Normally, this would be the time for most employees to make sure they're the most valuable asset at a company – especially with layoffs surging and AI slowly replacing entry level jobs across various industries. 

Yet, Gen Z workers don't seem to be getting the message. Instead of putting in long hours, many young workers remain convinced that work-life balance is their nonnegotiable right – even as the ground shifts beneath their feet.

Across industries, entry-level employees say they're not responding to emails after 5 p.m., staying out late on work nights or carving out weeknight pickleball time – behaviors that would have been unthinkable for young workers during earlier periods of economic softening. Managers say the detachment is coming at the exact moment younger employees most need to demonstrate grit, reliability and value, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Damaryan Benton, a 24-year-old at an advertising firm in Los Angeles, checks in with his supervisors before logging off and makes clear he won't be working after hours. "After five if I'm not by my laptop, I'm not by it," he said. "I don't provide an explanation for it, either."

Nia Joseph, who works at a Houston ophthalmology practice, said she recently stayed out until 2 a.m. on a Sunday – even though she had to be at work before 8. A few years ago, she says, she would have gone home early. "It reminded me that I used to enjoy things a bit more," she said.

And Jessica Moran, a senior audit associate in New Jersey, said she made sure her manager understood that pickleball practice takes priority during certain weeknights.

"I was asking associates, senior associates and managers questions to gauge their work-life balance and what it truly looked like," the 24-year-old Moran told the WSJ, adding "For me, that means there must be work-life balance here."

The shared theme: Gen Z wants work to adapt to their lifestyle, not the other way around.

Older Workers See Red Flags. Gen Z Doesn't.

Executives say the disconnect is widening just as the labor market shows unmistakable signs of cooling.

Companies are slowing hiring, eliminating positions and cautioning new employees that boundaries may be blurry. Historically, periods of economic uncertainty would prompt younger professionals to work harder to prove they could be counted on.