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Being young may not necessarily translate to being carefree – at least, not for Gen Z.
Zoomers – the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and generally born between 1997 and 2012 – are struggling in almost every department professionally, according to a new MetLife study that examined the physical, social, mental and financial wellbeing of different generations.
Conducted in September, the survey found that Gen Z felt more stressed, depressed, isolated and burned out than employees in other generations. They described themselves as feeling less happy, successful, and engaged, and more anxious and overwhelmed than employees who were the same age in 2018.
Other key findings on holistic health, or general wellbeing, included:
- Holistic health has decreased the most among Gen Z, with a 6% drop from last year, which is lower than the score from a similar age group five years ago.
- Only one in three of Gen Z workers feels holistically healthy, 10% lower than the average employee.
- The holistic health gap between Gen Z and Boomers, the healthiest working generation born between 1946-1964, is now the widest it’s ever been.
‘Gen Z is not necessarily doing well,’ Todd Katz, executive vice president of group benefits at MetLife, told InsuranceNewsNet. ‘Our study showed holistic health for all employee age groups is down a bit, but it’s down the most for Gen Z.’
The survey’s results will be published in March.
‘They attribute a lot of it to their financial burdens,’ Katz explained. ‘These people are trying to save money for major life expenses when everything costs more. That fits in with the context of why they are experiencing stress and depression.’
Should you quit your job? Take this career quizHighest priority financial goals for Gen Z include paying back student loans, insurance, commuting, and saving money. In fact, some of these expenses are so costly that another survey of 2,000 Gen Z workers found that one in 10 were declining job offers because they couldn’t afford the cost of commuting or the buying work clothes, tying up career conundrums with pecuniary woes. The same study revealed that 60% of Gen Z women and 45% of Gen Z men feared that the cost of living would impact their ability to plan a stable financial future.
How to save Money: Start Some Financial Self CareMoney worries also went hand in hand with declining mental health. Findings from another study reported that 38% of Gen Z were experiencing a ‘midlife crisis’ largely due to financial burdens, feeling like their hopes of independence and reaching certain milestones like buying homes, starting families or implementing significant changes, were slowly being eroded.
However, this generation also places importance on company culture, with some Zoomers turning down job offers if workplace values and perks did not align with their own.
Katz advises using employee benefits ‘in the most effective way possible’. Looking for cost-effective ways to relieve stress, such as spending time outside or calling a friend, can make concerns seem more manageable. Finding ways to save or budget can also decrease anxiety and increase feelings of control.
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