A 2024 study found that after passing multiple interviews, impressing recruiters, and landing jobs, Gen Zers are more likely to decline an offered role due to the cost of landing a new job. I am forced to do so.
The survey of more than 2,000 UK 16-25+ people for the Prince’s Trust’s annual NatWest Youth Index 2024 found that the cost of living is making today’s young people feel uncertain about their futures and are considering careers. It turns out that the desire to do so is limited.
From having to spend money on new uniforms (or rather, work-appropriate clothes) to spending money on travel cards to track your attendance, everything is being tallied. One in 10 unemployed Gen Zers has had to turn down a job because of these costs.
Worryingly, financial confidence is at an all-time low in the 15 years since the index began monitoring the wellbeing of young people in the UK. More than half of those surveyed worry that they will never be financially secure, and even thinking about it makes them feel anxious. Money is enough to make more than a third of them feel stressed.
This trend is particularly acute among young women, with 60% worried that the rising cost of living will make it difficult for them to have financial security. Meanwhile, half are worried about not earning enough to support their families. In comparison, about 45% of young men have similar concerns.
TikTok advice
So where do they go for financial advice? Of course it’s TikTok. The number of 16- to 25-year-olds surveyed turning to social media platforms for lessons like “budgeting out loud” has doubled since 2022, according to the study.
The trust said its findings show that the current economic climate is having a “dramatic impact” on the “confidence, well-being and aspirations for the future” of young people aspiring to work, particularly those from the poorest backgrounds. It has become clear that there is. It’s affecting their mental health.
Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of the Prince’s Trust, said: “This trap of mutually exacerbating poor mental health and employment struggles threatens to close in on this generation if we don’t act now.” .
Mental health is the second biggest barrier to dreams
As Townsend points out, unemployed young people find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle in which being unemployed is bad for their mental health, but they also realize that their mental health also affects their ability to work. I am.
A whopping 40% of respondents suffered from mental health issues, and a third said they were worried that their mental health issues would prevent them from achieving their career goals.
For a significant number of young workers, their mental health is already interfering with their work. One in five people have taken time off from school or work in the past year, 18% feel stuck and unable to even apply for a job, and 12% feel unable to even apply for a job. . I couldn’t bear to go to the interview.
Meanwhile, one in 10 young people from poorer backgrounds has quit their job this year due to mental health issues.
Another study found that even when young workers show up, the overwhelming majority miss one day of work each week. Essentially, they’re in the office, but they’re mentally absent, almost 50 days a year where they actually struggle to get anything done.
How employers can help
Despite the bleak findings, the study “presents a window of hope,” Townsend said. That’s because Gen Z outlines exactly how employers can step in to help them.
For a third of respondents, this looks like support such as securing work experience, advice on how to write a CV or how to behave in an interview, and training on how to build job-specific skills.
“The overwhelming majority of young people say they remain determined to achieve their goals,” Townsend concluded. “But what they need is practical support and guidance to help them overcome the challenges they face, especially as the world of work continues to change rapidly.”
A version of this story was first published on Fortune.com on February 5, 2024.
