Micah Lussier and Kaz Bishop dated for most of "Perfect Match" season two.
Ana Blumenkron / Netflix
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Perfect Match" season two.
In season two, "Love Is Blind" alum Micah Lussier couples up with "Dated & Related" star Kaz Bishop.
Here's an update on their on their relationship.
Micah Lussier said she broke up with Kaz Bishop after he kissed another contestant after "Perfect Match" season two finished filming.
Micah was a contestant on the latest season of "Perfect Match" after she tried and failed to find a husband on Netflix's most popular reality show, "Love Is Blind."
In episode two, Micah paired up with "Dated & Related" alum Kaz Bishop and the pair won two couples' challenges in the season.
But their relationship was a roller coaster in the second half of the season after Kaz continually flirted with new contestants and Micah questioned her partner's loyalty.
This came to a head in episode nine when the pair had a screaming match. Micah was angry with Kaz for talking to a third new contestant, Christine Obanor, and kissing Holly in a game. Kaz was annoyed that Micah told other contestants that they were the weakest couple.
They broke up, and Kaz matched up with Christine, and Micah paired up with Izzy Zapata.
In the following episode, Kaz had second thoughts and spoke to Micah about rebuilding their relationship. Micah didn't immediately give in but eventually decided to match with Kaz.
At the end of the season, they were still coupled up, but the relationship didn't last long.
In an article published by Netflix's Tudum on Monday, Micah said that they broke off the relationship before they left Mexico, where the series was filmed.
Kaz said Micah cut him off after hearing rumors that he kissed another cast member, who was not named, after the finale.
Micah Lussier and Kaz Bishop broke up after "Perfect Match" season two.
Courtesy of Netflix
"Before we even made it off the show, she sent me a text message saying that she truly hates me," he said. "It escalated very quickly, but she was messaging other people."
During Wednesday's episode of "The Viall Files" podcast, Micah confirmed that the alleged kiss led to the breakup, saying it happened when she had left their hotel for a press day.
"I looked at him, and for a lack of a classier way, I was like, 'You're dead to me. Never speak to me again,'" Micah said. "And I never talked to him again."
Micah said that the only reason she stuck by Kaz in the show was because she wasn't interested in anyone else.
"In real life, I don't care. I don't have time for it. There's other options. Like, get the hell out of here. Pack your bags," Micah said.
Micah and Kaz do follow each other on social media, and Micah said they have spoken to each other again recently.
But, they both seem to have moved on from the relationship.
Kaz told Entertainment Tonight in June that he's in a relationship with another person, though he did not name them.
Meanwhile, Micah has posted several TikTok videos about going on dates with other people.
Micah also told Tudum that she was going to keep her love life private for now.
"There's going to be a hard launch when I have a ring on my finger and that will be the next time you guys hear from me," she said.
"Perfect Match" season two is available on Netflix.
Correction: June 17, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the number of episodes in the spoiler warning. There were nine episodes, not six.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.
KRISTINA KORMILITSYNA/Getty Images
North Korean soldiers sent to aid Russia in Ukraine would be "cannon fodder," the Pentagon said.
The two nations signed a new security pact, and some Korean units look set to go to Ukraine.
Russia is known for treating its soldiers as highly disposable and has suffered high death tolls.
North Korean troops that are sent to Ukraine to aid in Russia's war would become "cannon fodder," the Pentagon said.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Tuesday that "I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine."
Ryder was responding to a question about North Korea potentially dispatching army engineering units to Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which is occupied by Russia.
According to South Korea's TV Chosun, citing a South Korean government official and referenced by Reuters, North Korea is planning to send construction and engineering forces to occupied Ukraine as soon as next month for rebuilding work.
Earlier this month, Russia and North Korea signed a pact agreeing to give each other military assistance if the other is attacked.
Countries including the US and Japan condemned the move, with South Korea saying it was considering sending weapons to Ukraine as a result. South Korea's president described the pact as a threat to his nation's security.
Ryder described North Korea potentially sending military forces to Russia as "certainly something to keep an eye on," and hinted at the high number of Russian casualties throughout the war.
