Gen Z Already Suffering ‘Midlife Crisis’, Research Reveals: ‘It’s Not Going Well’

It’s not exactly working General Z. left

Zoomer employees are struggling on nearly every metric, according to a new MetLife study that examines the physical, social, mental and financial well-being 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 that holistic health for all age groups of employees is slightly declining, but it’s lower for Gen Z.”

According to the survey, “holistic health” among workers has declined the most among Gen Z with a 6% drop from last year, a result that is lower than a similar age group reported five years ago, according to Katz.

In fact, only one in three Gen Z workers reported feeling completely healthy—10% lower than the average worker—and, according to InsuranceNewsNet, the holistic health gap between Gen Z and Boomers, the healthiest working generation, is now the biggest. has been

The study – which was conducted in September but will be published in full in March – found that Gen Z are said to feel more stressed, depressed, burnt out and isolated than their counterparts.

Compared to employees who were the same age in 2018, Zoomers reported feeling less successful, less engaged, less happy, and more anxious and overwhelmed.

“They attribute a lot to their financial burdens,” Katz explained.

“These people are trying to save money for major life expenses when everything costs more. This fits the context of why they are experiencing stress and depression.”

The findings coincide with a recent study that reported 38% of Zoomers are facing a “mid-life crisis” due to financial stress.

In fact, a separate study of 2,000 Gen Z workers found that one in 10 were turning down job offers because of the cost of travel or buying work clothes.

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 an obstacle to financial security in the future.

“The workplace population 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 paying off student debt, childcare costs, pet insurance, and travel or savings benefits. Some Zoomers have reportedly turned down job offers when the company culture and workplace benefits didn’t 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 that they don’t use them. benefit from holistic health,” Katz said.