Gen Z workers may be relatively new to the workforce, but they're already as familiar with burnout and stress — if not more — than the generations that came before them.
A recent health survey from Cigna revealed that Gen Z workers are the most stressed out demographic. Twenty-three percent of young workers say they are dealing with "unmanageable stress," and 48% said they felt drained (compared to just 40% of their older colleagues). In total, 98% of Gen Z workers are actively dealing with symptoms of burnout.
"Gen Z is in a unique position due to timing," says Annie Rosencrans, director of people and culture at workplace analytics company HiBob. "Most of them graduated college and then entered the workforce right in the thick of the pandemic. That came with a lot of associated challenges, like working from home without people to observe and learn from."
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On top of an unusual introduction to work, Gen Z also struggles with their mental health more than any other generation. According to the American Psychological Association, 27% of Gen Z-ers say that their mental health is fair or poor, as opposed to 15% of millennials and 13% of Gen X-ers who reported the same status. A 2022 survey from Harmony Healthcare IT, a data management firm, found that 42% of Gen Z has been diagnosed with a mental health condition, with anxiety, depression, ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder among the most common.
"Their expectations of their employers differ from what the expectations may have been 10 years ago when [previous] generations entered the workforce," Rosencrans says. "There's more of a priority on whole-life experience, and balance beyond the professional experience in terms of mental health services, perks and benefits."
Beyond mental health care and other benefits, there are a number of additional workplace strategies employers should explore to make the younger generation feel supported and validated, according to Rosencrans.
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"There's more of a prioritization of autonomy in this population," she says. "They want to feel like they own their growth and development, that they have the opportunity to make change and impact. They don't want the regimented nature of roles that historically have been."
In addition to fostering a culture of autonomy and flexibility, employers should also reconsider how they recruit. Set very clear expectations with new hires even before they accept the job, Rosencrans says, to preemptively answer important questions about what the role will look like, what employers expect from them in the future as well as what they will be offering to make the transition easier.
"Keep allowing space for employees to share what it is they're going through, what their challenges are and what motivates them so that their manager can be a bit more thoughtful in the way that they manage," Rosencrans says. "Ensure that they as people are supported in a way that they're going to ensure their success."
