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Young generation suffers from financial anxiety
By Anna J. Park
Members of Generation Z and the Millennials around the world are generally concerned about financial matters, but Korea's younger generation appears to be more concerned and pessimistic about their financial and economic prospects than their global peers, a survey showed.
These findings are according to Deloitte's "2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey," the global firm's 11th annual research paper published on Thursday.
The survey connected with 14,808 members of Gen Z (those who were born in between 1995 and 2003) and 8,412 Millennials (those who were born in between 1983 and 1994) from 46 countries over a two-month period from November 2021 to January 2022. It also conducted interviews in April of this year. A total of 501 Korean nationals, including 201 members of Gen Z and 300 Millennials, participated in the survey.
The survey showed that Gen Z and Millennials' greatest concern is the cost of living ― housing, transportation and other bills ― with 29 percent of Gen Z and 36 percent of Millennials selecting it as their biggest worry. The ratio is much higher for young Koreans, with 43 percent of Gen Z and 49 percent of Millennials saying they're concerned about the cost of living.
Korea's young generation also tends to be more pessimistic about the economy than their global peers, with 43 percent of Korean members of Gen Z saying they think the nation's economic situation will worsen over the next year, while only 16 percent responded that they believe economic conditions will improve. In contrast, only 37 percent of non-Korean members of Gen Z said that they had a negative forecast for the economy, while 28 percent had a positive outlook.
However, concerns about financial status and stress-led anxiety seem to be a universal problem for Gen Z and Millennials, as non-Korean respondents showed a higher level of stress than Korean respondents in general. In fact, 46 percent of global Gen Z and 38 percent of global Millennials said they were under stress most of the time, while 36 percent of Korean Gen Z and 36 percent of Korean Millennials said so.
Worries about financial stability were the number one stress factor for the global respondents. Almost half of Gen Z and Millennials were found to be living from paycheck to paycheck and worried about being unable to cover their expenses. Around three-quarters of Gen Z and Millennials overall agreed that the gap between the richest and poorest people in their countries is widening.
Besides financial anxieties, political instability, war and conflicts between countries were surveyed to be other key concerns of the young generation cited by 12 percent of Gen Z and 11 percent of Millennials. The paper said that the percentage should actually be higher, as the survey was conducted prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
Purpose and value are key factors in decision-making
What is also noteworthy is that the young generation felt a heightened awareness of environmental sustainability, despite being generally stressed out and fatigued. The survey showed that 75 percent of Gen Z and 73 percent of Millennials agreed that the world is at a tipping point in responding to climate change and that the future could go either way. They are pressing their employers to tackle climate change, particularly when it comes to efforts they can get directly involved in.
On top of being environmentally active, they're also more purposeful when it comes to work ethics and values. Nearly two out of five of Gen Z and Millennials said that they have rejected a job or assignments based on their personal ethics or values.
The survey showed that while Gen Z and Millennials are deeply worried about the current state of the economy and world affairs, they are trying their best to find a balance between the constraints of everyday life and their ethical ideals.