The UK Ministry of Defence said at the end of May that the total number of killed or wounded Russian soldiers since February 2022 was around 500,000.
It also said that the average daily number of Russian personnel casualties in May was over 1,200.
Russia is known for treating its own troops as highly disposable.
This includes through using "meat wave" tactics, where it sends waves of poorly trained and unsupported soldiers toward Ukrainian positions to try to overwhelm them.
Elon Musk's ire this year has extended from Mark Zuckerberg to MacKenzie Scott.
The mercurial billionaire has often fired insults and traded barbs at his contemporaries on X.
"I have fun sparring with Elon. He likes to troll and so do I," Mark Cuban told BI.
Elon Musk runs half a dozen companies, but the work involved in keeping the Muskonomy humming hasn't stopped him from beefing with his fellow billionaires this year.
"Have I shot myself in the foot multiple times? Yes," Musk said of his posting habits in an April 2023 interview with BBC's James Clayton.
"I think I should not tweet after 3:00 a.m. If you're gonna tweet something that maybe is controversial, save it as a draft, then look at it the next day and see if you still want to tweet it," he added.
To be sure, Musk's history of fights stretches way further back than 2024, and not everyone he trades barbs with takes it personally.
"I have fun sparring with Elon. He likes to troll and so do I," Mark Cuban told BI on Monday. "I have no issues with him."
Here's a non-exhaustive list of the billionaires Musk has fought with in 2024.
Representatives for Musk didn'trespond to a request for comment from BI for this story.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a net worth of $181 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Alex Wong via Getty Images
Cage match, anyone?
In June 2023, Musk challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a fight following reports that said Meta was building a rival to X.
"I'm up for a cage match if he is lol," Musk said in an X post on June 20, 2023.
"Send Me Location," Zuckerberg responded via an Instagram story the next day.
Zuckerberg launched his text-based social media platform, Threads, a month later. The fight with Musk didn't see as much progress, with both parties publicly cooling on the idea in one way or another.
Musk appeared to backtrack on the fight, saying in August that he would need to undergo "minor surgery" for some older injuries. This was after he'd claimed that the fight would be live-streamed and would take place at an "epic location" in ancient Rome.
"If only Zuckerberg were as tough (sigh). I've offered to fight him any place, any time, any rules, but all I hear is crickets," Musk said in an X post on May 15, a day after Zuckerberg celebrated his 40th birthday.
Representatives for Zuckerberg didn'trespond to a request for comment from BI for this story.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's net worth is at least $2 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Sam Altman isn't your typical Musk rival. Altman cofounded OpenAI with Musk in 2015 and interviewed Musk a year later when he was still the president of Y Combinator.
But differences in thought over how OpenAI should be run have driven a wedge between the men.
In February, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman, accusing the company of violating its nonprofit mission by partnering with Microsoft. Musk withdrew his lawsuit against Altman in June, just a day before a judge was set to consider OpenAI's request to dismiss it.
"More on this later," Musk said of the lawsuit's withdrawal on June 12.
Musk has been a vocal critic of Altman's leadership of OpenAI after the company found success with its AI chatbot ChatGPT.
"OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it 'Open' AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft," Musk wrote on X in February 2023.
Altman has remained civil when publicly responding to Musk's barbs.
In March, the OpenAI chief told podcaster Lex Fridman that he found Musk's lawsuit bewildering and expected Musk to have "more empathy" for OpenAI's ambitions.
"It wasn't that long ago Elon was crazily talking about launching rockets when people were laughing at that thought, so I think he'd have more empathy for this," Altman told Fridman.
Representatives for Altman didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.
"Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban
"Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban is worth $7.46 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Allen Berezovsky via Getty Images.
Billionaire Mark Cuban is no stranger when it comes to getting caught in Musk's crosshairs.
"Mark Cuban is desperately trying to signal his 'virtue', but his hypocrisy convinces no one," Musk said on X in January after Cuban voiced his support for corporate DEI initiatives.
At one point, Musk called Cuban a "racist" in an X post for backing DEI. He later deleted the post.
