Gen Z's Unhinged Hacks for Surviving Toxic Jobs
Gen Z is fed up with toxic workplaces where micromanagement and dismissed ideas are treated as the norm. Instead of taking their complaints straight to HR, they're turning to TikTok for advice on 'protecting their peace'. The platform has become a breeding ground for young workers to share their unhinged hacks for surviving their "toxic jobs", including CC'ing fake lawyers and being maliciously compliant.
Malicious Compliance: The Passive-Aggressive Protest
The most common hack among Gen Z is malicious compliance – referring to a viral workplace trend of following instructions exactly as given, even when they know doing so will cause inefficiency or backfire. It's a form of passive-aggressive protest that's less dramatic than quitting, but just as telling.
"Once my job made us do 'productivity' timesheets and we all agreed to be maliciously compliant," said one user @ed. "People were writing, "8:01, hang up jacket, 8:05 took tampon out." "[I] Do EXACTLY what my boss tells me. Word for word," another user wrote.
"If it wasn't spelled out, it isn't getting done. Malicious compliance," said @ed. The trend is a form of resistance that's both subtle and assertive – and it's gaining traction among young workers who are tired of being disrespected and undervalued in the workplace.
The "Let Them" Theory and Other Coping Mechanisms
Other tricks Gen Zers say they're turning to to survive their "toxic jobs" include leaning on the "Let them" theory from Mel Robbins, the "Gray Rock method" (essentially, disengaging with that job or person), and copying a fake lawyer into emails with difficult clients.
"I tell myself we're all characters in a sitcom like The Office and that they are the characters meant to be disliked by the audience and I just stare at the camera," said one user @NYES | Fashion. "I started lying about myself lol," said another user @ed. "I would give different people different versions of events about myself and when someone confronted me about the stories being different, I knew they were talking about me behind my back."
The Rise of Revenge Quitting
Other young workers aren't passively aggressively expressing their discontent and unhappiness at the workplace; instead, they're behaving loudly in the face of employers and 'revenge quitting'. The online trend reflects Gen Z's broader discontent with their management in the workplace.
The Consequences of Toxic Coping Mechanisms
For employers, the message is clear: failure to provide flexibility, growth, and respect for personal boundaries that the post-millennial generation strives for is leading to higher turnover rates. Nearly 60% of Gen Zers described their current role as a "situationship", a short-term job they never intended to stay in for the long term, according to a recent survey of young workers.
Of those planning to leave their roles, nearly half said they expect to exit within the next year, and a quarter said they're ready to quit at any moment. Gen Z toxic-coping response could damage their future careers, says Ben Granger, chief workplace psychologist at Qualtrics with a background in behavioral science.
The Fundamental Attribution Error
"If they [employers] have that perception, it can really do a lot of damage," Granger tells Fortune. "The psychological tendency—called the fundamental attribution error—is that people assume someone's actions reflect their personality, rather than the environment they're in.
Setting Realistic Expectations and Reframing Challenges
"Those challenges that you're going through—they might be really frustrating, but there's a difference between those frustrations and something that's unproductive for you," Granger says. "What's the most productive response? That's the question I would raise to folks who are considering [retaliating]."
The Importance of Setting Expectations During the Hiring Process
"When you're applying for a job, they're not just interviewing you — you're interviewing them," he adds. "Start setting those expectations for yourself and for your potential employer."