The majority of Gen Z and millennial employees in the U.S. are living paycheck to paycheck in 2024, according to Deloitte's annual employment survey published May 15.
While 56% of Gen Zers and 55% of millennials report living paycheck to paycheck, 3 in 10 report not feeling financially secure, according to the survey, which connected with nearly 23,000 respondents across 44 countries.
For the third year in a row, both Gen Z and millennial workers reported that the cost of living is their top life concern.
Additionally, the generations put a lot of emphasis on workplace satisfaction and well-being. Half of Gen Zs (50%) and 43% of millennials have rejected assignments and 44% of Gen Zs and 40% of millennials have rejected employers due to personal ethics or beliefs, according to the survey.
About 6 in 10 Gen Zers (62%) and millennials (59%) have felt anxious or worried about climate change in the past month. Half of Gen Zers (54%) and millennials (48%) say they and their colleagues are putting pressure on their employers to take action on climate change, and 2 in 10 Gen Zers (20%) and millennials (19%) have already changed jobs due to environmental concerns.
The majority of Gen Z and millennial employees also believe that generative artificial intelligence will impact the future of their careers, and potentially make it harder to get a job in the future.
Work-life balance remains a top priority for both generations, with a lack of work-life balance being a major contributor to stress, anxiety and burnout.
Only about half of respondents rated their mental health as good or extremely good, while 40% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials say they feel stressed all or most of the time.