X users slam millionaire venture capitalist who 'has not had a traditional 9-5 job' in decades after he mocks Gen-Zer venting about work-life balance

• Millionaire VC Jason Calacanis is catching flak for mocking a woman venting about her 9-5 on TikTok.
• Users on X, formerly Twitter, said he was punching down and noted he hadn't worked a 9-5 in decades.
• Some commenters said the woman was unprepared to enter the workforce; others agreed 9-5 jobs leave little room for work-life balance.

A millionaire VC is in hot water online for mocking a woman who said in a now-viral TikTok that her 9-5 job left her with little time or energy to do things outside of work.

The woman, identified on TikTok as Brielle, vented on TikTok about her first 9-5 job after graduating college, saying she starts her commute at 7:30 a.m. and gets home at 6:15 p.m. at the earliest, noting she can't afford to live in the city where she works. Brielle said while she was glad to have a job in her field and acknowledged her hours could be much worse, she didn't have the time or energy for things like making dinner or working out on workdays. 

"I don't have time for anything, and I'm so stressed out," she said in her TikTok.

Jason Calacanis responded to Brielle's TikTok by writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Oh princess… I'm sorry you had to commute and work and have a job and everything — it's like so extra!" He included a crying-face emoji.

Some X users took issue with his response in his comments.

"This looks like punching down for you and its kinda meh," one person said. "Oh please," Calacanis responded, adding a violin emoji.

In a screenshot Calacanis posted of a proposed community note on his tweet, someone wrote, "Jason Calacanis has not had a traditional 9-5 job since working as a reporter in the 1990s," to which Calacanis responded, "Fair," alongside a laughing emoji.

9-5 jobs as both a stepping stone – and a source of burnout

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs building startups are known to work 40+ hour workweeks on unconventional schedules. Many wealthy business figures have attributed part of their success to 9-5 jobs they've held before, though success over time gave many of these people the ability to set their own schedules for the most part.

Brielle previously told Insider she was very grateful to have her job but found it "discouraging and understandable why Americans are burnt out."

"I want to be able to talk for this next generation and explain that a 40-hour work week plus commute is not necessary for productivity," she said. "I appreciate all the positive comments from other sympathetic workers."

Responses to her TikTok have been mixed.

"Gen Z girl finds out what a real job is like," one X user said.

"Aww welcome to adulthood," one person commented on the video.

Many users sided with Brielle, however.

On her TikTok, the most-liked comment, with more than 51,000 likes, reads, "The 40 hour work week is beyond outdated and your feelings are totally valid."

"She has a reason to cry. Humans weren't made to work a 9-5 for five straight days, dissociate for two, and rinse and repeat the same thing for nearly 40 years (or more, cause we can't afford to retire now!). We deserve to enjoy our lives. We weren't born to *only* work. Period," one person said on X.

Many users agreeing with Brielle expressed their support for a 4-day work week.

In July, New Zealand-based nonprofit 4 Day Week Global released findings showing resounding success in its latest installment of a pilot program testing out a four-day work week in companies across countries including the US, UK, and Australia. The results showed workers had better work-life balance, and a third of them reported being less likely to leave their jobs, all while revenue at participating firms increased by 15%.

Calacanis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.