Those who work corporate jobs - how are you doing?
Older Gen Z here. I’ve been in my corporate supply chain role for about five years and am feeling deeply unsatisfied. I had long viewed a corporate desk job as golden handcuffs to ride out until retirement. Now I think daily about leaving corporate America altogether.
I’m stuck in the weird middle ground between AI-related layoffs at our organization and the deployed technology not yet being able to substitute that labor, so my day is nonstop and our helpful yet low-on-the-rung management is signaling help is not on the way in either hiring or improved tech down the pipeline.
I feel like I was told that although corporate work would be soulless it would at least afford opportunity for work-life balance, stability, and flexibility, however through my own experience and my friends’ takeaways, a corporate job in 2026 from my persecutive just seems anything but. Eventually the tech will catch up to where it needs to be so I’ll probably be on the chopping block too.
My friend’s dad works at city parks and recreation job and makes a decent base income ($70k) for our area, works about 40 hours with overtime available upon request, doesn’t think about his job after he clocks out, and will receive a full pension upon retirement. I feel like there are silly social ramifications in not using your college degree in my community but existing in those social norms for a job that pays only marginally better feels so silly.
Obvious caveat that the grass is always greener on the other side and I know that all careers come with their own burdens.