Mike Rowe, former host of Dirty Jobs and longtime advocate for skilled labor, is sounding the alarm on what he calls a growing work ethic crisis in America — especially among Gen Z and younger generations.
Speaking on The Story this week, Rowe said the root issue isn’t just laziness, but a culture increasingly lacking in deadlines and consequences. “If you live your life on a high wire with a safety net 15 feet below you all the time, there’s no consequence for falling,” he explained.
Rowe pointed to overprotective parenting and a lenient cultural shift that’s made expectations “fungible” — meaning standards are flexible and often not enforced. “We’re the clouds from which the snowflakes fell,” he said, placing some blame on the generations that raised today’s young adults.
He warned that a tight labor market combined with a push toward AI and automation is creating urgent demand for workers in skilled trades — including the building of massive data centers. But people simply aren’t “lining up” to do the work, he said.
As CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, Rowe has championed trades like plumbing, welding, and electrical work. His Work Ethic Scholarship Program is designed to help young people get into these fields — but many applicants don’t follow through.
“They’re started, but they don’t finish them,” Rowe said. “So, yeah, it’s a problem.” He admitted he doesn’t yet know how to fix it.
Rowe believes the country faces a crossroads: either the world will bend to fit this generation, or this generation will have to adapt to reality. “The world is either going to change to accommodate the current generation, or the current generation is going to change to accommodate the world they’re living in,” he warned.
Despite the challenges, Rowe sees hope. His foundation has helped 2,200 young people become skilled tradespeople, many of whom now earn six-figure salaries. “There’s enthusiasm for the work. It’s just not in the places you’re looking,” he said.
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