Gen Z already suffering ‘midlife crisis,’ research finds: ‘Not doing well’
It’s not exactly working for Gen Z.
Zoomer employees are struggling in just about every metric, according to a new MetLife study that examines the physical, social, mental and financial wellbeing of different generations.
“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.”
According to the survey, “holistic health” among workers has decreased the most among Gen Z with a 6% drop from last year, a score that is lower than a similar age group reported five years ago, according to Katz.
In fact, only one in three of Gen Z workers reported feeling holistically healthy — 10% lower than the average employee — and, according to InsuranceNewsNet, the holistic health gap between Gen Z and Boomers, the healthiest working generation, is now the largest it has been.
The study — which was conducted in September but will be published in full in March — found that Gen Z reportedly feels more stressed, depressed, burned out and isolated than their counterparts.
When compared to employees who were the same age in 2018, the Zoomers reported feeling less successful, less engaged, less happy and more anxious and overwhelmed.
“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.”
The findings coincide with a recent study that reported a whopping 38% of Zoomers are facing a “midlife crisis” due to financial stress.
In fact, a separate survey of 2,000 Gen Z workers found that one in 10 were turning down job offers because of the cost of commuting or purchasing work attire.
The study also reported that 60% of Gen Z women and 45% of Gen Z men fear that the high cost of living will be a barrier to future financial security.
“The population in the workplace is more diverse than ever, with multiple generations in the workforce, and people of different generations have different needs,” said Katz.
For Gen Z, that means help with paying back student debt, childcare costs, insurance for pets and benefits for commuting or saving money. Some Zoomers have reportedly turned down job offers when company culture and workplace perks do not match their wants or needs.
Katz advised employers to better communicate what benefits are available to workers and how to use them “in the most effective way possible.”
“One of the biggest challenges we find is that even if you offer all the great benefits and workers sign up for them, if they don’t use them and have a great experience, their satisfaction is much lower, which means they don’t get the benefit of holistic health,” Katz said.
