Your response to one sentence can expose your age

Your knee-jerk reaction to a simple sentence can completely expose your age and it is a surprisingly common thing to say.

“I just quit my job!”

If your reaction to that sentence is the emotional equivalent of a thumbs up, you are probably a Gen Zer or a younger Millennial.

If that statement hits you with second-hand anxiety and concern, well, you’ve just exposed yourself as a Boomer or, at the very least, someone over the age of 40.

Social media creator Samantha Shea explained this theory when she saw the difference between generations based on reactions to her quitting her job.

“People over 40, when I told them I left my job, they were like ‘Oh my god, what are you going to do’,” she explained.

Samantha Shea explained the theory. Picture: TikTok/samxshea

Quitting her job made her realise a generational divide. Picture: TikTok/samxshea

She said anyone over the age of 40 treated her quitting her job as cause for concern and were quick to inquire about what she’d do next, how she’d pay her rent and how she would keep financially afloat until she secured another job.

When she told anyone in their twenties or early thirties that she’d quit her job, their reaction was excitement, and instead, Ms Shea claimed she was bombarded with compliments.

“They are like ‘Slay Queen, congratulations, let’s go celebrate. You’re the best, you’re the bomb, you’re an icon,’” she said.

Ms Shea admitted she preferred the younger generation’s approach.

“I just love that,” she said.

Ms Shea explained Gen Z are all for quitting jobs. Picture: TikTok/samxshea

Whereas the older generations just worry. Picture: TikTok/samxshea

The comments section was filled with young people confirming her theory.

“The anxiety the older generation projects on you over your choices is unreal,” someone complained.

“Why is this so accurate,” someone wrote.

“It is because we realise our generation gets nothing from hard work. We want to enjoy life, not sell our soul for almost nothing,” someone argued.

“If they are over forty, they are going to act like the world is over for us,” another complained.

Not everyone was on the side of being carefree about employment though.

“Those are real, adult concerns to express, and maybe we shouldn’t always villainise others in these generational wars,” someone cautioned.

“Maybe because older people have more experience in life,” another pointed out.

Your approach to work can reveal your age. Picture: iStock

Psychologist Carly Dober said there’s a clear generational divide in how Aussies think about work.

“Economic conditions and workers rights for young people in Australia are very different from what they were in previous generations. More young people today are working in increasingly casualised positions, and working multiple jobs just to make ends meet,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Dober said this shift has contributed to how young people think about work and their career choices.

“This in part could contribute to the lack of allegiance many Gen Z feel towards their employer or employers,” she said.

She explained the culture has also changed and Generation Z aren’t chasing the same dream as previous generations.

“Gen Z do not feel like they need to be necessarily tied to a role because the Australian dream of homeownership is dead,” she said.

She said Boomers are stuck in a different mindset because of the culture they grew up in.

“For this generation, it is very normal to be working in one role or field with one company until you retire. Their parents may have done the same. This attitude was inherited and is still overwhelmingly the norm,” she revealed. .