Gen Z graduate in tears over reality of 9-5 job: ‘I don’t have the energy’

‘Welcome to the Matrix.’

A young college graduate has broken down in tears over the reality of working 9-5 after getting her first proper job.

Brielle, who lives in New Jersey in the US, explained in a video posted to social media that she had a long commute into New York City and back each day for her job, and her hours left her stressed and exhausted.

She added she barely had time to cook dinner, socialise, date or work out by the time she got home every day.

Her video has gone viral with more than 1.5 million views, with most agreeing the 9-5 schedule was bad for mental health and a balanced lifestyle.

But others were less sympathetic, telling Brielle to get used to life in “the real world”.

“Nothing to do with my job at all, but just, like, the 9-5 schedule in general is just crazy,” Brielle said, noting she had to live in New Jersey and commute to work because living in central New York was unaffordable.

While not specifying what type of job she had, Brielle indicated she was not able to work remotely.

“I leave here and get on the train at, like, 7.30am and I don’t get home until 6.15pm earliest,” she said.

“I don’t have the time to do anything.

“I want to shower, eat my dinner and go to sleep. I don’t have the time or energy to cook my dinner either.

“I don’t have energy to work out, like, that’s out of the window. I’m so upset, oh my god.”

She apologised for being “emotional” and “dramatic” — but many of her followers agreed and called for a shorter working week.

“Gen Z need to collectively move up into management positions and then collectively enforce the four-day work week,” one person said.

“It’s so repetitive and depressing. I feel you girl,” wrote another.

“You’re not alone; it’s insane how legit your entire day is gone.”

“The 40-hour work week is beyond outdated and your feelings are totally valid,” another agreed.

“Five days of work and 2 days off feels like hell.”

Added another: “40-hour work week was designed with a homemaker to take care of house tasks. We need dual incomes now, so that’s not possible. No time for anything.”

‘Welcome to adulthood’

Several workers who had managed to switch to working from home since COVID said they could never go back to the daily office commute.

“Drove to an office for 30 years. Remote now and I would absolutely never go back,” one person said.

“Life is so much better working from home.”

Others were less sympathetic, suggesting Brielle get used to “the real world”.

“You could always quit and join the military,” one person wrote.

“Awww welcome to adulthood,” added another.

“Like, imagine having kids to come home to after that,” yet another said.

In a video follow-up, Brielle said she felt lucky to have a job and understood it would be much harder if she had children or pets to care for, too.

“I give so much grace to (working parents) because it is incredibly hard in America to be emotionally and mentally stable when your days are structured like that,” she said.

She added she was used to a slightly less structured routine because a good chunk of her studies had been conducted remotely due to COVID lockdowns.

She finished up by saying the only people benefiting from the 9-5 routine were the big bosses.

“It’s not fair, the only people (who) are benefitting are people who run the corporations,” she said.

“Or people who are extremely rich or influencers (who) don’t have to work a regular schedule.”

“Welcome to being a grown-up,” one cynic noted.

“Only 30 more years of work to go.”

Another joked: “Welcome to the Matrix.”

SOURCE: 7NEWS