In March, Musk threwa jibe at Cuban after the "Shark Tank" star said he'd vote for Biden even if the president "was being given last rites."
"'If Biden were a flesh-eating zombie with 5 seconds to live where, upon being re-elected, Earth would plunge into a 1000 years of darkness, I would still vote for him.' — Mark Cuban," Musk wrote in an X post.
Philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, has a net worth of $38.6 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Dia Dipasupil via Getty Images
Musk has also gone after the former spouses of billionaires this year.
In March, Musk slammed Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, for her charitable giving.
"'Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should filed be listed among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died,'" Musk wrote in an X post on March 6. He later deleted the post.
Scott's philanthropy has been a long-running bugbear for Musk, who claimed in May 2022 that his companies were being sidelined by the Democratic Party partly because Scott had donated to "PACs posing as charities."
"Might be the downfall of western civilization," Musk said in an X post on June 20.
Musk isn't exactly a fan of French Gates' ex-husband, Bill Gates, either. The Tesla CEO was furious when he learned that Gates had shorted Tesla's stock,as detailed inWalter Isaacson's biography of Musk.
"How can someone say they are passionate about fighting climate change and then do something that reduced the overall investment in the company doing the most? It's pure hypocrisy," Musk told Isaacson.
Shortly after he'd turned down a philanthropic opportunity with Gates, Musk took to X to share a meme that compared the Microsoft founder to the pregnant man emoji.
"In case you need to lose a boner fast," Musk said on April 22, 2023.
Representatives for Gates and French Gates didn't respond to requests for comment from BI.
OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla is worth $7.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Steven Ferdman via Getty Images
Unlike most of the billionaires on this list, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla fired salvos at Musk first.
"With @elonmusk, feels like a bit of sour grapes in suing @OpenAI, not getting in early enough, not staying committed and now a rival effort," Khosla, an OpenAI investor, said on X in March, while referencing Musk's AI startup xAI.
"Like they say if you can't innovate, litigate and that's what we have here. Elon of old would be building with us to hit the same goal," Khosla added.
"Vinod doesn't know what he is talking about here," Musk replied.
But Khosla wasn't done. Days later, he gaveMusk — a frequent poster and reposter of memes — a taste of his own medicine when he posted a meme ridiculing xAI.
After a breakup, I decided that having two children under 2 wouldn't deter me from graduate school.
While my kids slept, I studied, and they helped inspire me throughout the years.
Now that I have my Master's, I am able to celebrate all the milestones we reached together.
I would have never guessed that being single, juggling my career, graduate school, and parenting two toddlers would be stamped on my bingo card. But here I am, thriving despite it all.
As a single mom of two, every achievement feels even sweeter. Every achievement reminds me and shows my children that no dream is too distant. Graduating with a Master's of Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington with two toddlers feels more than a personal achievement. It's a testament to perseverance and the unwavering support of my incredible village.
It all began three years ago. After the relationship with their dad ended due to his infidelity, I decided to prioritize myself. Though I hoped we'd co-parent well, it didn't turn out that way. So, I became laser-focused on being the best mom I could be. As a first-generation high school and college graduate, I knew obtaining another degree would be challenging. However I didn't realize how different those challenges would be in my present reality.
In fact, as I started to discuss my plans to continue my graduate studies with others, some saw it as courageous, while others thought balancing deadlines with diapers was outright crazy. Many suggested waiting until my children were school-aged. While I welcomed their feedback, I knew it could be done. I just had to figure out how.
I had to redefine motherhood while pursuing my dreams
I dared to disrupt the idea that single motherhood had to be synonymous with struggle or that my dreams should be placed on the back burner to be a good mother. Above all, I wanted to model perseverance and the value of education for my kids. So, when my eldest was 15 months old, and my youngest was just 3 months old, our journey began.
Balancing my career in political organizing with late-night assignments, mandatory practicums for my MSW, and early mornings of Pixar's "Finding Dory" was challenging. Still, those precious moments of mimicking the whale sounds made by Dory with my children fueled my determination.
While I never found quite the right work-life balance people rave about, our trio cultivated systems and routines that worked for us.
