Work doesn’t work for cool kids.
Due to the high cost of living and mental health pressures of the rat race, would-be workers in their 20s are leaving the workforce because they can’t afford either daily transportation or proper office attire, according to a recent report.
“Young people are finding themselves in a vicious circle,” said Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of the Prince’s Trust, in his annual NatWest Youth Index 2024.
“Poor mental health is having a negative impact on their work, and yet being unemployed has a negative impact on their mental health,” he added. “This is a deeply troubling trap.”
Researchers surveyed over 2,000 Zoomers, young adults between the ages of 16 and 25, to find that one in ten Zoomers within the demographic has been turned away from employment opportunities due to travel costs or the price of uniforms required for work.
60% of Gen Z women and 45% of their male counterparts worry that the high cost of living will prevent them from achieving financial security.
But twenty-somethings aren’t just hurting financially.
The investigators also determined that the troubling economic climate, which is hampering Gen Z’s job search, is having “drastic consequences” on their “confidence, well-being and aspirations for the future.”
It is a pessimistic view with problematic results.
Feeling like the weight of the world’s issues—inflation, climate change, social injustice, and more—are on their shoulders, “burnt out” Gen Zs miss a day of work every week because of their mental health, according to disturbing data from Vitality. , a health and life insurance imprint.
A separate February study showed that Gen Zers are more likely to take a “mental health day” between the ages of 9 and 5 than millennials and Gen Xers over the age of 40.
“Youth unemployment due to ill health is a real and growing trend,” said an analyst from the Resolution Foundation, a UK economic and social policy centre. “In the last decade, the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who were out of work due to ill health has doubled, rising from 93,000 to 190,000.”
The boring cycle continues to break, unemployed youth are depressed.
The NatWest Youth Index found that mental health issues have discouraged 18% of Gen Z from applying for a job, caused 12% to miss interviews and 10% to stop asking for help with their CV or letters motivating.
But an optimistic Townsend says there is “a clear window of hope” for the “infinitely resilient and dedicated generation”.
The study found that, despite their money and mental health issues, 68% of Gen Z are “determined to achieve their life goals” by finding stable work. However, to capture those top positions, 32% said that systematic help to secure work experience or training would help them towards their ambitions.
Many have also turned to TikTok for moral support from members of their generation.
“The vast majority of young people tell us that they remain determined to achieve their goals,” Townsend said. “But what they are looking for is practical, pragmatic support to overcome their challenges, especially as the world of work continues to change rapidly.”
“If we act now, with the support of partners like NatWest, employers and government,” he continued, “we can help young people on their way to work and ultimately to a more stable and fulfilling life.”
“This will benefit not only this generation, but wider society and the future economy for decades to come.”
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