Europe’s life-first work culture has inspired America’s Gen Z

• For some Gen Zers, the “American dream” is inspired by European work culture.
• Some young Americans say Europe is the ideal when it comes to work-life balance.
• Young workers are moving overseas while others are implementing these “European norms” in the US.

Sofi Torres-Kennedy was looking to buy time before committing to the corporate grind. So she took a job teaching English at a primary school outside Bordeaux, France.

“I thought it would be a buffer period,” Torres-Kennedy told Insider. “After the year was over, I’d come back to Chicago and find a ‘real’ job.”

But one year turned into two, and she’s embarking on a third in the French countryside — now working at a chateau where she leads tours, takes inventory, and creates social-media posts.

Torres-Kennedy, 24, isn’t alone in being young and enamored with European life. In fact, other American Gen Zers seem obsessed with it. That’s because the “American dream” can feel like one of the many things the US has outsourced in recent decades: At least for some, it’s now made in Europe.

The “dream” was once defined by the idea that anyone who works hard enough can make it in America. Now, though, some members of Gen Z disillusioned by hustle culture and out-of-reach markers of success — like homeownership — are looking to Europe as the pacesetter for the life they aspire to. Think long lunches, extended holidays, and detaching oneself from work by the time the clock hits 5 (er, 1700).

Whether it’s entrepreneurial ventures that allow for a flexible schedule or office jobs that promote work-life balance, some American Gen Zers are adopting European sensibilities when making decisions about their career and work life. Insider spoke with several Gen Zers about the Europeanization of their dreams.

Young Americans see Europe as the ideal template

To some American Gen Zers, Torres-Kennedy’s life might seem like a dream.

“The people that I’m in touch with have been like, ‘I just want to move to Europe,'” Torres-Kennedy said of friends back home. “There is this attraction, and I’ve never spoken to somebody that’s like, ‘What you’re doing is crazy and doesn’t sound fun at all.'”

Davina Ramkissoon, a workplace-well-being psychologist and consultant in Ireland, said she’d watched numerous people move from North America to Europe or the UK for work.

“One of the things that’s always stuck out is they say their quality of life has improved since moving,” she said. “There is a sense that what is available for us in terms of working conditions in the EU is more favorable.”

Lily Rakow is a podcast host and content creator who lives in Annapolis, Maryland; she’s also a former nine-to-fiver. Rakow said she started looking into the European “way of life” to ditch some of the stressors she felt at work.

“When I was at the burnout phase of my last traditional job, one thing that I started to research was the European work style,” Rakow said.

While Rakow sat at her desk shoveling down a salad before getting back to work, she couldn’t help fantasizing about her sister’s experience working in Europe — one where the workday ended by 4 p.m. and was often followed by outdoor happy hours with coworkers and their families.

“To me it seems so — I don’t know if the word is ‘relaxed’ — but you don’t live for your job,” Rakow said. “If I had some sort of flexibility that allowed me to go to the gym after lunch or work with what I needed that day, that would’ve been cool.”

After months of contemplation, Rakow put in her two weeks to focus on her health-and-wellness brand. Now her schedule allows for afternoon workouts, coffee runs, and the long lunches she’d dreamed of.

Countless young Americans are sharing their workplace experiences on social media — whether it be a flexible schedule or opportunities to travel — and that’s most likely helped shape American Gen Z priorities.

“I definitely think that it’s been a heavier topic of conversation because our generation is hyperaware of how we’re viewed in the workplace and how we deserve to be treated in the workplace,” Rakow said. “Seeing the way that people operate and work in other countries, we’re like, ‘Why don’t we have that?'”