Our days were long, and my nights were longer. During different stages of my graduate program, I adapted our routine. When my children napped, I scheduled work blocks to focus on work calls and client updates. The boys knew that Tuesdays were laundry days, and they loved helping with loading the washer and unloading the dryer. Online grocery orders saved us time, and the boys enjoyed bringing in groceries and stocking drinks in the refrigerator. Picking up their own toys and putting them away when not in use became habitual. At bedtime, we sang nursery rhymes together until they fell asleep, and then I'd read for my courses and write to stay on track.
Involving them in our routine kept them busy and engaged. With their love and constant support, we not only survived but thrived.
I learned to celebrate all achievements and milestones as a family
Being recognized as one of 17 outstanding students out of a graduating class of over 200 is an honor. It recognizes the nights of hard work and determination. But more than that, I'm proud that my sons are polite and mannerable. At ages 2 and 3, they can identify most of the alphabet, count and identify numbers beyond 20, recognize primary colors and shapes, know the careers of people in their neighborhood, their names, my name, our address, and more.
For us, this degree represents countless nights balancing deadlines with their growth and development milestones — from first steps to first assessments, from my endless chapters of reading to their bedtime stories, from practicum hours to scheduled playdates. We made it work.
I set a goal to finish what I started for them. In the end, we did this together.
But the latest workplace trends — "silent layoffs" and "quiet firing" — could be the most harmful to date.
Silent layoffs occur when a company provides staff with severance packages but asks them to keep quiet about the details of their exit.
Quiet firing or quiet quitting, meanwhile, is a subtle move by bosses to make a role less appealing, motivating workers to quit rather than forcing them out through layoffs.
Experts warn that both can create PR disasters and harm company morale.
A cautionary tale
The most recent high-profile example of silent layoffs is PwC, a UK-based accounting firm that launched a voluntary severance program earlier this year.
According to the Financial Times, PwC asked employees not to disclose that they had received a settlement and advised them what to write in their goodbye emails to colleagues.
PwC Global Network President Mohamed Kande.
Europa Press News/Getty Images
A spokesperson for PwC told FT that the voluntary lay-offs were implemented to "respond to changing client demand, attrition rates, and new opportunities."
"Through limited targeted voluntary severance, we can continue to recruit at entry level and where different skills are needed," the statement said.
PwC declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider.
Amit Rawal, a management lecturer at City University of London's Bayes Business School, told BI that silent layoffs have become "increasingly popular across larger corporations."
The goal of silent layoffs is likely to minimize the amount of negative traction the company receives. Eloise Skinner, a psychotherapist who focuses on workplace well-being, told BI that this strategy can be successful for a business if it's kept under the radar.
"Theoretically, by keeping layoffs relatively low-profile, trust in the business — from stakeholders and existing employees — can be retained, and restructurings can happen without excessive external analysis," Skinner said.
But if the news is leaked, like in PwC's case, the trust is broken — both for current employees and the general public.
Quiet firing
Silent layoffs were made illegal across the US in February 2023 as part of the National Labor Relations Act. According to CNN, the ruling was enforced by the National Labor Relations Board, an independent federal agency that sets out regulations most businesses — with the exception of railroads and airlines — must abide by.
Lucas Botzen, an HR expert and CEO at Rivermate, told BI that the ruling stops businesses from creating nondisclosure agreements or any other kind of agreements that would prevent an "employee or employer from enjoying certain rights that are bestowed on them by law, such as speaking out against unlawful practices or discrimination."
But companies in the US are still finding ways to quietly cut employees by making their roles less appealing.
As BI previously reported, technology firm Dell in February ordered hybrid employees to return to the office three days a week regardless of where they live. Workers who choose to be fully remote will face limited career progression, an anonymous source told The Register.
In November, Amazon decided that employees may have their promotions blocked if they didn't come into the office for three days a week.
"Subtly encouraging someone to leave is seen as the easier option," Suzanne Horne, a partner in employment law at legal firm Paul Hasting, told the BBC in 2022. "If the employee eventually resigns, it's the 'no-fault approach': severance doesn't need to be paid, conflict is avoided and both parties are ultimately happy."
