College graduate insists Gen Z works just as hard after crying about her first 9-5 job

Brielle Asero has started a huge debate about working conditions.

She posted a video to TikTok where she teared up over her first nine to five job after graduating from college.

While she had nothing but praise for the actual work, she lamented her more than hour-long commute to and from the office each day.

It left her with very little time and energy to do things outside of her job, like cooking, cleaning, exercising and seeing friends.

What was meant to be a vent to her followers on social media turned into a humungous media firestorm where she divided opinion and sparked loads of headlines.

Some people called her entitled and ranted about how Gen Z isn't up for the challenges of a real job.

However, others said it highlighted a real problem with the current 40-hour work week and many demanded something change in the workforce so that people could have a real work/life balance.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Brielle was shocked at the reaction her video caused.

“I don’t even understand how this has turned into a political argument when all I was trying to do was open a conversation and be respectful towards people that work even longer hours than I do,” she explained to the outlet.

“Different news stations picked up my video and painted post-grads as entitled and lazy which is far from the case.”

Robert Alexander/Getty Images

She said she's been flooded with horrible comments on social media and haters have managed to track down her personal accounts.

Brielle says it took her five months to land a job after graduating from college with a marketing degree and she believes she's one of the lucky ones.

She put out dozens of applications and only managed to get her foot in the door at one workplace.

The young woman also took time to defend her generation from the nasty jibes from older people.

“[Gen-Z] works just as hard as people before us, with lower salaries and higher costs of living,” she explained to Rolling Stone.

“When the standard work week [was implemented] people could afford to support a family with one spouse staying home and taking care of the mental load, food, and children.

"But that is hardly the case anymore.

"And most people who are mad at me are just taking out the anger they feel over the time they’ve lost working long hours."

Topics: Viral

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

@stewartperrie