Gen Z Is Romanticizing Office Culture — Is That a Good Thing?

You thought we were done with the "girl boss" when she imploded in the sun's shiny rays a few years ago. But a new, freshed-faced iteration is coming onto the scene: all over social media, #corpcore girlies are romanticizing the 9-to-5 life.

In the post-pandemic era where remote work has become normalized, many young people are actually hyped to be going back to traditional offices — sometimes for the very first time. The harsh fluorescent lighting, cubicles, and free pretzel packs are calling to them like a siren song. And speaking of sirens, many of today's corporate kids are also elevating the in-office experience by bringing it with traditional office fashion staples like pencils skirts and button-downs, posting their work attire to TikTok using hashtags like #CorpCore and #OfficeSiren.

Julia Quang is one of those people. The 23-year-old started her first office job last fall, and quickly became obsessed with dressing up for work in glasses and perfectly ironed button-downs.

"It was exciting — I was coming from a job in retail and it was nice to go into the office," she tells PS. "It was also cool to have the same schedule every day, and having holidays and weekends. It was like being in school again." Quang, who lives in Orange County, CA, decorated her work area with polaroids and an ASMR keyboard mat. But it was her corporate clothing hauls on TikTok that became legendary. She'd pose in her work 'fits in the office bathroom, by the paper-towel dispenser, or in the parking garage.

Similarly, when Cora* got a cushy job in public relations and was able to go into the office post-pandemic, she cherished the sleek New York City skyline views (and free Fritos Honey BBQ Twists). She created her first "come to work with me" TikTok and got "great engagement" whenever she posted pics of her doing things at work events, much more so than when she'd just post a random laptop pic at a coffee shop while working from home.

Examples of the romanticization of office life abound — they're even making a "Devil Wears Prada" sequel — but what's really at the root of this fascination? And what might it mean for the future of remote work? We talked to Gen Zers and work experts to get to the bottom of it.

Nadia Ibrahim-Taney, MEd, MA, MS, is an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati and a career coach.

Eden King, PhD, is a Lynette S. Autrey professor of psychology at Rice University who researches how to support diverse and equitable organizations.

In many ways, it's normal for young workers and folks starting new jobs to glamorize going to work, especially at first. And that's actually protective in some ways, says career coach and University of Cinicinnati assistant professor Nadia Ibrahim-Taney, MEd.

"They have the next 25 to 50 years of their life to work, and if they aren't excited about it now at the start of their career, imagine their attitude in 10 to 20 years," she says. "Starting new experiences should always be somewhat exciting, bringing nervousness, joy, and a little fear. If young people want to be excited and romanticize office life a bit, I say let them go for it!"

You could call this the work "honeymoon period," says Rice University psychology professor Eden King, PhD. When you're new, even little things like setting up an email signature can feel sparkly and interesting.

But a lot of the things we see young workers glamorizing on platforms like TikTok — the #officeviewz Instagram posts from the rooftop and the swanky break lounges filled ping pong tables and pianos — aren't actually the things that keep workers happy long-term, Dr. King says: "For many people, those things start to feel like a chain linking them to their work, rather than a perk. The novelty wears off because that's not the main experience of work — it's just one part." This has been called the "honeymoon hangover" in research, she adds.

As Cora notes, the things she posted about on her "come to work with me" TikTok looked glitzy to her friends and got lots of hearts, but she only shot about a 10-minute period of her day. Her work actually looks like gratingly long hours and being constantly online, chained to her laptop, she says.

Dr. King notes that, according to self-determination theory, what matters more are "competence, autonomy, and relatedness" in the workplace. That means, essentially, you're doing work you feel capable of doing (and ideally, you're enjoying it or feel it's important). If you feel you have some say in what happens to you at work, you enjoy your coworkers, and your boss isn't a demon, you'll usually be happier at work for longer, Dr. King says.

Making a livable wage and working decent hours are also incredibly important, Ibrahim-Taney adds. She notes that she doesn't believe that the internet's sudden fascination with the office will mean the desire to work remotely will fade either. Every worker needs something different, and having the option to work remotely is incredibly beneficial for a lot of people. Yes, the younger the worker, the more likely they might be to come in for the camaraderie, but those workers may eventually start families and need a flexible schedule.

"Employers need to recognize workers have options in how and where they work," Ibrahim-Taney adds. "I am not saying they need to offer weekly free ice cream trucks at the office, but I do think workers are asking for more accommodations and more support in how they interact with their environment to do the best possible work they can do."

As the future of where we work remains unclear, it's a good time for employers to "ensure employee satisfaction," Ibrahim-Taney says. "Now is the time to get a culture check with employees and ask them what they need to be successful at work."

Ibrahim-Taney also says that a lot of this is only applicable to "white collar" workers. Many other workers would probably love the flexibility of remote work or stable hours and aren't able to experience that. This especially impacts lower income workers and those without a bachelor's degree.

The Pew Research Center finds that 62 percent of workers with a bachelor's degree or more said they could do their work from home, compared with 23 percent of folks without a four-year degree. Most lower- and middle-income workers also said they couldn't do their work from home. So, in some ways, idealizing your workplace and being excited to go into an office is a privilege in itself.

Although #corpcore is trending right now, much like the romantic honeymoon period, the office siren vibes can only last so long. Ibrahim-Taney estimates that the grandeur of the office usually wears off within about six to 12 months.

It could be longer for Gen Z in the post-pandemic world, only because "this generation is experiencing 'going to work' as something new and exciting, where other generations had in-person jobs in high school and during college so, by the time they got into professional careers, it was a little second nature by that point," she says.

However, the doldrums of working in general for such a huge chunk of our lives (and usually to benefit one or two really rich at the top) can still be grating, even if you have an on-point outfit.

Quang, for her part, says that although there were serious office perks at her corporate job, within a few months, one of the things she loved the most about going to work — dressing up — was taken away. "They instituted this dress code," she says. "When I first started, it was no shoulder showing, nothing sleeveless and no tummy — but, four months in, they changed it to be that we had to wear black blazers and trousers all the time. I said, 'I really don't want to work here if they're going to give me this uniform.'"

She left to become a full-time content creator, and to sell the chic glasses that had completed her TikTok #OfficeSiren looks. Now, she works from home with her own personal daily work uniform, and so far, she's doing just fine.

*Name has been changed.

Molly Longman is a freelance journalist who loves to tell stories at the intersection of health and politics.