Debate erupts on Good Morning Britain over Gen Z being 'lazy workers'

A debate broke out on Good Morning Britain over whether Gen Z workers are lazy. The discussion came off the back of Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, who recently branded Gen Z as "really annoying" to work with.

The morning show started with a poll that asked viewers whether they thought the younger generation were lazy workers. A staggering 64.8 per cent voted yes.

Journalist Nina Myskow, 70, and entrepreneur Adwoa Owusu-Darko then joined in on the conversation.

Myskow, whose past endeavours include The Sun and the News of the World, said she is not "writing off the entire generation," but believes Foster had a point.

She went on to suggest that it isn't Gen Z's fault and that their said work ethic was a result of being "mollycoddled".

"It’s only through adversity that you get some kind of backbone, resilience and work ethic. It’s not that generation’s fault, they have been brought up to feel entitled," Myskow continued, before claiming that their laziness affects businesses who "struggle to find staff."

When Owusu-Darko quizzed Myskow on which businesses, she replied: "I can’t name them, but there are many of them".

Owusu-Darko jumped to defend her generation, saying Gen Z have a "sense of innovation and efficiency” and claimed half of Gen Zers have full-time jobs and side hustles.

"To be able to hold a part-time job and pursue an entrepreneurial endeavour, which is what I did, all the way through university, then start a business, now have five streams of income – that shows Gen Z have a huge capacity to see beyond the constraints of their life," she said.

X/Twitter users soon jumped to the younger generation's defence with one writing: "Employers want staff to work whatever hours suits the employer, often as unpaid overtime (for those in salaried jobs). We tolerated that type of exploitation, but Gen Z won't. They're also quicker to change job if the current one isn't working for them. Good for them!"

Another added: "I feel that Gen Z is doing their best. It’s ironic because millennials were called lazy before. What needs to happen is to listen and each generation so we can coexist and work together not against each other. Calling them lazy isn’t helpful at all."

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.