#trending: Workout over work? Gen Z new hire who declined 8am meeting to join exercise class sparks heated debate online
UNITED STATES — A TikTok video of a podcast show has sparked a heated discussion online about workplace boundaries and out-of-hours expectations on this topic: Is it acceptable to decline a meeting that is outside your working hours?
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
- A recent podcast show highlighted an incident where a new hire who refused to attend an 8am meeting due to a workout class
- This ignited a debate about workplace boundaries and expectations regarding protocol outside official work hours
- Online discourse reflected a generational divide, with some supporting Gen Zers' prioritisation of mental health and work-life balance
- Others viewed overtime as necessary for career advancement
SHOULD YOU WORK BEYOND YOUR WORKING HOURS?
Ms Marie’s podcast counterpart Ross Pomerantz, who goes by the alias “Corporate Bro” online, said: “My visceral reaction was, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Ms Marie then said: “You just started this job. I don’t give a flying **** about your workout class. “Also, an 8am workout class is too late. Workout at 6am, maybe 7am.” In a video responding to the podcast, TikTok user Alexandre Evidente gave his take on the matter, suggesting that workers should not be expected to work outside working hours and forgo commitments outside of work at the drop of a hat. The content creator argued his point further by suggesting that it was made clear in the interview for the job that working hours for the position was between 9am and 5pm Eastern time. “I made that very clear with human resources because I have commitments outside of work. I go to the gym, I work out because I care about my health.” He also posed two questions: “When can I expect you to reimburse me for the class and... are you going to be paying me from 8am to 9am, or at the very least, let me leave at 4pm?”Mr Evidente‘s video, posted last Friday (Jan 26), took the internet by storm, getting more than 32.3 million views and more than 42,600 comments within five days.
He later clarified that the video was a skit on how he would have responded to Ms Marie’s video as the new hire, and that he was not the new hire discussed on Ms Marie's show.
“Employers need to understand that we all have commitments outside of work, we have a life outside of work,” he said in the follow-up video.
“Employers need to understand that we all have commitments outside of work, we have a life outside of work."
Online users supported Mr Evidente's views, with many people criticising Ms Marie for her statements.
Drawing a contrast of workplace attitudes between different generations, a TikTok user said: “Gen X here. We’ve been brainwashed into giving our souls to employers. Good on Gen Z for putting their mental health first.”
TikTok user “Natasha Smith” said: “Gen Z is a different breed.”
To this, another TikToker replied: “They don’t care and I love that about them. As a millennial, I have learnt a lot from them."
American think tank Pew Research Center defines Gen Xers as those born between 1965 and 1980, millennials as those born between 1981 and 1996, and Gen Zers as those born from 1997 onwards.
One other online user said: “If I signed a contract stating my work starts from 9am to 5pm, I cannot attend an 8am meeting unless it’s an overtime.”
“If it was all the time, then I’m with you but if it was just once they’ll replace you with a more flexible employee.”
However, some people agreed with Ms Marie’s remarks, because they felt that the overtime work was a necessary sacrifice to advance in one’s career.
One said: “That’s right. Stand up for your rights. Just please do not be shocked when others around you are promoted ahead of you.”
In response to Mr Evidente’s video, Ms Marie clarified in a video that some context was missing in the story.
“We got a lot of heat and rightfully so — it was getting vicious in the comments,” she said, adding that the new hire was a consultant with an estimated US$100,000 (S$134,000) salary (a year) who was made aware of the quarterly 8am meeting before taking the job.
“This is for a salaried employee,” she added. “If you are hourly or you work a job that’s strictly nine to five, please do not work outside those hours — you’re not getting compensated for it and that’s not worth it.”
Many viewers still think Ms Marie missed the point, because they felt that salaried employees are equally entitled to their time away from work.
One questioned: “So salaried employees are essentially on call all the time? Did his contract state that? Or did it specify work hours?”
Another asked: “Maybe I’m wrong but even if you're a salaried employee and your working hours are 9am to 5pm, why would you be expected to attend an 8am meeting?”
DO GEN Z WORKERS HAVE DIFFERENT WORKPLACE EXPECTATIONS?
Gen Z workers have earned a reputation for going against the grain on workplace attitudes held by previous generations.
In 2022, a Singapore employer went on the internet to air grievances after a student asked for an online interview even though an in-person interview was set up with him.
Calling the behaviour "entitled", the employer told AsiaOne news site that he felt it was about being professional and "hungry" for the job.
"It's sad and frustrating because it’s not just one Sarah but a whole generation or two of them," he said in reference to the Gen Z jobseeker.
In 2022 as well, a public relations firm's founder Tjin Lee drew flak online after expressing that she found it a "worrying" trend that more young people seemed to be unmotivated to work hard.
She cited examples of Singaporeans in their 20s asking about “work-life balance” and “flexi working options” as the first question during job interviews.
Last October, a university graduate in the United States went viral online with an emotional rant on how it was hard to maintain a personal life while working a nine-to-five job.
She called the 9am-to-5pm schedule “crazy” and expressed a desire for better work-life balance, suggesting that working from home would make it easier.
A survey last year by professional services firm Deloitte in Singapore reported that 69 per cent of Gen Zers would consider seeking new job opportunities if their employers insisted on full-time on-site work, among other diverging attitudes towards work.
