‘Gen Z’ employee sparks huge debate after missing 8am meeting for workout class

Gen Z employees have been thrust back into the firing line after one worker sparked a huge debate regarding whether people should prioritise their job over their plans.

It all kicked off after a snippet of an episode of Natalie Marie and Ross Pomerantz's Demoted podcast went viral as the hosts hit out at a member of staff who was swerving an 8am meeting to attend a workout class.

The corporate duo were discussing an email that had been sent in by a listener who works in consulting that had complained about a recently hired employee who had refused to rejig their schedule for the sake of the company.

The email read: "When asked to come in for an 8am meeting, my Gen Z new hire said, 'Ugh sorry, can't make it I have a workout class'. Should this be allowed?"

Both Natalie and Ross had very animated reactions to the question, with the latter saying his initial response would have been: "Are you f***ing kidding me?"

"My hand's shaking, and it's not from the caffeine," he added.

Natalie chimed in: "No fully like anger typing this out, I was like please. You just started this job. I don't give a flying s**t about your workout class. Also, an 8 am workout class is too late. Work out at six, maybe seven."

Ross then quipped back: "To monopolise your calendar for things that I would consider to be personal time, that's gonna be a 'no' for me dog. You're going to have to give up some things."

A lot of social media users were unimpressed with their attitudes towards people putting their work-life balance first, so content creator Alexandre Evidente decided to put himself in the employee's shoes and acted out a response.

The self-confessed 'gym rat' who works in corporate remotely explained that most jobs clearly outline the required working hours during the recruitment process, so a member of staff shouldn't be penalised for abiding to this schedule.

In the skit, he fumed: "I go to the gym, I work out because I care about my health. Sure, I can make a sacrifice to go to an 8am meeting had I known at least a week before, not a day before.

"Okay, let's just say I skip the gym. Two things. When can I expect you to reimburse me for my class?

"And two, are you going to be paying me from 8am to 9am? Or at the very least let me leave at 4pm. Natalie, if your answer to both of those are 'no', then there's no discussion needed."

Alexandre later clarified that the clip was his 'genuine reaction in the form of a skit' and that was what his response would have been, because 'employers need to understand we have a life outside of work'.

The Demoted podcast quickly deleted the post from their TikTok page following the intense backlash, as people left thousands of comments defending the worker who wanted to attend their early morning workout class.

One said: "The lesson I learned the hard way jobs want you to die for them but will give you nothing in return. So my job is not my priority, my life is."

Another wrote: "Don't normalise working outside work hours. Once you give in, there will be a second and third time."

Natalie then uploaded a followup video explaining that she had removed the original post due to it 'getting a lot of heat and vicious comments', before adding: "To be clear, we fully deserve this heat."

She offered up some additional context to the story while making it clear that it was not her personal experience and that she had simply been regurgitating a listener's complaint.

Warning: Video below contains strong language:

The podcast host explained: "This is one meeting that happens quarterly that they can include all of their international team members on, it's just something that's part of the team ethos.

"I guess it's communicated to all new hires before they sign and it is to include those team members in Europe and India and obviously its hard to find a time which works for everyone.

"Just to be clear, if you are not getting paid to work before 9am, you do not have to work before 9am! I do not condone that in the slightest.

"If you are hourly, or you work a job where the hours are strictly nine to five, please do not work outside these hours. Your not getting compensated for it, thats not worth it."

What do you think?