OPINION: Gen Z workers are not lazy for choosing WFH during floods

Working from home during dangerous floods can be a safer and more practical way to keep working, especially when the job can be done remotely.

Gen Z workers are not lazy for choosing to work from home when floods make commuting dangerous.

Whenever heavy rain floods roads and disrupts public transportation, the same workplace debate emerges. Employees who ask to work from home are sometimes treated as less committed than those who still manage to report to the office.

For older generations, going to work despite bad weather was part of having a job. There was no remote setup to fall back on, so workers endured long commutes, flooded roads, and transport delays because they had no choice.

But that does not mean younger workers should have to make the same choice today.

If an employee can perform their job from home, spending hours navigating flooded roads just to sit at an office desk can be difficult to justify. A willingness to endure a dangerous commute does not automatically make someone more productive or committed.

The generational divide partly comes from how workers were taught to understand commitment. Older employees often grew up with the idea that being reliable meant being physically present. Many younger workers entered a workforce where technology made physical presence unnecessary for some jobs.

That does not mean every request to work from home should be granted. Some jobs require employees to be on site, and remote work can create its own challenges.

Floods, however, are a different matter.

When roads become impassable and public transportation is disrupted, requiring employees to make the same dangerous journey to prove their dedication puts workplace tradition ahead of practical judgment and employee safety.

The workplace has already changed in ways that previous generations could not have imagined. As extreme weather becomes a more regular disruption, companies will have to decide whether physical presence must be the default when the work itself can be done safely from somewhere else.

For many employees, especially younger ones, working from home during a flood is not an excuse to avoid work but a safer way to keep doing it.

READ: