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Do you really know?

What is “Act your Wage”, Gen Z’s latest work-life trend?

09 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What does 'Act Your Wage' mean and how does it relate to Gen Z?

4.655 - 32.518 Joseph Chance

What is Act Your Wage, Gen Z's latest work-life trend? Thanks for asking. After the great resignation and quiet quitting, here's yet another growing phenomenon related to the world of work. Acting your wage involves putting in a certain amount of work that's in proportion to your salary. In other words, no going above and beyond, no extra hours, and no unattainable goals.

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32.498 - 51.151 Joseph Chance

Oh, and no additional responsibilities outside of your job description, unless your wage goes up first. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our relationship with work has been evolving, and there's been a lot of pushback against hustle culture, which had long been the norm among young professionals.

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Chapter 2: What are the origins of the 'Act Your Wage' movement?

52.093 - 68.326 Joseph Chance

Where does the actual wage movement come from? as is often the case it started out in the USA. In December 2020, 27-year-old TikToker Stephanie Ann detailed her work struggles and shared her unique ways of preserving mental health.

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68.907 - 77.839 Stephanie Ann

Like if I've been doing too much at work, I'll have to be like, Stephanie, go sit in the bathroom and scroll on your phone for 25 minutes. You've worked too hard today.

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Chapter 3: How does 'Act Your Wage' differ from quiet quitting?

77.879 - 80.443 Stephanie Ann

They only pay you $7.25 an hour.

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80.491 - 85.978 Joseph Chance

Since then, the Act Your Wage hashtag has garnered hundreds of millions of views on the platform.

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Chapter 4: Why are young workers choosing to act their wage?

86.038 - 94.549 Joseph Chance

American influencer Sarai Soto has also posted a number of videos on the movement to her 2.8 million TikTok followers.

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94.989 - 103.56 Unknown

Because it seemed like you thought I was two to three people over here. I'm just one. I'm just one, Karen. If you can see, I'm just one person, so I'm not doing all that work, okay?

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Chapter 5: What impact does the 'Act Your Wage' movement have on mental health?

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103.66 - 124.47 Joseph Chance

So, act your wage means putting in a level of effort that matches your salary. The phenomenon encourages every employee to review their job description. If their salary is low, then the level of commitment should be modest. In practical terms, you don't work late, so you may refuse meetings that are set after the end of the working day, for example.

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124.45 - 147.267 Joseph Chance

There are similarities with quiet quitting, but whereas there the idea is to gradually tap out at work and fly under the radar, with acting your wage it's more about saying no to tasks you aren't rewarded for, and then asking for the raise you feel you deserve. Why are people resorting to acting their wage? There's a sense of injustice.

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147.748 - 168.43 Joseph Chance

If you listen to those who choose to consciously act their wage, it's not necessarily about doing bad work, but instead about sending a message. Of course, Gen Z workers behind the movement want their wages increased, but really they want to get the attention of older colleagues and managers who they resent for being better paid and yet doing the same amount of work or less.

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168.41 - 193.797 Joseph Chance

According to the ADP Research Institute's People at Work 2023 report, people aged 18 to 24 tend to put in an extra 8 hours and 30 minutes of free work per week by starting early, staying late, or working during breaks and lunchtime. That was significantly more than the time recorded for higher age groups. Furthermore, the mental health of young workers is gradually deteriorating as a result.

194.197 - 216.051 Joseph Chance

The actual wage movement is an alarm call. There you have it. Now you know what Act Your Wage is. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you will really know for sure.

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