Study Finds 38% Of Gen Z Already Feel Like They’re In A Midlife Crisis, And It’s Not For The Reason You’d Assume
charliepix | Canva Many have a rosy view of the next generation of leaders, assuming they are ready to fully step into the world with all of their youthful insight and excitement. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Gen Z is actually struggling a lot, and much of that has to do with financial issues.
Less than a third of Gen Z feel financially secure, according to a study from global professional firm Ernst & Young, with more than half reporting they worry very often about not having enough money. Life coach Brittney Lindstrom explains that this kind of chronic financial pressure seeps into everything else. "When you're exhausted, everything seems more difficult, especially managing your emotions," she explains. "Burnout can leave you feeling vulnerable and overly sensitive."
For a generation that entered adulthood during a pandemic, into a housing market they can't afford and a job market that is harder to break into than it was for their parents, that emotional weight is not a personal failing. It’s gotten so bad that the generation feels like they are in a full-on crisis.
Study finds 38% of Gen Z feel like they're in a midlife crisis, and it's largely driven by financial stress
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Another study suggested that Gen Z was not doing well at all, financially or mentally
Arta Finance, a platform that allows you to track and invest your money, surveyed in August 2024 with the help of Team Lewis. The survey included 2,000 American adults.
Among the findings were that 38% of Gen Z currently feel like they are experiencing a midlife crisis. (There was no explanation for why the more age-appropriate phrase “quarter-life crisis” wasn’t used.)
While there are plenty of emotional factors contributing to this midlife crisis, it seems to be mainly rooted in finances. 30% of Gen Zers reported that money was the cause of their great stress.
Gen Z feels disillusioned by the fact that the American Dream is untenable, no matter how hard they work
The “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mindset that boomers and even some Gen Xers have, or at least had when they were younger, is gone. Now, for Gen Zers, it feels like it doesn’t matter how hard they work or how much they chase after the elusive American dream. It’s still not enough.
“Beyond just the numbers, money represents freedom, opportunity, and stability — all things that feel out of reach for many young people today,” Arta Finance stated. In this sense, financial status has a direct effect on mental and emotional health.
Other stressors for Gen Z included their mental health, coming in at 25%, and problems with their careers, which 23% identified with. Technically, those two factors really relate to financial stability concerns themselves.
Older generations didn't struggle the same way Gen Z does
While millennials' responses to the survey were closely in line with their generational neighbors in Gen Z, older generations did not share the same experience. According to Arta Finance, just 15% of boomers said they faced similar financial challenges when they were young adults.
The study also looked at how Gen Z is falling behind when it comes to traditional milestones like buying a house or starting a family. 51% of boomers owned homes by the time they were 30. While comparable data was not offered for Gen Z, the study did mention that only 42% of millennials owned homes by that age.
“55% of Gen Z and millennials think their parents had it easier when it came to achieving these milestones,” Arta Finance said. Nasdaq pointed out that boomers controlled most of the country’s wealth, at a whopping 50% and $78.1 trillion. They said there was "insufficient evidence” to determine how much of the United States’ wealth was held by Gen Zers.
Many people from older generations do not understand why young people cannot afford the same things they did at their age. What they don’t realize is that the economy is vastly different today, and a dollar doesn’t stretch nearly as far as it once did.
It seems like all Gen Zers know is economic upheaval
Gen Zers were born between the years of 1997 and 2012. This means many grew up in, and some were born during, the Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009.
The Federal Reserve described the Great Recession as the “longest recession since World War II.” Many feel that the economy has never fully recovered, or at least that they have never fully recovered themselves.
This means Gen Zers grew up watching their parents struggle with significant financial challenges. Now, they are doing the same. This is extremely frustrating and disheartening. In many ways, it feels like Gen Z can’t catch a break.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