'A PR disaster waiting to happen'
Experts told BI that quietly getting rid of employees could easily backfire when employees opt to fight back and speak out.
These tactics "breed mistrust, tarnish a company's reputation, and can lead to uncontrolled leaks of sensitive information," said Evan Nierman, founder of PR firm Red Banyan and author of "The Cancel Culture Curse."
"When transparency is sacrificed, the rumor mill takes over, creating a narrative of fear and instability," he said.
Dan Buckley is an HR expert and CEO of Cognexo, an AI-led platform that helps boost the employee experience. Speaking to BI over email, Buckley said silent lay-offs are "usually a futile attempt to maintain morale among remaining employees and manage their brand."
"Open communication is crucial, and anything less invites suspicion and erodes brand integrity," Nierman said.
"Ultimately, the cost of trying to silence your former employees will outweigh the short-term benefits of secrecy."
When it comes to quiet firing, Horne told the BBC that it can create an "us versus them" mentality. "You have the engaged employees, and then those just quietly left there, sometimes without their knowledge," she said. "It doesn't create an inclusive or high-performance workplace culture."
The SpaceX founder attacked outgoing Boeing CEO David Calhoun on Tuesday, accusing the beleaguered aircraft company of losing touch with its engineering roots in a post on X.
"The CEO of an aircraft company should know how to design aircraft, not spreadsheets," Musk wrote in response to a post about Calhoun's accountancy degree.
Since Calhoun announced his resignation, the aviation industry has debated whether Boeing should appoint someone with an engineering background rather than a finance background as its next boss.
It's not the first time Musk has picked a fight with Boeing. The billionaire previously claimed the US aviation giant had "too many non-technical managers" ahead of the much-delayed first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft this month.
Both Boeing and SpaceX won NASA contracts to transport astronauts to the International Space Station in 2014.
Emma Roberts says nepo babies in Hollywood don't always have it easy.
People who criticize nepo babies "don't see all the rejection along the way," Roberts said on a podcast.
The rich and famous aren't the only ones who leverage connections to get a leg up in their professional lives.
Emma Roberts says even Hollywood's nepo babies don't always have an easy path to stardom.
On an episode of the "Table for Two" podcast released on June 25, Roberts spoke to host Bruce Bozzi about the public perception of nepo babies, or "nepotism babies."
"I think there's two sides of the coin. People like to say, 'Oh, you know, you have a leg up because your family's in the industry.' But then the other side to that is you have to prove yourself more," Roberts, 33, said. "Also, if people don't have good experiences, maybe with other people in your family, then you'll never get a chance."
Roberts is a Hollywood nepo baby. Her aunt is Julia Roberts, and her dad is Eric Roberts, an actor best known for his role in the '80s action film "Runaway Train," for which he received an Academy Award nomination.
Roberts started her acting career in 2001 in the movie "Blow," where she played the daughter of Johnny Depp's character. Her big break came in 2004 when she was cast — at age 13 — in the lead role in the Nickelodeon sitcom "Unfabulous." More recently, she has starred in several seasons of "American Horror Story."
During the podcast episode, Roberts said it's not always true that nepo babies get everything handed to them on a silver platter.
"That's the thing that I always talk about — people kind of only see your wins because they only see when you're on the poster of a movie. They don't see all the rejection along the way," Roberts said.
She said she tries to be open about the roles she never landed so people will understand that not everything has been "so great and linear and easy" for her as it seems from the outside.
She also said female actors have it harder than their male counterparts when it comes to nepo baby criticism.
"And I always joke, 'Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby?'" Roberts said. Clooney's father is TV host Nick Clooney. His aunt is singer Rosemary Clooney.
The topic of nepo babies has been a major part of the public discourse since New York Magazine published a story about famous offspring of famous people in December 2022.
Many nepo babies and even their parents — particularly those in Hollywood — have pushed back against the title and its accompanying critiques.
In December, Meg Ryan defended her son, actor Jack Quaid, against "nepo baby" claims during an interview with Glamour. She said the label was "dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege."
On her podcast, Allen said she gets called a nepo baby "all the time" while her brother, "Game of Thrones" star Alfie Allen, rarely gets labeled the same way. Their father is British actor Keith Allen.
Mukesh Ambani, the owner and chairman of Reliance Industries, has three children holding different roles across his empire.
And then there's the Drapers, Silicon Valley's premier VC family. Billionaire Tim Draper's grandfather founded the VC firm Draper, Gaither, and Anderson, and three of his children are venture capitalists themselves.
Of course, the rich and famous aren't the only ones who leverage connections to get a leg up in their professional lives.
A 2023 survey of 2,000 workersconducted by Applied, a recruitment company, showed that 68% of Gen Z workers have used nepotism to land a job offer. Even if they think nepotism is unfair, three-quarters of surveyed Gen Z workers said they would still use it to further their careers.
A representative for Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insidersent outside regular business hours.
Boeing won't bring commercial jets to the Farnborough Airshow, a first for 16 years.
It also didn't bring any airliners to February's Singapore Airshow.
Boeing is prioritizing work on safety and quality plans after the Alaska Airlines blowout.
Boeing isn't bringing any of its commercial jets to this year's Farnborough Airshow, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
It's the first time for 16 years that it isn't displaying its airliners at the world's second-biggest air show. Farnborough alternates each year with Paris, the most-attended air show, meaning it's the primary aviation event for 2024. The Air Current first reported on the news.
Boeing also didn't display any passenger jets at February's Singapore Airshow. However, the Farnborough decision is more noteworthy.
It's a mainstay in the aviation world, where planemakers exhibit new aircraft and announce deals with airlines.
At the time of publication, one Boeing airliner, the 787 Dreamliner, is set to be displayed at Farnborough.
Rather than being sent by Boeing, however, this is courtesy of Qatar Airways, which is set to exhibit its upgraded QSuite business class.
Boeing is instead prioritizing work on a safety and quality plan as it works to regain the trust of regulators and customers following the Alaska Airlines 737 Max incident.
In a statement sent to Business Insider, Boeing said: "Our Commercial Airplanes team has been focused on implementing our comprehensive safety and quality plan and working to meet the commitments we've made to our customers."
"With these priorities in mind, we decided that rather than prepare and perform flight demonstrations this summer, we are redirecting the engineering and manufacturing resources toward airplane production and certification," it added.
"For more than a decade, we've brought our 787 Dreamliner, 777X and 737 Max airplanes to airshows around the world, including Farnborough, Paris, Dubai, India and Singapore. We look forward to doing the same in the future. Boeing will have a strong presence of defense, space, and security products — flying and on display."
At last year's Paris Air Show, Boeing displayed its 737 Max 10 — the longest version of its narrowbody jet — which is still awaiting certification. Approval has been further hampered by increased regulatory scrutiny following the blowout, when a Max 9 lost a door plug in midair.
After the blowout, Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, Boeing's biggest customer, called the incident "the straw that broke the camel's back." He added that the airline would build an alternative plan without the Max 10 due to the delays.
The 777X, an upgraded version of the widebody 777, was also on display in Paris. It was initially set to enter service in 2020, but this has been pushed back to 2025.
Young workers are increasingly considering customer service as the perfect "lazy girl job."
Westend61/Getty Images
Some Gen Zers appear to be gravitating toward customer service roles for a better work-life balance.
These roles can often be remote, flexible, and relatively well-paid,.
But they can also be stressful and have a significant mental health toll.
For Gen Z, it's all about working smarter, not harder.
And there seems to be an unlikely role that is getting a boost from this trend: customer services.
"The pay is usually decent, most companies are looking for work-from-home type of employees, and there is often schedule flexibility," said Dave Hoekstra, who has spent his entire career in customer service.
According to an analysis of a dataset of over 75 million white-color professionals by Jason Saltzman, the director of growth at Live Data Technologies, which is a provider of real-time employment data, Zoomers in customer success roles have increased in the past few years.
"Since 2021, Gen Z professionals make up a 22% greater share of the white-collar workforce," Saltzman told Business Insider — an increase from 5.1% in 2021 to 6.2% in 2024.
"In the same period, Gen Z employees now make up an 82% greater share of customer success roles," he said, increasing to 12.2% in 2024 from 6.7% in 2021.
Part of this is embracing "lazy girl jobs," a term coined by the TikTok content creator and "anti-work girlboss" Gabrielle Judge. Judge previously told BI that a lazy girl job is any well-paying role that is low-effort enough so people still have the energy to invest in the things they care about.
These jobs often offer hybrid or working-from-home options and are increasingly being considered as a low-stress option due to high levels of burnout felt by millennial and Zoomer workers.
In one video, Judge listed customer success manager as one example of a lazy girl job. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for this position is between $66,000 and $118,000 a year.
With a flexible schedule, a livable salary, and the ability to gain significant social media followers on the side, customer support roles may be an obvious choice for Gen Zers entering the workforce.
A focus on empathy
Hoekstra, who works at the workforce management platform Calabrio, told BI that the customer service industry "looks very different" compared to the late 1990s.
The average annual salary for a customer service rep in the US is $34,000 – $46,000, according to Glassdoor.
"If the employee doesn't mind being tethered to a headset all day and doesn't mind focusing on their job, then it can be a pretty rewarding experience as they look to the future," Hoekstra said.
Brittany Betts, who is on the cusp of millennial and Gen Z and handles customer service at a small travel company, told BI that "it allows you the opportunity to embrace your inner emotions and empathy with other people while simultaneously helping them find what they need.
"Gen Z has been known for many things and I know 'hardworking' hasn't generally been one, but we are definitely understanding if not anything else."
Social media side hustle
Customer service positions can give workers the freedom to be creative with a social media side hustle. On TikTok, videos under the hashtag #customerservice, where creators either show one side of a customer support call or reenact difficult interactions, can rack up millions of views.
Daineshe Sutton, for example, has gone viral with some of her videos, in which she shows how she handles escalations and steps in if customers are rude and cussing at other agents.
Sutton believes the influx of Gen Z and millennial workers is mostly due to remote work becoming the norm. She said these roles also don't come with the pressure to dress up every day or the fear of being judged on one's appearance.
"Remote work is focused solely on skills, knowledge, and the ability to effectively assist customers and not what you look like while doing it," she said.
Another creator, who posts anonymously under the name Disney Mom, has amassed 138,000 followers for her no-nonsense calls with what she describes as "entitled" customers.
"The fact I can work in my PJs without a bra on is my biggest flex," she said. "I hate driving in traffic, especially morning rush hour, because people are beyond nuts trying to rush to work."
But while such remote jobs are often portrayed as relatively stress-free, the reality is much more complex.
A 2024 Zendesk survey of 2,500 global consumers and 4,500 business respondents found that 21% of Zoomers had higher customer service expectations since the pandemic. Almost 50% also said an "unfriendly support agent" was what they found frustrating about a negative customer service experience.
The industry generally has a bad reputation. Customers feel exasperated when they can't speak to real reps and get enraged when their problems are not immediately solved, or they feel they are being passed from agent to agent with no answers.
One of the biggest downsides of the career is dealing with angry people, Sutton said. She can take anywhere between 45 and 100 calls per day, and it can be physically draining to maintain empathy and professionalism, which can take a toll on her mental health.
The job "requires a lot of patience and resilience," she said.
"Managing the diverse range of emotions and attitudes from callers is mentally and emotionally taxing," she said.
The creator known as Disney Mom agreed, saying she has had to deal with a lot of "dumb situations" and a significant number of calls where customers can be "rude, racist, and sexist."
Sutton started posting on TikTok because she saw "an opportunity to shed light on the realities of customer service." She wanted to provide a behind-the-scenes view of what happens when you call up a company to complain and challenge the mantra that "the customer is always right" — particularly when they are difficult.
More generally, remote jobs can often lead to a feeling of isolation.
"The lack of face-to-face interaction makes it harder to build rapport and convey empathy," Sutton said. "Requiring extra effort to ensure that the caller feels heard and understood."
Sutton hopes to be part of the industry changing for the better.
She never thought she'd gain traction, but when one of her videos amassed more than three million views, she realized how much it struck a chord with people.
"Ultimately, it's refreshing for viewers to see the work we do and the interactions we handle daily," she said.
Two St. Louis residents are suing to halt the city's guaranteed basic income program.
Art Wager / Getty Images
Two St. Louis residents filed a lawsuit to halt the city's guaranteed basic income pilot.
The program provides 540 low-income families $500 monthly to help them afford housing and food.
The lawsuit alleges that it's "unconstitutional" for St. Louis to use public money on basic income.
As St. Louis continues its guaranteed basic income pilot, two residents are suing to cut the program's funding.The lawsuit alleges that the city's plan to give low-income families $500 a month is unconstitutional in the state of Missouri.
Submitted to a circuit court on June 13, the lawsuitclaims that it is a Missouri Constitutional violation for local leaders to give cash to residents in the form of basic income. The suit cites a clause in the state's Constitution that prohibits all municipalities and political corporations from granting "public money or property to any private individual."
The plaintiffs, Greg Tumlin and Fred Hale, are both St. Louis residents. In a statement to Business Insider via his attorney, Tumlin said St. Louis cannot give individuals cash because they have "not performed a service for the city or sold any goods" that would warrant payment from the city.
The lawsuit requests that city officials stop spending money on basic income, a move that could shut down the GBI pilot. City officials have until June 28 to respond to Tumlin and Hale's lawsuit.
The GBI pilot is giving 540 families no-strings-attached cash payments for 18 months, and the first payments began at the end of 2023.Qualifying participants have a child enrolled in public schools and have a household income under 170% of the federal poverty line, which is around $50,000 a year for a family of four.
St. Louis' program mirrors over 100 basic income pilots that have been launched across the US, as the model becomes an increasingly popular approach to try to combat local poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness.
Basic income offers participants — who typically live at or below the federal poverty line — lump sum or monthly cash payments to spend on what they need most. Business Insider has heard from participants who used the money to secure housing, afford groceries and prescriptions, pay down debt, and support their children.
Adam Layne, the St. Louis city treasurer, previously told BI that St. Louis residents have primarily used their $500 a month to pay bills.
"We want to get people to a place of thriving rather than surviving," he said, adding, "That's why the success of the program is critical to be able to show the data about what impact is this actually having on St. Louisans."
Still, basic income pilots continue to be opposed at the city and state level — and St. Louis' program isn't the first to face legal opposition.
St. Louis GBI lawsuit includes concerns over funding, use of public money
The St. Louis program is funded by $5 million from President Joe Biden's 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a pandemic economic relief fund that has previously been used by cities to launch GBI pilots. A donation from former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who is from St. Louis, also allowed the program to expand from 440 participants to 540.
Other basic income pilots are funded through federal programs like ARPA, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or through private donors.
Tumlin and Hale's lawsuit specifically says that giving "public money" to St. Louis residents is unconstitutional, given that St. Louis is running the GBI pilot using some city funds.
BI reached out to the city of St. Louis and St. Louis Guaranteed Income for comment, but the parties did not respond by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, a similar case is active in Texas. In mid-June, the Texas Supreme Court further extended a pause on Uplift Harris, a guaranteed income program in Harris County, which contains Houston. Payments were set to begin in April, though Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenged the program as "unconstitutional." The suit, filed on April 9, noted that the program "redistributes public money in a manner that violates the Texas Constitution" through gifting public funds.
Uplift Harris, which had accepted just over 2% of applicants, would have given 1,928 families $500 a month, no strings attached, for 18 months. Most participants were selected from high-poverty ZIP codes with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty line.
"Local governments exist in part to help the less fortunate among us, and the Supreme Court's ruling effectively ends a program that has proven to be highly successful at allowing lower-income folks to lift themselves out of poverty," said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee in a statement.
However, it isn't clear if the results of basic income lawsuits in Harris County or St. Louis could affect one another or result in long-term bans — despite both cases being over the use of local government funds.
States like South Dakota, Arizona, and Iowa, Republican politicians have also brought basic income bans to the state legislature.