. 9, Braden Bales has been flooding the “For You” pages of Gen Z TikTok accounts, giving voice to the anxieties and angst of stepping into our futures.
The audio/sound entitled “Chronically Cautious,” created by musician Braden Bales, has been used by thousands who relate to the song’s message, though knowing the exact number is tricky because several versions are floating around. It’s even been duetted by larger names on the platform including Elyse Myers who added her own voice as well, that specific audio being used and reshared in 22.1K posts alone. In the sample of his song, Bales sings, “So if I’m honest I think I’m beginning to question how much I want this, Overloaded serial stressor I’m sitting nauseous, Panic on a loop in my head I’m chronically cautious, How can I get off this?”
Given the sound’s popularity, Bales isn’t the only Gen Z-er having these feelings of exhaustion as they start their career or next chapter. “Gen Z (42%) is about twice as likely as Americans over 25 (23%) to battle depression and feelings of hopelessness,” Caryl M. Stern explains in an article for The74. I believe that, as Gen Z has begun the process of entering the workforce, it’s become painstakingly obvious we’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, placing a generation with priorities higher than their career into an industry that emphasizes all work and no rest.
We’ve seen these signs over the past few years since COVID sparked in March 2020, leading to related trends like “quiet quitting,” completing the bare minimum of one’s job description rather than going above and beyond due to feeling overworked and underappreciated. This is something we see all over TikTok and gaining significant traction on the platform. This past July, Amina Kilpatrick of NPR observed that user @zkchillin posted about this concept and his personal experiences with it, causing other
users to do the same. As of Aug. 19 of last year, #quietquitting had 8.2 million views, showing just how frequent these feelings are shared among Gen Z. In the wake of a tiring past few years, members of Gen Z are putting their feet down and seeking to make the changes they wish to see: a more passionate pursuit of creativity and the tools we grew up with. Social media. Research conducted by Adobe and shared by Bloomberg suggests that nearly half of Gen Z content creators they spoke with expressed interest in creating a living through their social media presence. It only makes sense that this is the route Gen Z wishes to take given that we are nicknamed the “digital natives.” We’ve always been criticized for our attachment to social media and the negativity it can foster, but it’s such an integral tool in our lives that it makes sense to want to work and create in the same space and maybe even make more positive. “While Millennials are experimenting with having a side hustle alongside a day job, Gen Z is focused more on making a project into a career, said Maria Yap, vice president of digital imaging applications at Adobe. “They’re thinking, no — my regular job could be the thing that I’m passionate about.”
All too often you hear about people who are working for the paycheck but aren’t fulfilled by what they do. Gen Z wants no part of that, and frankly, neither do I. There’s been a new value placed on the work/life balance that we didn’t always have.
The idea of a 9-5 job is slowly being recognized as outdated, causing businesses to make steps towards a lifestyle they can earn and enjoy simultaneously. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the United Kingdom’s test-run of a four-day work week to see what benefits an extra day off could provide employees. Vanessa Furhmans with The Wall Street Journal reports that, “In one of the largest trials of a four-day week (6-month study) to date…More than 90% said they would continue testing the shorter week, while 18 planned to make it permanent, according to a new report from the study’s organizers.”
While a shift in the longstanding structure of the workforce would be a large undertaking, the benefits appear to outweigh the costs of change, allowing for everyone more time for what’s important to them. Some may welcome this with open arms, but others are sure to worry about what this shift could mean. Are we trading in four 10-hour work days instead of five eight-hour days? And what about the financial trouble this could bring if employees were to lose a full day of pay they were accustomed to
having? All of this would need some fine-tuning, but I think it’s definitely worth a try, and a shift into the same direction Gen Z is heading to ensure more time for themselves and others. It could certainly be the change needed to keep those entering the workforce more interested in what a standard corporate job has to offer.
For so long its been emphasized that they pathway to success is a good-paying, 9-to-5 job when Gen Z is proving that making your work your passion is the true answer. It’s important to enjoy the life your given. Oftentimes this desire for less work and more free time can be viewed as young generations wanting to take the easy way out, but I think this shifted in mindset is a wakeup call that all everyone needed. While Braden is expressing his exhaustion on TikTok through his recently fully released song “Chronically Cautious,” he’s using it to pursue a musical career on a platform that brings him joy, something we should all searching for more of these days.
Platforms such as TikTok have a growing amount of power and popularity and certainly aren’t going anywhere. Using them for advantages other than pleasure and entertainment could be just what Gen Z needs to shift these feelings of dread associated with starting their careers. Keeping a close eye on how work and play could cohabitate on TikTok will be incredibly interesting and important to see if a more leisure lifestyle can support the efforts and ambitions Gen Z is searching for.
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