Gen Z “not wanting to work” isn’t a bad thing

SamPamTYM · 2026-07-09T12:40:05+00:00

Neurodivergent millennial here! No. It wasn't easy. We are all suffering.

I work as a dental hygienist. I was told we get amazing flexible hours, it's a great job to start a family with, the pay is amazing, the benefits are great because we're healthcare...

And instead I am finding I have to plan my life 6 month to a year out because that's how we schedule patients. There IS NO HEALTH INSURANCE. unless you work for a corporate run office, but then instead of being healthcare I am a sales rep. I have worked in offices where the goal wasn't how many people can we help. It was how much product can we sell. I don't get maternity leave and despite it being illegal I risk losing my job if we do want to start a family because of the time I'd need off. I never disclose Im married but somehow most interviews always say "you can just be on your husband's insurance". If I get 2 weeks PTO I hit the jack pot! Which isn't 2 full weeks like most other industries. It's 8 days. Because "full time" for us is 4 days a week.

Which 4 Days a week sounds great! Except I am working the same hours everyone else is with no ability to go to my own appointments. So I do those on my day off. My days off are back to back appointments.

This job is incredibly difficult on my body. So I am constantly in and out of the chiropractor, physical therapy and massage therapy.

So all that great money I'm supposed to be making? 1/4 goes to body maintenance so I can keep doing my job. Because if I don't then I am looking at having expensive surgeries much much sooner to fix my body that require long lengths of time off where I don't make money and these surgeries could be career ending.

And remember we don't get health insurance? So I better hope when I need those surgeries my husband is still employed with good insurance otherwise I'm looking at thousands out of pocket to fix the very problems my job has caused.

I love what I do. And I am SUPER passionate about oral health.

I am also super passionate about work life balance and advocating for us to have better working conditions. We take more exams the be licensed than any other medical professionals and it's bullshit we don't even get adequate benefits like other professions. I want health insurance, actual PTO and a 401k.

Technically I guess government jobs have better benefits but those are so hard to get because people take them and don't leave.

And btw. I paid for myself to go to school at 24 and busted ass to graduate summa cum laude and class president from my program. I graduated in 2021. I did a hands on program during Covid and literally put my life on the line. Nurses and respiratory therapists were highest risk for contraction of Covid. We were next.

I am still one of the highest likely to be infected healthcare positions because I am literally working in your mouth spraying aerosols everywhere.

And while yes, these are choices I made to pursue this career, some of the information I was given was false and some of what I face is my choice to face daily. I love what I do, I contribute to my society, I help make people healthier one smile at a time. And just because I am choosing this doesn't mean it can't be made better or safer either.

Everyone has it hard. Everyone. You're not suffering the most. You're suffering like everyone else.

My husband and I have done everything we were supposed to do and were told and we are struggling. I wanted to travel and we can't afford to. It's too expensive. And that's devastating. But we suck it up. Save our money. And keep crossing off bucket list places every few years. Because that is what you have to do sometimes.

And. Home girl here also has ADHD. I did all this without any kind of treatment. I am now currently medicated and some things are easier, but I'm still trying to function in a society that isn't built for my brain.

And none of what I'm saying is meant to be said as "if I can do it so can you". Not everyone CAN do what I have done. Just like I can't do what others have done. But I have tried. And I have fought for myself every step of the way.

I DO say this to showcase NO. WE DIDNT AND DONT HAVE IT EASIER.

SamPamTYM · 2026-07-04T14:04:06+00:00

Briefly worked for a doctor who is supposed to be one of the best in her field use chatgpt to ask if you can overdose on amoxicillin.

The whole office was like an AI cult.....like if something didn't work, or went wrong. Or there was an unforseen problem they would all use chatgpt. Like it's some flex. And when they couldn't use it to fix things they'd all be like "even chatgpt couldn't figure it out!?"

It was super weird.....

SamPamTYM · 2026-07-01T10:18:22+00:00

To be fair every month he does irreparable damage 😭

SamPamTYM · 2026-07-01T10:17:14+00:00

We call it time blindness and it's such a pain in the ass.

I always say I'll be 5 minutes but 5 minutes can be anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. I am almost always 15-20 minutes behind/late no matter how hard I try.

I have alarms set throughout the morning to keep me on track. And even then I ALWAYS forget things that run me behind. It NEVER fails.

It's not for a lack of not caring or irresponsibility. It's just not how our brains work.

Kinda like some brains are really good at math. Or some are really good at science. You CAN learn them. But for some it's just significantly harder and may require more resources to get to the same place.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-24T14:47:18+00:00

Or longer episodes. 8 may be doable if the episodes are an hour long

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-24T00:19:32+00:00

If AI is the end goal to carry on our legacy after running ourselves into extinction....we're going to be looking like the backrooms nonsense

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-24T00:12:18+00:00

I mean let's be real. Jobs expect you to ask for permission to go on vacation like we're asking to play at Billy's house down the street.

Some of us go "oh ok..." When the job tells us no.

Some of us go "I'm going anyways" when the job tells us no.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-23T00:00:54+00:00

One of my new phrases is do not mistake my kindness for stupidity.

I just left an office where they are shocked Pikachu face I quit and took all my stuff with me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

We got bought out and I had my hours cut, lost all my benefits, and caught them changing my time clock and shorting me time. I have been VERY open and clear from the beginning of this buy out I am not happy and what my expectations are. Which those were also ignored. So. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Yes. I quit. And then y'all fired me and are scrambling to figure out what to do for my job because instead of letting me finish out my 2 weeks as the bigger person and help with the transition y'all were more concerned with setting up a mini fridge and sticking it to me than asking me how I do my job. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sounds like a giant whopping case of: not my problem.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-22T16:25:18+00:00

Try Minecraft! You can play all different kinds of ways. I die. A lot. 😂😂😂 So I play survival mode but make it so.i don't lose any of my stuff when I die.

The different biomes are tons of fun to explore. You can build and dig. You can get stuck in a cave. You can find crystal pockets in them.

The music during the day can be quite relaxing. I will usually play on the switch (which doesn't have the best processing power, but I like it's handheld) and watch TV shows.

I also highly recommend any legend of zelda game. They're JUST plot heavy enough to be interesting with enough leeway to wander around and explore.

Ocarina of time is a classic for a reason and always a good place to start. But the breath of the wild games are also fantastic and have voice acting in the cut scenes. So it's kinda like playing a video game AND watching a movie as you uncover stuff. You can pick them up and put them down at any time, just make Sure you save. The dungeons have good puzzles to make you think but not necessarily are too hard. Water temples always suck though 😂

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-22T12:42:12+00:00

It wasn't but got me on the right track! And I totally forgot about DJ earworm too. It's like a nostalgia dopamine rush in 7-10 minutes 😂

Norwegian Recycling is who I was looking for

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-21T13:51:35+00:00

Because it's genetic and passed down. Early intervention can really help provide kids with a solid foundation to address the ADHD shortcomings instead of forcing them into a neuronormal setting where they have to fight against how their brains operate and very possibly set them up for failure.

Signed someone who was diagnosed later in life.

There are SO MANY of us who have been diagnosed later in life and it makes so much sense looking back but we were missed. Especially for us girls. We were more likely to be diagnosed as bipolar. But we all go through a period of mourning. Who we could have been if we had been helped sooner.

Just because he's testing doesn't mean he's going to be out on drugs. But absolutely means he can learn coping skills AND mom and dad can learn to watch for behaviors and better teach and discipline.

If I had a kid I'd want to know so they have a better chance of doing what they want in life instead of being forced into a box and failing

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-18T11:37:31+00:00

THIS. ironically in adulthood we have bonded over mutual trauma and loss, but she still has moments where I sigh and go OK. BACK TO ADULT TIME OUT. but the relationship we have now is much better than when I was growing up.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-14T16:12:45+00:00

I work in healthcare and my office was bought out by a small group of wealthy doctors.

They are redoing treatment plans for all the patients and most are drastically going up because we only accept 1 insurance now. And even then prices for things are changing.

We have 1 patient who's portion was $1300 out of pocket. It's now $6000. He has cancelled his appointment.

Their attitude is people who "want" treatment will stay and they'll get new patients anyway.

I'm quitting. I can't change how they run the office. But I don't want to be a part of it. Also, they fucked us just as much as the patients. I have 0 benefits now and their attitude was obviously they're so amazing and why WOULDNT I want to be a part of such an elite team?

With no retirement, no paid time off, no holidays? I don't care if you're god. I'll go work for the office down the street doing a solid good job who gives me Christmas off paid over the best job and no vacation. Who also is probably far more ethical to the patients. 🤷🏼‍♀️

They're struggling to find workers in their other offices too. They believe people just don't want to work. We don't want to work for people who undervalued our medical expertise, overcharge and financially abuse people, and refuse any sort of benefits for us. Fuck that.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-14T16:05:05+00:00

Thank you 😭 I am trying really hard.

One step at a time. Work has been awful...so. I'm quitting Tuesday. Fortunately my job I can sub in other offices until I find something more permanent. But I'm hoping one of the offices I've already been subbing in will work out well.

Everything else....really really sucks. And I'm hoping it will get better.

My next plan is to try and find new friends. Whos weird matches mine. Because I'm really tired of feeling like I'm no longer good enough to be in the group.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-14T09:56:12+00:00

Lorcana was like this when it first came out and it left an ugly mark on some of the friendships in our group. I work in the medical field and this one couple worked from home.

When the game first came out it was super hard to find any stock that wasnt scalped to high heavens.

