Not exactly work For Generation Z.
A new MetLife study that looked at the physical, social, mental and financial health of different generations found that Zoomer employees are struggling on nearly every metric.
“Gen Z isn't necessarily doing well,” said Todd Katz, executive vice president of group benefits at MetLife. insurance news net. “Our research shows a slight decline in overall health across all employee age groups, but the biggest decline is among Gen Z.”
Katz said the study found that workers' “overall health” declined the most among Gen Z, down 6% from last year, a score similar to that reported five years ago. This is lower than the average age group.
In fact, only one in three Gen Z workers report feeling healthy overall, 10% lower than the average employee, according to InsuranceNewsNet. The overall health disparity between baby boomers, the healthiest working generation, is currently the largest. has been.
The study, which was conducted in September and will be published in full in March, found that Gen Z feels more stressed, depressed, burnt out and isolated than other generations. did.
Compared to employees of the same age in 2018, Zoomers reported feeling less successful, less proactive, less happy, and more anxious and overwhelmed.
“They attribute a lot of that to financial burden,” Katz explained.
“These people are trying to save money for major living expenses when everything costs money. This is consistent with why they are experiencing stress and depression.”
This finding is in line with a recent study that reported that a whopping 38% of Zoomers are facing a “midlife crisis” due to financial stress.
In fact, another study of 2,000 Gen Z workers found that 1 in 10 turned down a job offer because of the cost of commuting or purchasing work clothes.
The survey also found that 60% of Gen Z women and 45% of Gen Z men are concerned that the high cost of living will be a barrier to future financial stability.
“Workplace populations are more diverse than ever, with multiple generations working, and different generations have different needs,” Katz said.
For Gen Z, that means help with student loan repayments, child support, pet insurance, commuting and savings allowances. Some Zoomers reportedly turned down job offers when the company culture or workplace perks didn't match their wants and needs.
Katz advised employers to better communicate what benefits workers are entitled to and how to use them “in the most effective way possible.”
“One of the biggest challenges we've found is that even if you offer all the great benefits and your employees sign up for them, if they don't take advantage of them and don't have a great experience, their They're far less satisfied with their overall health benefits,” Katz said.
