You know? You have your perception, observations, intuitions and you present everything best that you know and believe, and then someone comes and explains to you: It's not like that at all. Quite the opposite, Generation Z is not lazy!

You have a moment of doubt until you realize: No, I'm right, I'm not stupid and I know what I'm doing. And I never said or wrote that Generation Z should be lazy.

Under the headline “Only prejudice is lazy,” the newspaper Die Zeit, which I appreciate for its thorough research, wrote: “Current figures prove once again that the myth of lazy youth is not true. But why is it so difficult for society to get out of this box?

The weekly working hours have decreased

Then quotes appeared according to which Markus Lanz had said that today's youth is “an oat milk society, like a guava juice group, which really seeks at all times the ideal balance between personal and work life.”

Entrepreneur Wolfgang Grupp asked the “rhetorical” question: “Everything works better when working from home, do you really believe that?” And finally I was quoted (rightly) as saying that the young generation “has no stamina or discipline.”

The article reports on a study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). He said the results would probably be “quite surprising” to Lanz, Grupp and others who had made similar statements:

Although the average weekly working time of permanent employees has fallen from 38.54 hours in 1991 to 36.32 hours in three decades, “according to the DIW study, employees are on average 25 percent more productive today than they were 30 ago.” years”.

Who really says Generation Z is lazy?

This means they earn more now than they did then, even though they spend less time at work. Conclusion from a DIW employee: The claim that the younger generations “don't feel like working” is a myth.

The question is: what serious scientist, consultant, politician, manager or businessman actually claims that Generation Z is “lazy”?

Lanz's statement about “pursuing the ideal work-life balance” does not indicate laziness, but it does indicate that Generation Z's desire to spend as little time as possible at work is very pronounced.

Grupp's reference to wanting to spend five days a week at the head office is not a suggestion of laziness. My statement of “no resistance, no discipline” may be as harsh as the gentlemen's statements, but I am definitely not referring to laziness.

Of course, among young people there are also lazy men and women, as in all previous generations. And I don't think that will change in the future. But it is written over and over again. Everywhere.

Mentally ill people are not lazy

Generation Z has a reputation for being “lazy”, it is said here and there. One takes it from the other. In my book, which even made the “Spiegel” list, which made me very happy, I expressly distance myself from talking about a “lazy generation.” Because that's unfair. And there is no evidence of this, much less scientific evidence.

Take Germany's 630,000 NEETs, for example. The abbreviation means “Not in education, employment or training.” I am sure that among them there are many people who have no desire to do anything, who reject “the system”, the world of work; maybe some of them use their anti-capitalist attitude to cover up their laziness.

But to denigrate the 630,000 young men and women as “lazy people” who “don't feel like working” would be completely wrong, petty and fatal. Because among them there are people who may be waiting a year to find the place of study or training of their dreams or who suffer from depression and therefore cannot do anything.

For God's sake, mentally ill people are not lazy! They do not have the strength to pursue careers and deserve consideration.

However, NEETs are a problem. 630,000 people live in Düsseldorf. This means that the population of the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is now or will soon be absent from the labor market.

The talk about lazy Generation Z bothers me.

And whatever the individual reasons, alarm bells should ring. That is exactly what interests me, that we find the reasons for what is going wrong in our country, where are the reasons why young people have so many difficulties finding their place in life. This has social implications that everyone needs to see.

This is precisely why the constant conversation about “lazy Generation Z” bothers me. It's about the excesses, the strange behavior that exists in Generation Z. Here I return to the beginning of my column.

I am not a madman, I have not written any fantasy and I know what I have heard and seen. Every entrepreneur and every HR person can sing a song about it.

An Austrian woman wrote a review of my book on Thalia and also gave an example: “We (an Austrian federal agency) recently advertised an apprenticeship position for the profession of “administrative assistant” (i.e. an office position). One applicant (25 years old) said that he would only like to work 20 hours a week, but would like to work completely from home, with a full-time salary of course, membership to a gym of his choice and a company car. . Our head of human resources lost his temper.”

Germany lacks skilled workers

I can understand that. Hello! You're crazy? That's not laziness either. But no one will claim that such demands are normal.

The truth is that in Generation Z it is popular to satisfy one's own needs and not take others into account. Company managers quote young people like this: “Working eight hours straight in a day, I just can't do it, it's too exhausting for me.”

Where does this lead? Germany is short hundreds of thousands of qualified workers. Since boomers will soon be fully retired, it is important for young people to help close this gap in the labor market. So Generation Z is immensely important. But he should not exploit this position of power in an egotistical manner, as many of his relatives are currently doing.

Older generations are not perfect

What I am describing is the tip of the iceberg: the entitlement, hypersensitivity, arrogance, arrogance and absurd desires of young people at work. But I also say: there are many Z representatives who work hard and are socially and politically committed.

The older generations aren't perfect either and complain to me too much. Young and old can learn from each other and improve work for everyone. It is important that, despite different socializations, values ​​and needs, we generate a willingness to dialogue to find constructive solutions. Only the right mix does it.

We need a new generational contract that really works. I'm there and happy to help make it a success.