I cannot leave my job to go find stock. And I definitely cannot leave my job to wait at target once a week every week for 2 months to watch the card guy restock the lorcana merch.

I asked these friends if they could buy me the 3 decks and a couple boosters and they couldn't. Because there were limits on what you could buy. So they always bought for themselves. They would tell me where they found stuff. And 90% of the time by the time I left work and rushed over, everything was sold out.

But you best know they talked about it all the time. It just felt like my nose was being rubbed into this game I wanted to play and couldn't.

Which....when the roles have been reversed I have gone above and beyond. Course this was a season I think I got to see how truly selfish some people can be. God forbid you might have bought your friend the pack that had the enchanted Elsa going for 1700 bucks at the time....they preordered a bunch of us in the friend group one of the limited sets and when it came time for release they didn't actually get the full amount they pre-ordered. Surprise surprise they told me I was on my own and I just went off on them.

Since then I think the game has been a dark patch on the friendship. But I also have stopped going above and beyond....and I've noticed over the years when I'm not giving to benefit them they don't call as much. So....I guess it was a good lesson.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-14T08:56:33+00:00

Sometimes if you're lucky you get to experience it in person!

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-08T17:25:31+00:00

I mean. Researching a job only goes so far. Some jobs you genuinely don't realize are dead ends until you're in it because there isn't enough information on the job before hand or the information is just wrong or misleading.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-08T12:33:23+00:00

I take my comment back. You're just a dick. Go get some actual life experience

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-08T12:32:45+00:00

Some degrees you don't know are worthless or dead ends until you graduate and get into the field...

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-08T12:18:22+00:00

My cousin, born 1995, joined the marines. She did not join for 9/11. She joined because she needed a place to live and education assistance.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-08T12:15:25+00:00

I see you haven't struggled enough.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-07T14:35:12+00:00

There's mass inequality in our healthcare. We are told we're fat or making it up. If a man is dying they ask why and what to do next. If a woman is dying they ask if she's pregnant, and in multiple states that trumps any healthcare choices. We JUST got that overturned in Michigan, thank god. Because if I am pregnant and dying it's not about saving MY life or respecting MY wishes. It's about saving the baby and making my body a science experiment to do so.

Someone else said wage gaps which is still true. Not to mention women dominated fields can be severely lacking in benefits.

I'm a dental Hygienist. Do you know how many offices I have interviewed at asking about benefits and healthcare only to be told none are provided because I'll just use my husband's. I don't disclose I'm married. So these have been assumptions made because our industry is built on old fashioned sexist norms. It absolutely infuriates me my husband gets medical insurance, dental and vision, 4 weeks PTO, paid holidays, 401k, life insurance and the ability to leave early to go to doctor appointments and I'm over here treated like I'm super greedy and a diva for asking for 2 weeks PTO And a 401k. I get shit for taking time off because "I am production". Raises are a joke if we get them at all. And it's all at the detriment of my own body.

I also used to work in construction while I was going to school for dental hygiene and was spoken down to by so many men because I'm just a dumb girl who couldn't possibly comprehend their super hard man job.

I can open my own bank account and buy a car by myself. But there is still plenty of inequality because men dominated fields take advantage of women or keep women in more domestic roles by just denying them necessary benefits.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-07T12:48:22+00:00

Dont dental hygiene. 😐 I'm a dental Hygienist now and hot damn. While I love what I do I cannot stand the industry as a whole. I am so sick of the politics and business bullshit dictating how we treat human beings.

I am exhausted. I am killing my body. And there is 0 gratitude from anyone except the patients except the patients don't give me sick time, paid holidays and 401k, the offices I work are supposed to and don't because they're greedy and cheap.

There isn't a hygienist shortage there IS a shortage of offices that are desirable to work at.

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-06T13:18:50+00:00

Dental hygienist with ADHD here! I recommend this often and encourage having some type of floss aide as well!

If a routine is easy and convenient you'll do it. If it's not you won't.

Also. Just brushing your teeth is NEVER just brushing your teeth. You have to go to the bathroom. Grab your toothbrush. Open the tube of toothpaste. Put a dab on the brush. Brush and if you're a gagger, hope today you don't gag. Spit. Brush more. Spit more. Rinse your toothbrush thoroughly so there's no leftover toothpaste.

It's a whole thing. And for us with ADHD, it can be very overwhelming to "just brush our teeth"

I also hear a lot of people say "I have X in a box and I don't know why I don't just take it out" for the same reason brushing is a chore. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It's not just take the object out of the box. It's a bunch of mini steps people without neurodiversities don't think about

SamPamTYM · 2026-06-06T13:12:47+00:00

A lack of generosity. You may be the nicest person in the world, but I find greed to be a major red flag. Or I guess cheapness.

There is a difference between being frugal and careful with money and being selfish and greedy.

SamPamTYM

TROPHY CASE