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  News You Can Use

By David Bachelor, PhD

The post-COVID changes to workplace culture is an ongoing thread in the news. This week’s installment introduces a new term to office culture vernacular: “lazy girl job.”

The Guardian’s Daisy Jones preempted this story line two weeks ago with her July 9th story, “Gen Z Want to Work ‘Lazy Girl Jobs’. Who Can Blame Them?” Jones defined “lazy girl jobs” as menial office positions, “…that are undemanding but well enough paid, with little personal passion involved.” In the current hybrid work environment, these jobs only require occasional in-person attendance, minimum personal contact, and the main task is answering emails.

On July 23, Yahoo Finance ran the Fortune article, “Gen Z Is Embracing ‘Lazy Girl Jobs’ in a Rebuke of Millennials’ ‘Girlboss’ and ‘Lean In’ Manias.” The article exhibited the mindset of ‘lazy girl” work by reducing this new job-type to “LGJ.” To deflect any criticism that an LGJ holder lacked motivation, the article offered clarification, “The goal of an LGJ is to find balance and decenter the 9-to-5 grind,…ensuring that the mental energy—and overtime hours—that would otherwise be wasted on an unappreciative employer can be rerouted to the things that matter: Passions, family, travel, social life.” According to the article, the LGJ phenomenon is a response to the unrequited sacrifice given by ‘girlbosses’ in the 2010’s. A career coach quoted in the piece warns her LGJ clients of a different type of sacrifice they may have to make, “Gen Z could do fine with an LGJ paying $70,000, but they must also recognize it won’t get them vacations or homeownership.”

The Bible does not have a Greek or Hebrew equivalent to LGJ. It does speak in a genderless way about the hazards of being lazy. Proverbs 6:6 directs the vocationally challenged, “You people who don’t want to work, think about the ant! Consider its ways and be wise!” A few verses later the lazy are taken to task, “You might sleep a little or take a little nap. You might even fold your hands and rest. Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you. You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you” (Pro 6:10-11). Even as LGJ is trending, it appears Proverbs 6’s prediction of its demise is already taking place. The Fortune article noted, “Many of the jobs that are apt for lazy girls—ones that allow workers to coast and require little effort or creativity—can soon be automated with A.I. It already caused over 4,000 layoffs in May, and the number will likely rise.”

The Bible does have an equivalent for “girlboss.” It is the “virtuous woman” (Prov 31:10). The Bible says the virtuous woman, “…gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants” (Prov 31:15). Rather than doing the LGJ minimum, the virtuous woman, “Sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night” (Prov 31:17-18). In additional to material rewards, God commands his people (which means us) “Honor the virtuous woman for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate” (Prov 31:31).

God set this command long before COVID, and I hope there are virtuous women to praise long after no one remembers the pandemic.