How Gen Z killed the #girlboss.

Corporate hustle culture was once worn as a badge of honour. We were slaves to the grind, wanting to claw our way to the top of the career ladder. But we've had enough. The #girlboss is dead, and we're not going to the funeral.

It's 2025 and women are still underpaid, underrepresented and overworked. We're done playing by the old rules. Move over, toxic work culture and burnout. We're writing our own playbook now.

We spoke to 60 women across generations about work in 2025, and the verdict is clear: we're rejecting toxic culture and embracing what actually matters.

"I work four days and then two days off. I don't need to climb the corporate ladder anymore," says Pip, an airport guest services worker. "I love not stressing about work unfinished, turning up and just seeing what happens."

Elissa wishes she'd chosen fulfilment over security: "I was always so grateful to have a well-paying role which enabled me to afford private schooling for my three kids… now my lifestyle is such I need to maintain my salary or make dramatic changes to change my career."

For Alyssa*, the reality hit harder: "I thought coming out of uni I was ready to 'girlboss' hard. By two years into work, I realised I'd been sold a lie — that a career could truly make me happy and that I could push 100 per cent at work while also giving my all in my personal life."

One thing's crystal clear: the way we think about work is changing, and fast.

Watch the trailer for BIZ, Mamamia's new podcast that's rewriting the rules of work for a new generation. Post continues below.

The rise and fall of the girlboss.

We all remember girlboss culture — whether we were her, wanted to be her or knew her.  The term exploded when Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso coined it in 2014. Her secret? Grinding like her life depended on it. By 2016, Nasty Gal had filed for bankruptcy. These days, even Sophia has distanced herself from the phrase. We've seen a shift in the corporate world, too, especially after the pandemic normalised remote work.

"Originally, 'girlbossing' stood for empowerment, but the reality feels more like exhaustion," explains Soph Hirst, founder of Workbaby and co-host of Mamamia's new work podcast BIZ. "You can have it all, but do you want to dedicate every spare minute of your life to building it?"

Gen Z says, 'Thanks, but no thanks'.

Long hours, unpaid overtime, and burnout used to be seen as necessary evils for success. But today, work is less tied to old ideas of career and reward, with Gen Z leading the charge, according to EY's latest Work Reimagined Survey.

Each generation had their own carrot dangling in front of them. Boomers got job security. Gen X got corner offices. Millennials got... well, "making a difference". But eventually, reality hits: work is just work.

Kerrin, a central government manager, agrees. While she loves her job, she tells Mamamia that Gen X women were sold a fantasy: "That we could have and be it all: the career, the partner and kids, time for yourself… But I look around my friends, who are all at the age of 50, and realise that is a dream. Invariably something has given way — a marriage, an anxious child, a duelling career, health."

But Gen Z? They're writing their own rules. They've seen their parents come home exhausted, missing school concerts for "important meetings", and sacrificing their mental health at the altar of career progression. And they've decided: No thanks.

Instead, they're rewriting the rulebook. They're embracing "quiet quitting" (aka doing exactly what we're paid for), taking up "dumb jobs" that don't follow them home, and leaning hard into AI to work smarter, not harder – with 58 per cent now using generative AI at work.

Listen to the first episode of BIZ, Mamamia's new work podcast. Post continues below.

The numbers tell the story: Gen Z and millennials are 1.8 times more likely to quit than baby boomers. In fact, 38 per cent of Gen Z say they're likely to quit their jobs in the next year. Research shows most people will go through three to seven careers before retirement. For millennials and Gen Z, it's expected to be more like up to 17 jobs across seven careers.

When only 29 per cent feel highly motivated at work (compared to 41 per cent of Boomers), and two-thirds are feeling burned out, can you blame them for jumping around?

Maybe that's partly why they're so switched on about seeing work for exactly what it is — a transaction where both sides need to bring something valuable to the table. And they're not settling for less.

"There's still a lot of hard work and hustle going on (yes, by Gen Z too) and people want interesting careers that pay well, they just know that their job is only one slice of their bigger life-pie," Soph tells us. "I call it 'cosy ambition' — you want a successful career, but you don't want to feel anxious and overwhelmed every day reaching for it."

Campaign strategist Ella*, agrees: "I'd prefer just to have a comfortable job that pays me enough so I can travel and enjoy time with loved ones. I've found over the past year a big shift from trying to be the best and respected by everyone to just wanting to be sufficient and leave to enjoy life outside of work."

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The new rules of work.

For some of us, untangling ourselves from the hustle culture mindset that we've been raised on for most of our working lives is easier said than done. So, how are we navigating this brave, new world? We spoke to women to learn their workplace "ins" and "outs" for 2025. Here's what they shared.

We are: working smarter not harder, actually doing that team building (because why not?), maintaining work-life balance (and meaning it), setting boundaries (without the guilt), saying no when necessary, advocating for ourselves, using our leave instead of hoarding it, using AI to make work more efficient, realising it's most likely not that serious.

We're not: going above and beyond, working more than 45 hours a week, putting up with toxic management, living to work, doing unpaid overtime, having unrealistic expectations, skipping our lunch breaks, caring too much about things we don't need to, trying to be productive for every hour of the day.

It's a lot to navigate. That's why we've launched BIZ, the podcast that's rewriting the rules of work for a new generation.

Join Soph and her co-hosts, well-known former CMO turned entrepreneur Michelle Battesby and Mamamia podcast host Emily Vernem, as they dissect what work means to women of all generations. From how to ask for a payrise to office politics, nothing is off the table.

The BIZ team are here to deliver real strategies from women who've been there, done that.

After all, work is hard enough without having to figure it all out yourself. Let's do it together.

*Names have been changed for privacy.

Feature image: Getty.