Most gen X and Z aren't working very hard. At least if you look at public schools and universities across the country, and the sentiment on r/antiwork. Many are putting in the bare minimum.

The entire point of the above comment and the article, they're not working hard because the millennials and those who have worked hard are still struggling and cannot make rent making three jobs. So there is seemingly no point. In the past, you put extra effort in university to get a well-paying job and your job to get a promotion; now there are people with Master's degrees who work in McDonald's and it seems like promotions only go to relatives.

You can run at 5k pace to finish a 5k, but you cannot run at 5k pace for an indefinite amount of time. Similarly, younger generations would push themselves harder if they believe it would make their future lives easier, but they don't.