What’s behind TikTok’s #lazygirljobs trend — and do you actually want one?

Earlier this year, TikToker Gabrielle Judge, aka the “anti-work girlboss,” posted a now-viral two and a half minute video.

The subject was the “Lazy Girl Job,” which captured the imagination of viewers to such an extent that Judge’s video now has more than 345,000 views. The concept then took on a life of its own and has spawned the proliferation of the #lazygirljobs hashtag, which has rocketed past 17 million views on the platform.

Judge was quick to quantify what a lazy girl job actually is. “A lazy girl job is basically something you can just quiet quit […] There’s lots of jobs out there where you could make, like, 60 to 80k, and not do that much work and be remote.”

Not working unsociable hours, and having time for childcare are two elements she flags as being essential to the quintessential lazy girl job, which, she says is more easily found in non-technical tech jobs, such as marketing associates, account managers, or customer success roles.

Typically these jobs offer decent pay and equity in the company. They’re safe, and represent, “an easy job that is extremely flexible,” Judge says. But, as the name suggests, this is a concept that is gendered, and without proper examination could be misconstrued as women wanting to sit back and be carried in the workplace.

After decades of women striving to be treated equally, the gender pay gap in the EU stood at 12.7% in 2021, meaning women earn 13% on average less per hour than men. Given that context, it is important to consider that the idea of the lazy girl job is actually a reaction to the grind culture that has beset the workplace over the past number of years.

Judge has clarified that the term is not actually about laziness, or what she calls “mouse jiggling”—also known as being present, but doing little.

Reasonable responsibilities and expectations

Where Millennial workers popularised the idea of side hustles, and working all the hours there are, Gen Z is pushing back against these expectations. This cohort of workers want careers that support their work-life balance—and which don’t leave them wrung out at the end of the day.

Reframed in this way, there’s a lot to recommend a lazy girl job, for all genders. Or, as it is otherwise known, a job with reasonable responsibilities and expectations, decent pay and a manageable level of stress.

While Judge is from the US, and operating in an environment where paid time off, maternity leave, and social security protections are significantly less than those enjoyed by European workers, employees on this side of the Atlantic are also burned out and looking for better work options.

After a pandemic period where 44% of workers said that their work stress had increased as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, 46% said they’re being exposed to severe time pressure or work overload.

Work-related health issues have also increased in Europe, with 30% reporting at least one health problem such as overall fatigue, headaches, eyestrain, muscle problems or pain, caused or made worse by work.

Lack of engagement

That bloc-wide stress and fatigue has led to another trending topic: the phenomenon of quiet quitting, which is what happens when employees put in the minimum amount of effort to keep their jobs and get paid, but never go above and beyond.

McKinsey data has found that this is happening in Europe, and that workplace engagement is poor here too. It also says that 79% of Europeans who report low levels of engagement or support factors are likely to leave their jobs.

What workers want, says McKinsey, is more workplace flexibility, as well as a physically and psychologically safe workplace. According to Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, this, “means an absence of interpersonal fear. When psychological safety is present, people are able to speak up with work-relevant content.”

That sounds a lot like an engaged workforce—which really matters, because employees who are engaged with their roles are committed to not only their work, but are also more invested in their company’s success.

If that sounds good to you, browse for a new role with great pay and meaningful work on The House of Talent Job Board now