In May this year, an influencer, Gabriel Judge, posted about something called the ‘Lazy-girl job’ on her TikTok account. The topic became so popular that it began trending under the hashtag #lazygirljob. Now, I know, the term sounds kind of suspicious. But according to Judge, the lazy-girl job is where you can maintain a healthy work-life balance. Because honestly, not everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder at the expense of their overall health and relationships.
But ever since the term has become popular, we’ve gained more clarity about what else we can define it as. The lazy-girl job is a work opportunity where you’re not being micro-managed and pushed beyond your limits to meet targets, where you have the flexibility to meet your professional requirements without putting your mental health on the chopping block. So basically, it’s a job that allows you to create a healthier life for yourself.
Truthfully, there is no such thing as a ‘lazy job,’ because every job has its unique set of challenges and requires certain skill sets. But again, this trend is more about finding a job where you’re not consumed by thoughts of how to move up in an organisation or of how you can be your most productive self. Because the need to be productive can often lead us to adopt poor coping mechanisms.
Unfortunately, though, there are some sexist opinions that have emerged as a response to the trend. Some people are questioning why women are looking for remote jobs where they no longer have to be concerned with being go-getters when for decades we have been fighting to be equal participants in the workforce.
Well, the thing is while the generations before us fought to be seen as capable additions to the workforce (and, in fact, everywhere else), the current economy is hardly conducive for anyone to even strive to climb the corporate ladder. The market and economy we exist in today is so saturated, that it has reached a point of dense competition, and that too competition that isn’t helping anyone reach their lifestyle goals. We’re in the thick of capitalism; It’s the most difficult to manoeuvre through in the current day and age. And the lazy-girl job is just a response to a failing system.
This is why, much of the other content that Gabriel Judge has created is a wake-up call for women on how they’re being professionally exploited. That one TikTok video she posted about getting a lazy-girl job was just a sliver of advice and insight about how women are at a disadvantage in most professional spaces today.
Take a look at this video, for instance:
Judge frequently creates and posts videos to help people realise that there are other ways to generate income and thrive in the current economy. Because, lord knows that that one, high-stress job is not a sustainable source of income. Her content makes you realise that there is nothing wrong with looking for jobs that support your mental health, that it doesn’t matter if the world doesn’t understand the work you do or if people think you’re not doing anything ‘valuable’ with your life.
The lazy-girl job trend is a declaration to the world that you can pursue a job where people might not be able to see you as an asset to society at large, because maybe, just maybe our purpose in life is to be more than just a resource for the people around us.