Gen Zers are actively fleeing their desks for a very 2025 reason.
If you’re wondering where all the young office workers are, check your watch. It might be sweet treat time.
With their firm boundaries, baggy jeans, and rolled-eye approach to traditional hierarchal structures, the youngest working generation has introduced snack time into office life.
Millennial PR boss, Grace Garrick, 30, has hired a gaggle of Gen Zers for her successful agency MVMNT and she’s become very familiar with the culture of young workers needing mini-breaks in the day.
Garrick told news.com.au she considers herself an expert in this area because her local EzyMart knows all her Gen Z staffers, not just by face but by name.
“The 3 p.m. sugar break is more than just getting over that afternoon slump. It is a moment of self-care and indulgence,” she explained.
“When you’re ‘adulting’ there feels like a constant to-do list, and the 3 p.m. sugar break lets us go back to simpler times of childhood like getting a sweet treat at the local corner store, among the whirr of corporate life,” she explained.
Garrick said this is just another example of Gen Zers “refining corporate culture” and prioritizing comfort and wellbeing over outdated workplace norms.
“It’s a convenient little reward that makes an office environment feel like home, and we’re shaking up our work life to align with what brings us joy,” she said.
Ms Garrick started working when hustle culture was at its peak, and overworking yourself was seen as a brag.
She has really appreciated the cultural shift, which has also helped her learn how to have fun at work.
“3 p.m. is like a victory lap after the daily grind,” she said.
The PR boss said that she’s also noticed Gen Zers in her office are known for always having three beverages on their desks at any given time.
“One for basically every single little sweet break they have during the day,” she said.
Garrick said sweet treat time in her office isn’t just at 3pm, but her Gen Z staffers are often taking micro-breaks to reset and refuel.
It doesn’t bother her, and she’s not interested in screaming at them to get back to their desks. In fact, she sees it as a positive thing. Instead of being mindlessly unproductive at their desks, they’re prepared to take a break so they can refocus again.
“It is an opportunity to break up the day and gives everyone something to look forward to,” she said.
“More importantly, it’s something usually enjoyed as a team – you know, when 3:00 p.m. hits and everyone is jetting out the door together. You’ll find us doing TikToks together, taste-testing new treats we have found on our sugar breaks.”
Workplace expert Roxanne Calder said she’s not against the breaks in theory but it is definitely a different approach to what her generation is used to.
“You’re talking to a Gen X, who takes no breaks; I’ll tell you what the issue is: it isn’t a bad thing because studies show breaks are healthy for you,” she said.
“The real issue is, is it too many? I mean that on every level.”
Ms Calder said if it is “too many”, it shifts from micro-breaks to “micro-avoidances” and worries Gen Zers are lacking motivation and always looking for a distraction.
The workplace expert said Gen Zers are “less engaged” and the sweet trend is a “shame” because too many are lacking purpose.
“The issue isn’t the breaks, it is why are they taking breaks?” She said.
Ms Calder commented that she’s “probably ruined her bladder for life” because she is so focused on her job and takes pride in it and yet Gen Zers adopt a radically different approach.
“The breaks are constant,” she said.
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