A 'Diet Coke break' is the latest example of Gen Zs and Millennials insisting on work-life balance
- Some young workers are opting for "Diet Coke breaks" and filming them on TikTok.
- The trend romanticizes work breaks and Diet Coke — and highlights the value of work-life balance.
Gone are the days of milling around a water cooler, waiting for a machine to spit out a cup of coffee, or stepping out for a smoke. Now, some young workers are opting for "Diet Coke breaks" and filming them on TikTok.
It's a trend that's picked up on the social media app among some Gen Z and Millennial workers. But of course the drink — and presumably the breaks that go along with it — have long been a favored staple for some business executives, including Elon Musk and Warren Buffett.
On TikTok, the hashtag "dietcokebreak" has garnered more than 14 million views. Videos feature young workers stepping away from work for an afternoon Diet Coke — or "DC" — run. As some participants have commented on the app, the Diet Coke break helps to "romanticize the little things," a trend that Fortune Magazine recently noted.
The idea of "sharing a Coke," or taking a Diet Coke break, is also prominent in the soda brand's advertising history. But the company hasn't had a hand in the TikTok activity, a spokesperson from Coca-Cola told Insider. Rather, the trend apparently is being entirely driven by TikTok creators, and, presumably, devout Diet Coke fans.
Kristen Seninger, a 25-year-old program marketer at Sephora, says that it's trendy to romanticize Diet Coke on the app. Seninger says she's always been a "Diet Coke break girl" — even before she started posting about it on TikTok last year.
In her videos, which have gained hundreds of thousands of views, she spices up her Diet Coke break by driving to McDonald's or Chick-fil-A for the fountain drink, and adding lemon or lime flavoring to her beverage.
The trend is catching on, Seninger said, because it helps remind people to embrace the "little things." The trend also enables young workers to savor a midday escape from corporate settings or the monotony of work-from-home.
For Seninger, filming on TikTok also makes the break in her day more fun.
"Nobody wants to be sitting at their desk for eights hours a day, and I think romanticizing the little things in life helps you change your perspective. A Diet Coke break helps me to romanticize that part of my day and take a break," Seninger said.
While the TikToks are, even inadvertently, good advertising for the brand, the videos also highlight an aspect of work culture that's becoming increasingly important to young workers: work-life balance.
In another TikTok, a creator captioned her Diet Coke break video: "Studies show Diet Coke breaks significantly improve one's mental health." Of course, this hasn't been independently verified — but plenty of Diet Coke breakers apparently would agree. Another commenter on the TikTok trend said: "I've also started taking Diet Coke breaks and they make my day 10x better."
The comment isn't totally unfounded. While Diet Coke, flavored with artificial sweeteners, may not be the most health-conscious choice, the work breaks can have a positive impact on workers.
Taking breaks during the work day can help boost employee motivation and focus — and breaks can help workers avoid burnout.
The "Diet Coke break" also adds to a growing list of work-related terms and practices that some young workers have been adopting: From "quiet quitting" to "bare minimum Mondays," the soda break is just another term workers are coining as a way to explain how they get through the workday.
While Gen Z and Millennials are embracing their work breaks — and Diet Coke — in the most chronically online way, the soda pop has also long been touted by business executives who are decidedly not part of the younger set.
Buffett, age 92, owns a roughly 9% stake in the Coca-Cola company, and swears by the stuff. In the past, he's said he drinks a minimum of five cans of Diet Coke or Cherry Coke a day. Musk, age 51, has also admitted to drinking eight cans a day.