Exclusive | Working hard or hardly working? Gen Zs brutally honest backlash over out of touch work-life balance ignites TikTok

A millennial CEO called out Gen Z’s work ethic — and got flamed for it.Lindsey Carter, founder of activewear company Set Active, said she wasn’t prepared for the backlash she faced after critiquing Gen Z’s take on work-life balance in a now-deleted TikTok video. “Now all I see are people sprinting out of their offices at 5pm like it’s a fire drill and then wondering why they feel so unfulfilled in their careers,” Carter posted last week.“Balance is important, but balance without ambition.That’s just coasting,” Carter continued.

“You don’t build something great by just doing the bare minimum.”The backlash was fast — and furious.Critics slammed Carter, suggesting she was promoting unpaid work and ignoring burnout. “Staying past 5pm working for a company I have no equity in doesn’t sound like the path to fulfillment, ” one TikToker responded.“How can I be active if I have to be strapped to my desk after 5pm?” another wrote.

Carter quickly deleted the post — then blasted her critics on her Instagram story and claimed she’d been cancelled.“What followed wasn’t dialogue.It was a pile-on,” Carter wrote.

“It doesn’t leave room for the thing we all say we believe in ..

.growth.”She didn’t stop there. “I’m a millennial.

I grew up in a culture where ‘hard work pays off’ wasn’t just a phrase ..

.it was a promise,” Carter said in a May 30 Substack essay defending her position.

“Two truths can coexist ..

.we can honor ambition and protect our peace.”But for many online, that didn’t cut it. Haters noted Set Active’s negative Glassdoor reviews and Carter’s 2023 decision to restructure her social media team, which some interpreted as layoffs.  “She just had a bad take and is out of touch,” one Reddit user wrote.

“That’s consequences, not cancellation.”The controversy has since evolved into a larger debate over what ambition should look like in today’s workforce and whether Gen Z ...