Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Completely Different Ideas Of When It's OK To Call Out Of Work
Syda Productions via CanvaAmericans are known for being pretty strict about when they’re willing to call out of work, but there are also some clear generational differences.
Everyone has their own idea of what makes calling out acceptable. The environment they were raised in has a huge influence on this, giving different age groups different ideas about how they want their work ethic defined.
Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and boomers can't agree on when they should call out.
Older generations usually accept the idea that their jobs and how hard they work are a part of their identity. Younger generations have pushed back, though, and demanded better conditions and work-life balance. These different perspectives mean that they aren’t willing to call out of work under the same circumstances.
Boomers are workaholics who will only call out when it’s absolutely necessary.
Although many boomers have reached retirement age, some are still in the workforce. Whether in the past or the present, this generation has never made taking sick days a habit.
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Baby boomers believe in working hard, almost in an unhealthy way. They’ve always been willing to make sacrifices to reach their professional goals. Because there were so many members of this age group, they’re also used to being competitive. If their employer decided they could be replaced, they wouldn’t have a hard time doing so. They didn’t want to give them that chance.
That’s why boomers hardly ever call out of work. They know that some illnesses and even family emergencies are so serious that they simply can’t go into the office, but they’re more likely to just push through more minor issues with their determination to prove themselves.
Gen X wouldn’t jeopardize their jobs by calling out too often, but they also value work-life balance.
The next generation didn’t experience the same predictability and prosperity that many boomers had. A lot of Gen Xers started working around the same time as an economic recession, so some struggled with unemployment. This made them hard workers who wanted to see real results.
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It would be wrong to call Gen X workaholics like boomers, though. They were really the first generation to expect to have a balanced life outside of work. CEO Stephen Greet noted, “They are driven by the need to secure their future, not by a desire to overwork themselves.”
This mindset gave Gen X a pretty practical view of calling out of work. They have no problem taking a sick day when they need it because they don’t devote everything they have to their careers. At the same time, they don’t really call out of work when they just need a break. It’s almost like they interpreted the definition of what a sick day is in the most literal way possible.
Millennials take their mental health into consideration when they decide if they need to call out of work, which sets them apart.
Millennials had similar problems with finding work during a recession, so they don’t take their jobs for granted or treat them as disposable. They were also the first generation to really have access to remote and hybrid work options from the beginning of their careers. This might discourage them from taking a true sick day when they could work from home instead of the office.
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The most interesting distinction for millennials, though, is their approach to mental health. Talking about anxiety and depression, or any kind of emotions, was stigmatized by older generations in a way that made it seem like a weakness. Millennials have done a lot to break this stigma, and they see their mental health as something that’s just as important as their physical health.
Because of this, millennials don’t just call out of work for a cold or the flu. They also want to take care of their emotional health and avoid burnout, so they have no problem using a traditional sick day as a mental health day.
Gen Z feels no guilt about calling out of work pretty frequently.
The youngest generation in the workforce is regularly criticized for being lazy and not working hard, but this stems from the way they think about work differently. Gen Z wants greater flexibility and the chance to do work they actually care about, which makes their expectations a bit higher.
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Unlike previous generations that did everything they could to not take a sick day, Gen Z is fine with it. A 2023 survey found that they’re the ones who take the most sick days. David Turetsky, the Chief Human Resource Officer at Salary.com, said he finds this “refreshing because if they are not in the right headspace, their productivity will suffer.”
Gen Z isn’t really being lazy, and they aren’t careless with their jobs either. But they do value work-life balance more than any other generation. They see no point in forcing themselves to work when they know they can’t even perform at their best.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
