"MORONS. Pure and simple.” “Brainwashed, sad really.”

“They are lucky they can afford to be so picky – or are mum and dad having to pay for everything?”

These words can be found in the comments section of a Telegraph article about a trend happening with Generation Z workers as according to a new piece of research, people aged between 18 and 24 are more likely to reject a job offer if it comes from a company with poor environmental credentials.

“But Assa”, you may ask me, “why on Earth would you put yourself through such pain? Nothing good ever happens in the comments section, or ever so rarely. Especially under Telegraph articles.”

But for the sake of this column, and because I like to know what other people think, however ridiculous I may find those opinions, I sacrificed a bit of my peace of mind and read those comments, so you don’t have to.

First of all, I would like to give my sympathies to Gen Z. I know what you guys are going through. Millennials such as myself used to endure the same kind of criticism. “Millennials are know-it-all, entitled brats! Millennials don’t want to work! Millennials spend all their money on avocado toast instead of saving for a house! Millennials have loose morals and dress funny!” The list of things to blame on my generation seemed to go on and on.

Now, I am sorry to say, it is your turn, and unfortunately, it all sounds like a broken record.

Every generation says the next one is lost and confused – especially when it comes to our relationship with work.

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So, it appears young people want their work lives to be aligned with their values. I, for one, think this is great news. That means that young workers are aware of their worth and will not accept any offer just because they are new to the game – if a business wants their skills and talents, they are just going to have to be better. It is one way of getting employers to clean up their act.

After all, this is not so different from avoiding fast-fashion brands in favour of more sustainable and local brands, or choosing to take a train instead of flying – if you are able to make that choice.

But we should recognise that the more people make those choices, the more pressure is applied to businesses. If companies with a reputation for bad environmental and work practices struggle to recruit, surely that would prompt them to have a good long look in the mirror.

I find the outrage emanating from these comments – and from so many in our society – truly baffling.

Would they look at their children or grandchildren who are working or looking for work in the eyes, and tell them: “Actually, take a job, any job, from any company, at any cost for yourself and society”? “Accept any condition, as degrading as they may be because that is all you are worth”?

Haven’t our parents, grandparents, and all those before them worked so hard so that future generations could have more choices and better working and living conditions?

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These reactions say more about the worldview of the people who hold them than about young workers – the balance of power between employers and employees still tilts heavily in favour of employers.

It is at best caricatural, at worst downright offensive to portray young people as unwilling to prove themselves and climb the ladder.

Nobody expects to land the perfect job, with the perfect salary and the perfect perks right at the beginning of their career. We all know that we have to put on some proper graft to get anywhere, especially in this economy – except, maybe, those whose parents are able to land them a position with a flick of the finger.

People are struggling and need to pay rent – they will make compromises and accept jobs that are not their dream jobs, that may not even be in their comfort zone, not even in their preferred region, sometimes even in a different country.

They will be away from their partner, accept wages that are less than ideal, and work crazy hours.

I could tell you about a friend who accepted a job offer on another continent and only saw his fiancee twice a year because they both thought that they would reap the rewards of his sacrifice in the future – but they never did, as he passed away from cancer aged just 33.

I could also tell you about my previous underpaid job – which I quit to return to freelancing and move to Scotland – where my employer expected me to be available to work day, night and weekends, gave me no flexibility at all to use my holidays, and even went as far as trying to prevent me to take some time off to bury my own father.

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One of my colleagues, who started at the company at the same time as me, was called into the director’s office to explain (wait for it, it’s a good one!) why he stopped doing unpaid overtime…

More recently, a French journalist who is about 20 years my senior told me she thought reporters from my generation complain too much and should put up with a bit of sexism – because that was part of working with older male journalists.

These are not exceptionally bad experiences; truth be told, I don’t know any single person who doesn’t have a similar story of employers’ abuse of power to tell, especially in their first couple of jobs. But we should all agree that none of this is acceptable. There is so much you can put up with at the beginning of your career – however, paying your dues is not synonymous with abuse.

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Unfortunately, this mindset is all too prevalent in some sectors of the economy. In fact, some businesses have it as part of their economic model. They operate like monsters that need to be fed a consistent ration of enthusiastic, maybe slightly naive entry-level professionals, only to burn them out and replace them with new people.

This leads to demotivation, disillusionment, and generally doubt about your life choices. There is no wonder the term “quiet quitting”, or the fact of just doing what you are paid to do and shying away from any special effort, has become viral over the past few months – it says a lot about the state of the labour market.

After a decade in this industry, I am still struggling to say no to unpaid work and to stand my ground when unkind colleagues – not in this newspaper, I should clarify – make me doubt my skills, despite everything I have achieved. It takes time to deconstruct the feeling of insecurity inherent to being a newcomer, and just to have some pride. But I am getting there.

So instead of criticising young people for finally starting to advocate for themselves, let’s celebrate this as an advancement for working people. In a time of economic hardship, it takes courage and resolve to stand up and say: “I deserve better.”